Gov. Hutchinson Opposes Grocery Tax Hike

Current Events

Today Gov. Asa Hutchinson sent a letter to the legislature’s Tax Reform and Relief Task Force expressing his opposition to increases in the grocery tax.

Under current law, the sales tax on groceries is slated to fall from 1.5% to 0.125% on January 1, 2019.

Last week the Tax Reform and Relief Task Force voted to review and discuss a plan to raise the sales tax on groceries to as high as 6%.

The task force cannot raise the grocery tax itself, but it can develop a plan to raise the tax and make recommendations to the legislature in 2019.

From 2009 – 2013 Family Council supported Governor Beebe’s effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate Arkansas’ sales tax on groceries. People shouldn’t be penalized financially for buying basic necessities like bread and milk.

Hats off to Gov. Hutchinson for opposing the grocery tax!

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These Arkansas Counties Have the Highest Abortion Rates

Abortion, , ,

Earlier this week Family Council obtained data from the Arkansas Health Department showing the number of abortions performed on women from each county in Arkansas from 2014 – 2016.

One of the ways abortion numbers are measured is the abortion rate.

The abortion rate is defined as the number of abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we calculated the abortion rate for each county in Arkansas from 2014 – 2016.

Below are the ten counties with the highest abortion rates, as of 2016.

Abortions Per 1,000 Women Ages 15 – 44
County of Residence 2016 2015 2014
JEFFERSON 12.00 14.20 13.76
PULASKI 11.48 13.43 13.52
MILLER 8.01 8.27 8.31
LITTLE RIVER 7.92 6.92 6.38
UNION 7.44 8.20 9.09
LAFAYETTE 7.35 8.11 4.30
OUACHITA 7.31 8.07 7.63
BRADLEY 7.22 7.75 5.17
LEE 6.98 5.11 10.07
DESHA 6.96 4.09 9.79

 

Below are the abortion rates for each county in Arkansas from 2014 – 2016.

Abortions Per 1,000 Women Ages 15 – 44
County of Residence 2016 2015 2014
ARKANSAS 4.88 6.06 9.62
ASHLEY 2.78 3.47 5.55
BAXTER 3.75 4.06 4.97
BENTON 3.16 3.28 3.39
BOONE 1.26 2.06 3.78
BRADLEY 7.22 7.75 5.17
CALHOUN 2.49 7.44 3.69
CARROLL 3.80 3.81 2.46
CHICOT 6.43 8.72 9.01
CLARK 3.91 4.99 5.77
CLAY 1.20 – 1.18
CLEBURNE 1.86 2.64 2.62
CLEVELAND 4.14 5.50 4.70
COLUMBIA 5.88 5.20 8.81
CONWAY 4.48 4.14 4.67
CRAIGHEAD 2.32 3.85 5.90
CRAWFORD 2.08 2.25 3.35
CRITTENDEN 2.49 8.03 12.21
CROSS 1.59 3.13 5.11
DALLAS 2.50 4.08 4.73
DESHA 6.96 4.09 9.79
DREW 6.00 6.49 9.26
FAULKNER 4.89 5.30 7.30
FRANKLIN 2.31 2.94 1.63
FULTON 1.75 3.54 3.51
GARLAND 6.76 7.72 7.65
GRANT 0.91 3.67 1.82
GREENE 0.59 1.54 2.51
HEMPSTEAD 4.53 7.51 6.37
HOT SPRING 4.87 4.63 4.98
HOWARD 4.94 6.16 9.27
INDEPENDENCE 2.47 1.88 2.46
IZARD 1.63 3.24 3.17
JACKSON 2.14 2.74 4.54
JEFFERSON 12.00 14.20 13.76
JOHNSON 2.43 1.62 2.84
LAFAYETTE 7.35 8.11 4.30
LAWRENCE 1.66 0.99 5.20
LEE 6.98 5.11 10.07
LINCOLN 2.25 3.30 5.31
LITTLE RIVER 7.92 6.92 6.38
LOGAN 1.89 2.96 2.95
LONOKE 4.45 3.98 4.40
MADISON 2.55 1.12 0.75
MARION 0.91 1.41 3.65
MILLER 8.01 8.27 8.31
MISSISSIPPI 1.19 4.15 6.64
MONROE 4.13 7.19 3.15
MONTGOMERY 3.30 3.23 3.15
NEVADA 2.93 3.56 7.61
NEWTON 2.63 1.73 1.72
OUACHITA 7.31 8.07 7.63
PERRY 2.33 3.52 3.48
PHILLIPS 6.25 6.83 10.83
PIKE 3.79 3.20 4.70
POINSETT 0.68 2.99 2.71
POLK 1.57 1.86 3.09
POPE 3.44 4.22 3.59
PRAIRIE 5.47 3.81 4.42
PULASKI 11.48 13.43 13.52
RANDOLPH 0.34 3.40 2.70
SALINE 4.82 5.80 5.80
SCOTT 1.19 2.99 2.30
SEARCY 0.83 0.85 3.44
SEBASTIAN 3.56 4.12 5.36
SEVIER 3.11 3.32 4.48
SHARP 0.40 2.85 3.62
ST FRANCIS 6.41 5.77 8.81
STONE 0.55 2.26 1.12
UNION 7.44 8.20 9.09
VAN BUREN 2.49 2.03 2.01
WASHINGTON 5.03 5.48 5.51
WHITE 2.91 3.65 3.61
WOODRUFF 2.72 2.68 6.12
YELL 2.67 5.06 3.63
STATE OF ARKANSAS 5.05 5.97 6.64

 

Below are the total number of abortions for each county in Arkansas from 2014 – 2016.

Abortions by County
County of Residence 2016 2015 2014
ARKANSAS 16 20 32
ASHLEY 10 13 21
BAXTER 21 23 28
BENTON 167 169 170
BOONE 8 13 24
BRADLEY 14 15 10
CALHOUN 2 6 3
CARROLL 17 17 11
CHICOT 11 15 16
CLARK 21 27 31
CLAY 3 – 3
CLEBURNE 7 10 10
CLEVELAND 6 8 7
COLUMBIA 30 27 46
CONWAY 16 15 17
CRAIGHEAD 53 87 132
CRAWFORD 24 26 39
CRITTENDEN 25 81 126
CROSS 5 10 16
DALLAS 3 5 6
DESHA 15 9 22
DREW 23 25 36
FAULKNER 140 151 208
FRANKLIN 7 9 5
FULTON 3 6 6
GARLAND 112 128 127
GRANT 3 12 6
GREENE 5 13 21
HEMPSTEAD 18 30 26
HOT SPRING 27 26 28
HOWARD 12 15 23
INDEPENDENCE 17 13 17
IZARD 3 6 6
JACKSON 7 9 15
JEFFERSON 157 193 189
JOHNSON 12 8 14
LAFAYETTE 8 9 5
LAWRENCE 5 3 16
LEE 9 7 14
LINCOLN 4 6 10
LITTLE RIVER 17 15 14
LOGAN 7 11 11
LONOKE 65 58 64
MADISON 7 3 2
MARION 2 3 8
MILLER 66 68 68
MISSISSIPPI 10 36 58
MONROE 5 9 4
MONTGOMERY 4 4 4
NEVADA 4 5 11
NEWTON 3 2 2
OUACHITA 30 34 33
PERRY 4 6 6
PHILLIPS 22 25 41
PIKE 7 6 9
POINSETT 3 13 12
POLK 5 6 10
POPE 45 55 47
PRAIRIE 7 5 6
PULASKI 930 1,092 1,105
RANDOLPH 1 10 8
ST FRANCIS 27 25 39
SALINE 108 129 128
SCOTT 2 5 4
SEARCY 1 1 4
SEBASTIAN 89 103 133
SEVIER 10 11 15
SHARP 1 7 9
STONE 1 4 2
UNION 53 59 66
VAN BUREN 6 5 5
WASHINGTON 263 282 278
WHITE 47 59 58
WOODRUFF 3 3 7
YELL 10 19 14
UNKNOWN 8 11 –
Total 2,919 3,454 3,827

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Arkansas’ U.S. Senators, Congressmen Want to De-Fund Planned Parenthood

Abortion, , ,

On Monday Arkansas U.S. Senators John Boozman (R) and Tom Cotton (R) and Congressmen Rick Crawford (R — AR Dist. 1) and Bruce Westerman (R — AR Dist. 4) joined 190 of their colleagues in calling for the U.S. government to stop giving taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood.

The congressmen cited a recent report that found Planned Parenthood received hundreds of millions of dollars in public dollars even while the organization has been under investigation for harvesting and selling the organs of aborted babies.

Arkansans are fortunate to have pro-life lawmakers representing them at both the state and federal levels.

Last year the Arkansas Legislature passed a record-number of good, pro-life laws that have helped make Arkansas the second-most pro-life state in America.

In October Congressmen Crawford, Hill, Womack, and Westerman helped pass a landmark bill that prohibited most abortions in America after the twentieth week of pregnancy.

Senators Boozman and Cotton co-sponsored similar legislation in the U.S. Senate, but the senate failed to pass that bill.

Read the letter from Congress here.

Read the letter from the U.S. Senate here.

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