State Could Begin Accepting Grant Applications from Pregnancy Centers Next Month

Abortion, Pro-Life, , , ,

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration recently announced it expects applications for the 2023 Pregnancy Help Organizations Grant Program to open next month.

In April, Gov. Sanders signed Act 622 of 2023 authorizing $1 million in state-funded grants for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

Under Act 622, the Department of Finance and Administration distributes this grant funding to eligible organizations that provide women and families with alternatives to abortion. In a recent announcement, the agency wrote,

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) will be seeking applications for funding from organizations eligible to apply under the Pregnancy Help Organizations (PHOs) Grant Program.  This grant program was established for the purpose of encouraging females facing unwanted pregnancy to give birth to their unborn child. DFA is the designated state entity to administer the PHO Grant Program in accordance with Act 622 of 2023. Pregnancy Resource Center Grant | Department of Finance and Administration (Arkansas.gov).

Once preliminary procedures are completed in accordance with state law, DFA will open the Request for Applications. 

The anticipated opening date is mid October.  Announcements will be posted on our website at the link above. 

Since the 2022 Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade, state legislatures around the country have ramped up state funding for pregnancy help organizations.

For example, Ohio recently raised its state budget for pregnancy resource centers to $14 million per biennium.

In Tennessee, legislators appropriated $20 million for pro-life organizations that provide alternatives to abortion. Florida’s state budget allocates $30 million pregnancy help organizations.

The Texas Legislature budgets $50 million per year to its abortion alternatives program.

And Kansas — where some 405 women from Arkansas had abortions in 2022 — will provide $2 million to pregnancy centers in the coming months.

In June the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration finished awarding $1 million in grant funds to pregnancy help organizations as part of the 2022-2023 budget cycle. Now the state is preparing to award another million dollars by June 30, 2024. This grant funding will support women with unplanned pregnancies and help build a culture of life in Arkansas. That’s something to celebrate.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Federal Judge Blocks State from Enforcing Delta-8 Ban for Now

Marijuana,

Last week U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the State of Arkansas’ ban on Delta-8 THC.

Delta-8 THC is a mind-altering substance made from cannabis, and health experts increasingly warn the drug poses serious risks.

For example, from December 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, the FDA documented 104 “adverse event reports” concerning Delta-8 THC — including hallucinations, vomiting, tremors, anxiety, dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness. National poison control centers also received 2,362 Delta-8 THC calls — most of which required evaluation at a healthcare facility. Eight percent of these calls resulted in admission to a critical care unit, and one child reportedly died as a result of exposure to Delta-8 THC.

Arkansas has virtually no meaningful restrictions on Delta-8 THC. That’s why earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 629 of 2023 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould). This good law prevents Delta-8 THC from being manufactured via industrial hemp — or cannabis — in Arkansas.

The law also places Delta-8, Delta-9, Delta-10 THC, and other psychoactive drugs made from industrial hemp on the list of controlled substances in state law, and it contains language enacting drug restrictions that would take effect if a state or federal court someday blocked Arkansas from prohibiting Delta-8 altogether.

However, a group of companies that profit from Delta-8 THC are suing to block Act 629 in federal court.

Judge Wilson’s ruling issued last week blocks the state from enforcing Act 629 for the time being, and it schedules the lawsuit over Act 629 to go to trial a little less than a year from now — on August 27, 2024.

It should not come as any surprise that companies who profit from Delta-8 THC in Arkansas are suing to keep Delta-8 legal.

Act 629 of 2023 is a good law that protects Arkansans from dangerous drugs. We believe courts ultimately will recognize that fact and let the state enforce it.

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Here are the Bills Lawmakers Have Passed at the Special Session

Legislature

State legislators have been in Little Rock for a special session this week.

Below is a brief overview of legislation that has advanced through the capitol so far.

Income Tax Legislation

The Arkansas Legislature passed S.B. 8 by Sen. Jonathan Dismang and Rep. Les Eaves reducing income tax rates for individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations.

S.B. 8 does the following:

  • Amends income taxes for residents, individuals, trusts, and estates whose net income is less than or equal to $87,000.
    • Those who earn $0 – $5,099 pay 0% income tax.
    • Those who earn $5,100 to $10,299 pay 2% income tax.
    • Those who earn $10,300 to $14,699 pay 3% income tax.
    • Those who earn $14,700 to $24,299 pay 3.4% income tax.
    • Those who earn $24,300 to $87,000 pay 4.4% income tax.
  • Amends income tax bracket adjustment amounts for those whose net income is $87,001 – $90,800.
  • Amends the tax on corporate net income.
  • Amends the tax on net income for foreign corporations doing business in Arkansas.
  • Creates income tax credits for individual Arkansas residents whose net income is less than $103,600.
  • Creates income tax credits for residents filing a joint tax return whose net income is less than $207,200.

Budgeting Surplus State Funds

The Arkansas Legislature has passed S.B. 1 and H.B. 1004 by Sen. Jimmy Hickey and Rep. Lane Jean. The bills budget $710,612,508 for a special sub-fund within the state’s Restricted Reserve Fund.

This money may be used from time to time for general revenue operating funds or fund accounts, the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, and the State Central Services Fund.

These funds may be transferred upon approval of the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State and a ⅔ vote of the Joint Budget Committee or the Legislative Council committee.

COVID Mandates

The Arkansas Legislature passed H.B. 1002 and S.B. 3 by Sen. Joshua Bryant and Rep. Howard Beaty prohibiting the government from mandating vaccinations for COVID-19 and its subvariants.

These bills prohibit the state and its agencies from coercing individuals in any way for refusing to receive a vaccine or immunization for COVID-19 or its subvariants.

If a state official determines federal funding requirements make it is necessary for an individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the state official must ask Legislative Council for approval to require the individual to be vaccinated before mandating the vaccine.

These bills would apply to the state, a state agency or entity, a political subdivision of the state, or a state or local official.

Freedom of Information Act Legislation

Lawmakers passed S.B. 10 by Sen. Bart Hester and Rep. David Ray exempting the following from disclosure under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act of 1967:

  • Communications concerning the governor’s security detail;
  • Records that reflect the planning or provision of security for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, land commissioner, legislators, supreme court justices, or judges on the court of appeals.

The bill requires the Executive Protection Detail to give lawmakers a quarterly expense report that categorizes the expenses for the governor’s security.

Public School Safety

Legislators passed S.B. 4 and H.B. 1005 by Sen. Jane English and Rep. Brian Evans clarifying that public schools are not required to keep all their doors and exits unlocked during school hours.

Education Funding for Students With Disabilities

Lawmakers passed S.B. 5 by Sen. Breanne Davis and Rep. Sonia Barker addressing how students with disabilities receive educational services and access to additional funding under the state’s Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program Act, the Succeed Scholarship Program, and the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program.

Felony Sentencing

The General Assembly passed H.B. 1006 and S.B. 6 by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway and Sen. Ben Gilmore clarifying that criminals convicted of certain egregious felony offenses involving a firearm are not eligible for early release or parole.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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