Governor signs budget into law

Rob Moritz provides coverage of Governor Beebe's signing of the Revenue Stabilization Act into law. The RSA facilitates a balanced budget and prevents deficit spending by allocating general revenue to the various fund accounts for state agencies by priority. 89¢ of every general revenue tax dollar is spent on education, health, and human services. Also on Wednesday, the governor signed HB1912 (now Act 1031), which appropriates $456 million -- nearly one-half of the revenue surplus -- for school facilities. He has not signed the General Improvement Fund Distribution Act into law.

The governor voiced regret at our inability to come to a resolution as to the funding for a level one trauma system created through HB1575. The House proposed an increase in moving traffic violations, and the Senate deleted that language and adopted an amendment to provide a 1% liability insurance surcharge.

Legislators have privately wondered whether the governor would call a special session on any issue during the interim, and the consensus seems to be that should something arise that requires the legislature to be convened, the trauma system would probably added to the call.