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Lawmakers pause bills to shift ad valorem/barge tax revenue to Arkansas Waterways Commission for more work
Summary
Senate Bills 286 and 285, proposing to shift a small share of ad valorem/barge tax revenue to the Arkansas Waterways Commission and to reshape a river navigation grant fund, were discussed at length and held so sponsors and agencies can draft amendments clarifying fiscal impacts and narrowly target barge collections.
Senate Bills 286 and 285, presented by Senator Lance Eads with testimony from Dedra Smith of the Arkansas Waterways Commission, drew detailed questioning over where revenue would come from and how much it would cost other state functions.
SB286 would move 1.5 percentage points from the central services share of an ad valorem tax fund to the Waterways Commission to provide modest operating resources. Director Dedra Smith told the committee, "Our funding has been flatlined for the past 10 years," and outlined difficulties monitoring port infrastructure grants without travel and staffing. Smith said the Waterways Commission currently operates on about a $42,000 operating budget and that the requested change would help administer grant programs and monitor projects.
Committee members expressed concern about reducing funds earmarked for central services and legislative audit. A key point of contention was the size of the revenue impact: some witnesses and members discussed a change yielding about $37,500 tied to barge collections, while legislative auditor Roger Norman said, "the information given to me would be about $350,000," because the bill as drafted affects the broader ad valorem fund rather than only barge (barge threshold was described as $2.5 million and excess goes into port intermodal grants).
SB285 would create a river navigation fund from taxes on barge transportation to support intermodal port development grants and to broaden eligibility so private terminals could participate. Dedra Smith said public and private ports support the approach for the Arkansas River and that clarifying reporting from the Public Service Commission will allow better separation of Arkansas River barge collections.
Because the bill language as drafted could affect the entire ad valorem tax fund (not only barge collections), senators asked staff and agencies to draft amendments that limit the change to the intended barge/Arkansas River collections and to quantify the precise revenue impacts on legislative audit and other recipients. Sponsors agreed to 'circle up' with audit and finance staff; both measures were held for amendment and further review.
