By Zach Burt The Occupational Licensing Review Subcommittee recently began its second-ever round of license reviews since its creation in 2019. Representatives from the Department of Labor and Licensing and the Department of Agriculture presented arguments to the committee about the importance of licensing abstracters, plant breeders, industrial hemp growers, and agricultural seed dealers/labelers. On […]
How to Curb Corruption
By Caleb Taylor How can local governments discourage corruption among public officials? Create more systems that provide for checks and balances, says ACRE Policy Analyst Joyce Ajayi in “Curb temptation” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on July 16. Ajayi writes: In his book “Principles of Fraud Examination,” Joseph Wells, the founder and chairman of the […]
Occupational Licensing Successes and Shortcomings in 2021
By Alex Kanode The 2021 legislative session saw many changes concerning licensing of occupations in Arkansas. The Red Tape Reduction Working Group released a 2018 report stating that there were 704,141 occupational licenses in Arkansas. That amounted to 52 percent of the state’s labor force at the time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, […]
Reducing Arkansas’s Income Tax Rate To Zero
By Caleb Taylor Can Arkansas reduce its income tax burden to zero? ACRE Scholar and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl outlines how Arkansas can accomplish gradually reducing its income tax rate to zero percent in “Getting to zero” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on June 28th. Horpedahl writes that gradually reducing the […]
ACRE Expert Discusses Recent Changes to Civil Asset Forfeiture
By Caleb Taylor What changes to civil asset forfeiture in Arkansas were made during the recent legislative session? ACRE Research and Program Assistant Zach Burt analyzed “The Arkansas Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2021,” also known as Act 1023 in “Need better law” in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on June 5th. Burt defines civil asset […]
Horpedahl To Speak at Conway Noon Lions Club
By Caleb Taylor How has the pandemic affected the local economy? ACRE Scholar and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl will discuss the latest economic data on Conway and Faulkner County as an invited guest speaker of the Conway Noon Lions Club at the Hole In the Wall Cafe at noon on Tuesday, […]
Arkansas Policy Recommendations: Procurement Transparency
By Caleb Taylor How can Arkansas counties and school districts improve their procurement transparency? In their latest research, “Arkansas Policy Recommendations: Procurement Transparency,” ACRE Policy Analysts Joyce Ajayi and Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discuss how counties and school districts can improve the web transparency of their finances. Ajayi and Kalulu begin by noting that “Arkansas has […]
ACRE Director Discusses Legislative Session
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Director and UCA Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell joined Americans for Prosperity-Arkansas on May 20th to discuss some of ACRE’s work in the recent legislative session. Mitchell said ACRE experts speak to legislators and community groups “to show what the data actually shows on a variety of issues.” Mitchell said: […]
Arkansas Policy Recommendations: Elected Officials’ Salaries Transparency
By Caleb Taylor How many county governments publish the salaries of their elected officials? In their latest research, “Elected Officials’ Salaries Transparency,” ACRE Policy Analysts Joyce Ajayi and Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discuss this and ways county governments can improve their online transparency. Ajayi and Kalulu begin by noting that only two counties in Arkansas publish […]
Improve Economic Opportunities by Ending Fee-Only Licenses
By Caleb Taylor Should Arkansas eliminate many fee-only licenses? The 2019 Arkansas Legislature passed Act 600, mandating sunset reviews of every licensed occupation in Arkansas. “Occupational Licensing and Arkansas’s Act 600,” by ACRE Policy Analyst Alex Kanode discusses the reforms and missed opportunities of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Occupational Licensing Review Subcommittee’s first round of […]