Governor: Plan’s rollout well received

If Hutchinson is re-elected in November, plan will go before Legislature

ROGERS — Gov. Asa Hutchinson is getting little resistance so far to his government reorganization plan unveiled Wednesday, he said Thursday after a speech in Rogers.

The governor’s plan will go before the Legislature if he’s re-elected. Both his opponents in the Nov. 6 general election called the plan a reshuffling more than a change.

An environmental group and workforce education advocates have expressed concerns since he announced details on his plan to consolidate 42 state agencies that report to him to 15, the governor said. He’s addressing those concerns along with answering questions from outside groups. Hutchinson spoke to a crowd of 427 at the Summit, a lunch-time speaker’s event held at Cross Church Pinnacle Hills.

“I met with an environmental group this morning in Hot Springs that had concerns about merging energy with the environment, but their concerns could be addressed and then they were supportive,” the governor said, although he didn’t name the group.

Workforce education advocates are more worried about career education being merged with one education department, but those concerns can also be addressed, Hutchinson said.

“I have to convey to them that this will strengthen career education, not diminish it,” Hutchinson said. “Career education is important, but it

has to work seamlessly with the rest of education.”

Career-specific education proponents such as Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia, expressed misgivings when the plan was announced that career education could “become a stepchild.”

The government’s existing organization or its reorganization, Hutchinson said, will not change the fact a governor sets priorities in his administration. Career education is a priority of his, he said.

Outside groups looking at his plans have more questions than concerns, Hutchinson said. For instance, some questioned why the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs and its Military Department were kept separate. Hutchinson said veterans and their health care concerns deserve a separate department.

Democratic nominee Jared Henderson criticized the plan Wednesday.

“Arkansans deserve bold leadership that solves our problems, not rearranges them,” he said in a statement after the governor unveiled his plan. “It’s clear Gov. Hutchinson is still stuck in the 40-year-old political debate of bigger government versus smaller government rather than tackling our state’s most critical problems.”

Libertarian Mark West also issued a statement, saying in part “our governor has had four years to come up with a plan, and I’m disappointed that this shuffling of the deck was the best he could come up with in that time.

“He recognizes overlap and redundancy, but fails to really manifest them into sizable cuts. His big government allies aren’t going to lose much sleep over his plan,” West said.

Hutchinson said Wednesday the savings from his reorganization will be provided “through shared services, lease and rent savings, and you’ll see that it maintains the independence of where appropriate for specialized state agencies or departments.”

He said the state Department of Finance and Administration conservatively estimated the savings will be about $15 million a year, starting in fiscal 2021.

In his remarks at the Summit, Hutchinson reminded the crowd he’s the first governor in the state’s 182-year history to have been born in Benton County. He drew applause when he reaffirmed his goal of getting a state highway funding program through the next legislative session, which begins in January, and onto the 2020 ballot for voters.

“I would like to take every legislator up to the top floor of Hunt Tower at 5 o’clock and let them see the traffic,” the governor said. Hunt Tower is a 10-story office building near Interstate 49 in Rogers.

Hutchinson