Rep.
Marcus
Richmond
Republican
|
District
52
10509 S and G Circle Lane
Harvey, AR 72841
(479) 299-4416
2023
Score
80%
Opportunity
Defender
Opportunity
Pioneer
Strong
Leadership

BILL NUMBER

SB306

TITLE

Expanding Food Stamps to Individuals With Significant Assets

LEAD SPONSOR

Sen. Dismang & Rep. Vaught

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

The original version of SB306 would have expanded food stamps to individuals with up to $12,500 in cash assets in the bank. The House version that ultimately became law, if approved by the federal government, will still expand food stamps by allowing households to temporarily exceed the food stamp asset limit without being disenrolled.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

No

BILL NUMBER

HB1027

TITLE

Requiring Voter Input on Local (A&P) Food and Lodging Taxes

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Roy & Sen. M. Johnson

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation will ensure that local voters have a say before being subjected to advertising and promotion (A&P) taxes. Previously, A&P taxes—which can be as high as 3 percent—were the only local tax in the state of Arkansas that could be imposed without direct consent of the voters. This has contributed to ever-increasing local tax burdens on Arkansans.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

SB90

TITLE

Adopting Universal Licensing Recognition

LEAD SPONSOR

Sen. Hill & Rep. McCollum

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill creates a smooth pathway for workers from other states to transfer their occupational licenses and work experience to Arkansas. This is a significant boost to Arkansas’s overall workforce competitiveness and will greatly decrease the difficulty of recruiting licensed workers to the Natural State.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1185

TITLE

Expanding Public School Choice

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Mayberry & Sen. Clark

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill expanded public school choice by allowing more students to attend a school in another district without exceeding the annual inter-district cap on transfers. While the LEARNS Act now supersedes this legislation, this was an important bill for ensuring that the next generation has the best opportunity to succeed.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1401

TITLE

Reducing the Cash Welfare Time Limit

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Burkes & Sen. Penzo

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation reduces the cash welfare time limit from 24 months to 12 months (the federally-required minimum) for households with work-eligible adults, encouraging them to reenter the workforce. This ties Arkansas with only one other state (Arizona) for the lowest cash welfare time limit in the country.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1430

TITLE

Reforming AR Unemployment System

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Lundstrum & Sen. Hammer

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill makes numerous changes to Arkansas's unemployment insurance provisions—including reducing the maximum duration of unemployment benefits and lowering unemployment taxes on businesses—to grow Arkansas's workforce. With a new maximum time limit of 12 weeks, Arkansas now has the shortest unemployment benefits length in the nation.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

SB294

TITLE

Unleashing Universal Education Freedom (The LEARNS Act)

LEAD SPONSOR

Sen. Davis & Rep. Brooks

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

The LEARNS Act dramatically expands educational freedom in Arkansas through education freedom accounts (EFAs), while also making other improvements to Arkansas's education system via investments in teacher salaries, reforms to school safety, and more. It is without a doubt one of the broadest, boldest, most comprehensive education reforms in United States history.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

SB473

TITLE

Banning Automatic Teacher Union Dues

LEAD SPONSOR

Sen. Bryant & Rep. Hodges

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation prevents the deduction of union fees from Arkansas's public school employees' salaries. Now, teachers interested in contributing will have to contribute directly, protecting them from a cut out of their paycheck.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1510

TITLE

Curbing Special Election Abuse

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Ray & Sen. Payton

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation limits towns and counties from scheduling special elections during low-turnout times, ensuring more Arkansans have a voice on important issues like local tax hikes. Cities and counties have notoriously hid these issues at poorly-advertised special elections, resulting in higher taxes on Arkansans.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1575

TITLE

Increasing Unemployment Work Search Requirements

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Burkes & Sen. Penzo

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill requires that unemployment recipients conduct at least five job search activities per week in order to maintain eligibility for benefits, helping them to reenter the workforce more quickly. Previously, they were required to conduct only three work searches per week.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1026

TITLE

Prohibiting Local Income Taxes

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Ray & Sen. Payton

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill will prohibit Arkansas cities and counties from imposing a local-level income tax on their citizens, preempting the ability of overzealous localities to claw away earnings from hardworking Arkansans.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

SB495

TITLE

Restoring Peace to Our Communities (The Protect Arkansas Act)

LEAD SPONSOR

Sen. Gilmore & Rep. Gazaway

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation makes numerous changes to Arkansas's criminal justice system—including by reforming the parole process, strengthening minimum sentencing times, improving victim notification requirements, reevaluating corrections training programs, and more—in order to hold violent criminals accountable and put victims first.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1196

TITLE

Requiring Work for Able-Bodied Housing Recipients

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Underwood & Sen. Gilmore

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill requires able-bodied adults in Arkansas's public housing programs to participate in work activities or volunteer at least part-time, helping reduce welfare dependency. This legislation is contingent upon a federal waiver.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

SB549

TITLE

Reducing Personal and Corporate Income Taxes

LEAD SPONSOR

Sen. Dismang & Rep. Eaves

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill cuts Arkansas's top marginal personal income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7%, and reduces Arkansas's corporate income tax rate from 5.3% to 5.1%, providing $124 million in tax relief. While we felt the legislature could have been far more aggressive with tax cuts this session, this is still a step in the right direction towards eliminating the state income tax altogether.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1340

TITLE

Expanding Food Stamps for Certain Veterans

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Tosh & Sen. Wallace

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation requires the Department of Human Services to seek a waiver to exclude veterans' disability income from counting for purposes of eligibility for food stamps. If approved, it will expand welfare to individuals who did not previously qualify. Even worse, the legislation included no fiscal note, so tax-payers have no indication of how much additional money it will cost.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

No

BILL NUMBER

HB1592

TITLE

Expanding the "Hollywood Handout"

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. C. Fite & Sen. Dismang

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill expands an existing special interest welfare giveaway in the form of an enhanced tax credit to the film industry financed by Arkansas taxpayers. Not only does the legislation redirect funds to special interests that do not share Arkansas’s values, it also pushes the prospect of income tax repeal further into the future by effectively spending money.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

No

BILL NUMBER

SB477

TITLE

Expanding Free Lunches Welfare Expansion

LEAD SPONSOR

Sen. Dismang & Rep. Vaught

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation unnecessarily qualifies all families who currently receive reduced-price school meals for free school meals, even if the family's income is well above the federal poverty level. Previously, households from 130% to 185% of the federal poverty level qualified for reduced-price lunches. In real dollars, 185% FPL is $55,500 per year for a family of four, or more than the median Arkansas household income. They paid less than 50 cents per school meal. Now, these costs will be borne by taxpayers.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

No

BILL NUMBER

HB1681

TITLE

Prohibiting Guaranteed Income Programs

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Andrews & Sen. Bryant

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This bill prohibits any state or local entity from enacting a welfare-like guaranteed income program, preempting bureaucrats or liberal localities from increasing dependency on government at the taxpayer’s expense.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes

BILL NUMBER

HB1004

TITLE

Enhancing Sex Offender Disclosure Requirements

LEAD SPONSOR

Rep. Ray & Sen. M. Johnson

ALIGN WITH OA

DESCRIPTION

This legislation enhances public information with respect to sex offender registration and disclosure requirements. It will enhance public safety by increasing public awareness of sex offenders’ presence in local communities.

PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION

Yes
BILL
TITLE
DESCRIPTION
ALIGN WITH OA
LEAD SPONSOR
Expanding Food Stamps to Individuals With Significant Assets
The original version of SB306 would have expanded food stamps to individuals with up to $12,500 in cash assets in the bank. The House version that ultimately became law, if approved by the federal government, will still expand food stamps by allowing households to temporarily exceed the food stamp asset limit without being disenrolled.
Sen. Dismang & Rep. Vaught
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
No
Requiring Voter Input on Local (A&P) Food and Lodging Taxes
This legislation will ensure that local voters have a say before being subjected to advertising and promotion (A&P) taxes. Previously, A&P taxes—which can be as high as 3 percent—were the only local tax in the state of Arkansas that could be imposed without direct consent of the voters. This has contributed to ever-increasing local tax burdens on Arkansans.
Rep. Ray & Sen. M. Johnson
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Adopting Universal Licensing Recognition
This bill creates a smooth pathway for workers from other states to transfer their occupational licenses and work experience to Arkansas. This is a significant boost to Arkansas’s overall workforce competitiveness and will greatly decrease the difficulty of recruiting licensed workers to the Natural State.
Sen. Hill & Rep. McCollum
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Expanding Public School Choice
This bill expanded public school choice by allowing more students to attend a school in another district without exceeding the annual inter-district cap on transfers. While the LEARNS Act now supersedes this legislation, this was an important bill for ensuring that the next generation has the best opportunity to succeed.
Rep. Mayberry & Sen. Clark
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Reducing the Cash Welfare Time Limit
This legislation reduces the cash welfare time limit from 24 months to 12 months (the federally-required minimum) for households with work-eligible adults, encouraging them to reenter the workforce. This ties Arkansas with only one other state (Arizona) for the lowest cash welfare time limit in the country.
Rep. Burkes & Sen. Penzo
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Reforming AR Unemployment System
This bill makes numerous changes to Arkansas's unemployment insurance provisions—including reducing the maximum duration of unemployment benefits and lowering unemployment taxes on businesses—to grow Arkansas's workforce. With a new maximum time limit of 12 weeks, Arkansas now has the shortest unemployment benefits length in the nation.
Rep. Lundstrum & Sen. Hammer
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Unleashing Universal Education Freedom (The LEARNS Act)
The LEARNS Act dramatically expands educational freedom in Arkansas through education freedom accounts (EFAs), while also making other improvements to Arkansas's education system via investments in teacher salaries, reforms to school safety, and more. It is without a doubt one of the broadest, boldest, most comprehensive education reforms in United States history.
Sen. Davis & Rep. Brooks
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Banning Automatic Teacher Union Dues
This legislation prevents the deduction of union fees from Arkansas's public school employees' salaries. Now, teachers interested in contributing will have to contribute directly, protecting them from a cut out of their paycheck.
Sen. Bryant & Rep. Hodges
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Curbing Special Election Abuse
This legislation limits towns and counties from scheduling special elections during low-turnout times, ensuring more Arkansans have a voice on important issues like local tax hikes. Cities and counties have notoriously hid these issues at poorly-advertised special elections, resulting in higher taxes on Arkansans.
Rep. Ray & Sen. Payton
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Increasing Unemployment Work Search Requirements
This bill requires that unemployment recipients conduct at least five job search activities per week in order to maintain eligibility for benefits, helping them to reenter the workforce more quickly. Previously, they were required to conduct only three work searches per week.
Rep. Burkes & Sen. Penzo
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Prohibiting Local Income Taxes
This bill will prohibit Arkansas cities and counties from imposing a local-level income tax on their citizens, preempting the ability of overzealous localities to claw away earnings from hardworking Arkansans.
Rep. Ray & Sen. Payton
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Restoring Peace to Our Communities (The Protect Arkansas Act)
This legislation makes numerous changes to Arkansas's criminal justice system—including by reforming the parole process, strengthening minimum sentencing times, improving victim notification requirements, reevaluating corrections training programs, and more—in order to hold violent criminals accountable and put victims first.
Sen. Gilmore & Rep. Gazaway
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Requiring Work for Able-Bodied Housing Recipients
This bill requires able-bodied adults in Arkansas's public housing programs to participate in work activities or volunteer at least part-time, helping reduce welfare dependency. This legislation is contingent upon a federal waiver.
Rep. Underwood & Sen. Gilmore
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Reducing Personal and Corporate Income Taxes
This bill cuts Arkansas's top marginal personal income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7%, and reduces Arkansas's corporate income tax rate from 5.3% to 5.1%, providing $124 million in tax relief. While we felt the legislature could have been far more aggressive with tax cuts this session, this is still a step in the right direction towards eliminating the state income tax altogether.
Sen. Dismang & Rep. Eaves
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Expanding Food Stamps for Certain Verterans
This legislation requires the Department of Human Services to seek a waiver to exclude veterans' disability income from counting for purposes of eligibility for food stamps. If approved, it will expand welfare to individuals who did not previously qualify. Even worse, the legislation included no fiscal note, so tax-payers have no indication of how much additional money it will cost.
Rep. Tosh & Sen. Wallace
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
No
Expanding the "Hollywood Handout"
This bill expands an existing special interest welfare giveaway in the form of an enhanced tax credit to the film industry financed by Arkansas taxpayers. Not only does the legislation redirect funds to special interests that do not share Arkansas’s values, it also pushes the prospect of income tax repeal further into the future by effectively spending money.
Rep. C. Fite & Sen. Dismang
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
No
Expanding Free Lunches Welfare Expansion
This legislation unnecessarily qualifies all families who currently receive reduced-price school meals for free school meals, even if the family's income is well above the federal poverty level. Previously, households from 130% to 185% of the federal poverty level qualified for reduced-price lunches. In real dollars, 185% FPL is $55,500 per year for a family of four, or more than the median Arkansas household income. They paid less than 50 cents per school meal. Now, these costs will be borne by taxpayers.
Sen. Dismang & Rep. Vaught
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
No
Prohibiting Guaranteed Income Programs
This bill prohibits any state or local entity from enacting a welfare-like guaranteed income program, preempting bureaucrats or liberal localities from increasing dependency on government at the taxpayer’s expense.
Rep. Andrews & Sen. Bryant
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes
Enhancing Sex Offender Disclosure Requirements
This legislation enhances public information with respect to sex offender registration and disclosure requirements. It will enhance public safety by increasing public awareness of sex offenders’ presence in local communities.
Rep. Ray & Sen. M. Johnson
PRO-OPPORTUNITY POSITION:
Yes