State briefs
Malvern college looks to join ASU System
MALVERN — A two-year college in central Arkansas is taking steps to join the Arkansas State University System. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that board members for the College of the Ouachitas in Malvern unanimously voted to join the system Tuesday.
Ouachitas board member Bill Fowler says the board made the decision based on what was best for staff and students.
ASU System President Chuck Welch says he’s thrilled with the college’s decision. He says adding the college will allow the system to expand its geographic footprint.
The ASU System says officials from both organizations will work to create a merger agreement. The college could officially become a part of the system in January, pending approvals from the Higher Learning Commission and the ASU System board of trustees.
Guard troops moving from New Mexico to Texas
LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Asa Hutchinson has ordered Arkansas National Guard troops deployed along the Mexican border in New Mexico to relocate to Texas to help with border security there.
Up to eight Arkansas troops and two helicopters have been deployed in New Mexico since May 2018 to help secure the nation’s southwestern border. Hutchinson says he has directed Adjutant General Mark Berry to shift those troops to Texas, where the security needs are greater.
Earlier this week, New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham ordered the New Mexico National Guard withdrawn from border deployment and directed troops from
other states to return home.
Last week, Arkansas troops and one of the state’s LUH-72 Lakota helicopters helped federal officials seize 136 pounds of marijuana and arrest four men along the New Mexico border.
Ex-lawmaker’s bribery scheme trial delayed
LITTLE ROCK — The trial of a former Arkansas lawmaker accused of conspiring to bribe a judge who acknowledged lowering a jury’s award in a negligence lawsuit in exchange for campaign contributions has been delayed until October.
U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. on Thursday delayed the trial of former state Sen. Gilbert Baker until Oct. 28. Baker is charged with conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud in the alleged scheme. His trial had originally been set to begin later this month.
Baker is accused of conspiring with former state Judge Michael Maggio, who acknowledged accepting campaign donations from a nursing home operator, then reducing a judgment against that company by $4.2 million. Baker has pleaded not guilty.
House backs increasing homestead tax credit
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas House has approved a proposal to raise the property tax credit that thousands of homeowners receive for their primary residence.
The House on Thursday voted 89-0 for a bill that would raise the homestead property tax credit from $350 to $375. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson last year called for increasing the credit, citing a surplus in the fund that reimburses counties for it.
The credit is funded by a one-half cent statewide sales and use tax. The tax credit was established through a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2000 and was raised in 2007 by Hutchinson’s Democratic predecessor, former Gov. Mike Beebe, from $300 to $350.
The measure now heads to the Senate.
House backs plan to raise minimum teacher salary
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas House has approved a plan to raise the minimum salary school districts must pay teachers by $4,000 over the next four years.
The House on Thursday voted 91-0 for the proposal to raise the minimum teacher salary to $36,000 by the 2022-2023 school year. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has called for setting aside $60 million for school districts that are paying less than the new minimum requirements to comply with the legislation.
The money would go toward 168 districts that aren’t paying the minimum pay laid out in the legislation. The sponsor of the bill says 67 school districts are paying more than $36,000 as their minimum salary.
The measure now heads to the Senate.
Suit filed over underground fire burning in Bella Vista
BELLA VISTA — A Bella Vista man is suing over an underground fire in northwest Arkansas, saying that former property owners should bear the cost of cleaning up the site.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has estimated that cleanup of the Bella Vista underground fire could cost between $21 million and $39 million. On Wednesday, Jim Parsons sued the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, a former property owner, and a company that operated in the area.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the area was used by the Bella Vista Property Owners Association from 2003 to 2016 as an underground “stump dump,” where logs could be burned for disposal. But officials now say other debris, including scrap metal, plastic and rubber, have been found at the site.
A spokeswoman for the association declined to comment.