State briefs

Lawmakers vote to scale back hybrid Medicaid plan

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers have approved an effort to scale back the state’s hybrid Medicaid expansion by moving 60,000 people off the program and to require some remaining participants to work.

The Senate and House gave final approval to identical measures Wednesday allowing the state to seek federal approval for the new restrictions to the program, which covers more than 300,000 people. The program was created in 2013 as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the federal health overhaul.

The Senate approved the restrictions on a 19-7 vote, while the House approved them 69-21.

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed the new restrictions in March, despite uncertainty in Washington about GOP efforts to repeal the federal health law.

Judge’s protest leads to House bill on impeachment

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers have approved a resolution laying out impeachment rules after calls to remove

a judge who participated in an anti-death penalty demonstration in April after issuing an order blocking executions.

House Speaker Jeremy Gillam introduced the resolution to the House on Wednesday, which passed it 73-13. The resolution deals with House rules so Senate approval isn’t required.

The House already can call for an elected official to be impeached, but there are no rules about how to do it.

Gillam said Tuesday that there are no plans to impeach Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen.

Griffen is under investigation by the state Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission for the demonstration.

Democratic Rep. Vivian Flowers spoke against the resolution, saying the commission already has the authority to discipline a judge.

Arkansas governor: More resources for flood-stricken areas

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says additional resources that include more than 100 members of the state’s National Guard have been dispatched to help parts of northeast Arkansas hit by severe flooding.

Hutchinson said Wednesday that 108 guard members have been deployed to the flood-stricken areas and 25 guard vehicles are prepared for high-water rescues if needed. The governor said there have been more than 500 evacuations.

The Black River levee was breached Wednesday morning near Pocahontas after parts of the town were evacuated earlier this week as the river reached record levels.

Hutchinson said officials have identified nine levee breaches in Randolph County alone, and three of those are categorized as major.

Hutchinson advised residents of the area to listen to officials and follow instructions to evacuate as needed.

Lawmakers vote to transfer tobacco money to reserve

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers have approved a bill that would transfer about $105 million in unused tobacco settlement money to the state’s long-term reserve fund to be tapped for budget shortfalls.

The Arkansas House passed the measure 70-24 Wednesday during a special legislative session. The Senate had already approved the proposal, which now awaits Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s signature.

Hutchinson and other supporters of the bill say strengthening the reserve fund is needed to improve the state’s bond rating.

Opponents like Democratic Rep. Michael John Gray say the transfer would circumvent a law voters approved in 2000 that directs the Arkansas Healthy Century Trust Fund toward health programs.

Gray says he understands the motivation to have a strong reserve fund, but that lawmakers should not go against what Arkansas voters approved.

Historic swinging bridge destroyed

OARK — A 150-foot-long swinging bridge and tourist attraction in northwest Arkansas has been swept away by floodwaters.

The bridge, which has spanned the Mulberry River for about a century between two Johnson County towns, Oark and Catalpa, was destroyed Saturday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Denise Gosnell, who works at Oark General Store, says she checked on the bridge Saturday afternoon and found that part of it was already submerged in water.

Gosnell says tourists make the trip to Johnson County and hike the swinging bridge, 2.7 miles (4.3 kilometers) east of the general store.

“It’s a big sight-seeing trip,” she said. “A lot people come. It’s a big word-of-mouth thing. It’s like the burgers here. People want the burgers, and they want the bridge.”

In 2004, Cathie Brown, owner of the property where the bridge is located, said three generations have used the swinging bridge, which crosses the river and leads down a steep set of stairs.

“My grandpa built it about the turn of the (20th) century,” she said.

Over the years, the bridge has periodically been destroyed by floods, including in 2014 and 2015.

A project to stabilize the eroding stream bank on Brown’s property with help from the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership is ongoing.

“With each flood, my mother’s land is eroded more and more,” Brown’s daughter, Cammie Johnson, wrote on a GoFundMe page for the bridge in 2015. “The river is changing course, and it needs to be redirected back to its original place so that my mother will still have land. It has eroded so much that it has washed out the tree that has held the swinging bridge for years.”