Poor Gov. Asa Hutchinson. He just set up his biggest legacy hurdle on himself.
Fresh from what our Republican governor sees as a really great legislative session, he went and undid all his future chances of a real "legacy session," by "putting on a brag."
Maybe his words to the Arkansas Bankers Association were a bit overboard one might think until he reads the actual quotes in the statewide daily.
There was no doubt about it.
The governor was putting on a brag about the recent legislative session being the "greatest of all time," to use the same sports metaphor the state's chief executive used in front of a faithful house of moneychangers.
And to add insult to the "brag," Hutchinson, who seems to be less than a serious student of history and political history as well, challenged the state's historians to find a better legislative session than the one that just ended down in Little Rock.
It didn't take long for the historians to put the brakes on the governor's brag.
At first, a trio of historians, said for the record, the governor was being a little bit premature. And most importantly, a couple of them urged caution as to let history and a little more than days pass before making such a broad prediction.
The governor and his supporters will, of course, have some room to make this prediction. He and others are citing four major advancements made in the 92nd General Assembly.
There was an increase in teacher pay, cutting the state's top individual tax rates, trimming the number of state agencies from 42 to 15 and, lastly, raising $95 million a year for state highways. Not a bad start for a Republican administration!
But there were, for the record, some downsides to the session as well.
The $95 million for highways is not a done deal. Voter approval is still needed for a proposed Constitutional Amendment to permanently extend a half-cent sales tax for highways.
There was no action on a bill to de-emphasize a 1920's definition of one of the stars on the state's flag in defense of the noble cause of the South. There were more laws passed about punishment for "sanctuary cities" in Arkansas, although no such moniker or protections are currently in place. There were some other matters, which could add to Asa's "brag," but he left them unsaid, especially the law allowing DACA-trained students to take the state boards of nursing care and allowing DACA students, who grew up and live in Arkansas to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities.
The historians' take on Hutchinson's challenge was swift and, well, academic to his off-the-cuff remark about being the best legislative session ever.
Locally, Janine Parry, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, who also directs the Arkansas Poll, said, "I would say it is an impossible thing to measure. A social scientist would tell you there is no universal criterion to compare one session to the other," she said.
Jay Barth, a political science professor at Hendrix College, said it's too early to determine whether this year's regular session ranks as the greatest of all time because the long-term ramifications of the actions need to be weighed.
Art English, a retired political science professor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said he disagreed with Hutchinson's assessment.
"No, I don't think it was the greatest session ever," he said.
Now, all the while Hutchinson seems to have forgotten one little item, 135 other people were involved, deeply involved in this session: the state senators and state representatives.
Yes, the governor, to a degree, sets the tone and direction for the session but he alone cannot make it happen; that is the job of the lawmakers.
Brag or not, the legislature made it happen.
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Maylon Rice is a former journalist who worked for several northwest Arkansas publications. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 04/24/2019