Lawmakers delay vote on temporary herbicide ban
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers are delaying a vote on a temporary ban of a herbicide that’s been the focus of hundreds of complaints from farmers who say it’s causing widespread damage.
The Arkansas Legislative Council’s executive subcommittee on Wednesday delayed
voting on the temporary ban of the sale and use of dicamba that’s been approved by the state Plant Board. The legislative panel says it would take up the ban on Friday after it goes before the House and Senate agriculture committees earlier that day.
Dicamba is a relatively inexpensive weed killer, but can drift and damage nearby row crops such as soybeans and cotton in addition to fruit and vegetable farms and ornamental trees. The state plant board has received at least 551 complaints this year about dicamba’s use.
2 Arkansas veterans advance Gulf War memorial plans in DC
LITTLE ROCK — Two Arkansas Gulf War veterans are leading a campaign to build a Desert Storm War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Jeff Kurczek and Brenten Byrd serve on the board for the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
“It’s time to get the word out and get it done,” Kurczek said.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, has helped the veterans and supported the campaign by guiding their proposals through Congress twice.
Former President Barack Obama signed legislation in 2014 that authorized the monument to be built. President Donald Trump also gave his approval this year and signed a resolution that allows the memorial to be built in the capital’s monument zone.
The National Park Service will hold a hearing for two proposed sites later this month. Officials will invite the public to comment on the proposal.
A design for the memorial includes a 150-foot wall and includes the names of veterans who lost their lives in the battle.
Funding for the monument has started, and construction is estimated to cost $25 million.
The Gulf War ignited after Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990. The war began in January 1991 and ended on Feb. 28, 1991.
Byrd said talks of the memorial came seven years ago when he and other veterans prepared to gather for ceremonies that marked the war’s 20th anniversary.
“We were just amazed back in 2010 that they hadn’t started a memorial for the Desert Storm veterans who lost their lives,” Byrd said.
Arkansas ends fiscal year with $15M surplus
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas finance officials say the state ended its fiscal year with a $15.7 million surplus after a boost in sales tax collections over the past two months helped restore most of the budget cuts enacted earlier.
The Department of Finance and Administration said Wednesday the state ended the fiscal year with $5.3 billion in net available revenue, which was $19 million below the previous fiscal year. Arkansas’ fiscal year ended Friday.
Officials on Friday announced they would restore $60 million of the $70 million in budget cuts that had been made because of sluggish revenue. Most of that money went toward the Medicaid Trust Fund.
Arkansas’ sales tax collections in June totaled $202.8 million, which was $7.9 million more than the same month last year and $2.6 million above forecast.