Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Governor set to talk at municipal league event
LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Asa Hutchinson will be among the speakers when the Arkansas Municipal League holds it annual convention and business meeting this week.
The convention, which will be held online because of the coronavirus pandemic, will start today and end Friday, with a combination of live and pre-recorded sessions.
Today’s schedule includes a presentation on the opioid litigation filed by the Arkansas Municipal League and the Association of Arkansas Counties from 2:30 p.m.-3 p.m. Scheduled speakers are Attorney General Leslie Rutledge; Chris Villines, executive director of the Association of Arkansas Counties; Mark R. Hayes, executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League; John Wilkerson, general counsel, Arkansas Municipal League; and F. Jerome Tapley, Principal, Cory Watson Attorneys.
From 3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m. today, the resolutions committee will meet. Each municipality has a designated representative who will vote on legislative issues to be included in the Arkansas Municipal League’s policies and goals for the coming year. The resolutions committee also will meet from 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Arkansas’ governor is scheduled to address the convention at 9 a.m. Thursday. Sen. Jim Hendren, president pro-tempore, and state Rep. Matthew Shepherd, speaker of the House, also will speak during the 9 a.m.10:10 a.m. session Thursday.
Presenters will also preview legislative issues likely to appear before the 93rd General Assembly of the Arkansas Legislature in 2021.
At 10:10 a.m. Thursday, there will be a presentation on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and Federal Emergency Management Agency funding related to the pandemic.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress in response to the economic fallout caused by the pandemic.
A virtual awards ceremony will honor people Thursday and Friday for their service to municipalities during the past year.