It’s Thursday, May 22nd. This is your Free News Arkansas Daily Briefing — where we skip the fluff, skip the spin, and just break down what’s actually going on in Arkansas today. Let’s get into it.
Arkansas has trimmed its expected revenue surplus for the current fiscal year. The Department of Finance and Administration now projects a $214.8 million surplus for fiscal year 2025, down from the earlier $278.6 million estimate. The drop is mostly due to the extension of tax filing deadlines after recent storms, which means some revenue will now fall into next year’s budget.
The surplus projection for fiscal 2026 has also been reduced — from nearly $300 million to about $185 million — and Finance Secretary Jim Hudson says that’s tied in part to uncertainty around potential tariffs under former President Donald Trump’s trade policy.
“I don’t think that we actually have a lot of negative effects from tariffs,” Hudson said. “I think we have the perception of what the effects could be… There is this sense of volatility.”
Still, Hudson noted that Arkansas’s agricultural sector could benefit if new trade deals materialize — particularly with China, the U.K., or India.
Even with the revised numbers, the state expects to fully fund education, corrections, and other major programs, and Arkansas recently received a credit rating bump to AA+ from S&P, its highest since 1966.
As for whether another special session on tax cuts could happen later this year? The governor’s office says all options are on the table. But legislative leaders like Sen. Jonathan Dismang and Rep. Lane Jean say they’re not expecting a special session at this time.
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The Arkansas Supreme Court has reinstated a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Tim Griffin against the state Board of Corrections, sending it back to Pulaski County Circuit Court for further proceedings.
The case centers on whether the Board violated Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by hiring private legal counsel — attorney Abtin Mehdizadegan — during a closed executive session, and whether it failed to properly respond to a FOIA request from the Attorney General’s office.
The lawsuit was dismissed last year by Judge Tim Fox, who ordered Griffin’s office to “reach an accommodation” with the board to ensure it had legal representation. When no agreement was reached, Fox dismissed the case.
But the Supreme Court disagreed, stating that Griffin could not legally comply with the judge’s order because it would have required the Attorney General to authorize or legitimize the board’s outside legal counsel, which he believed was unlawful under Arkansas statutes.
Justice Rhonda Wood, writing for the majority, said:
“On appeal, we hold that the Attorney General could not legally comply with the order. We accordingly reverse the order of dismissal and remand for further proceedings.”
The issue has deeper roots. Back in April 2024, the Joint Performance Review Committee (JPR) voted to support the Attorney General’s position, determining that the Board of Corrections did not have authority to hire outside legal counsel under state law. The board had also filed a separate lawsuit in December, claiming that Governor Sanders and Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri were bypassing the board’s authority using statutory loopholes.
In response to Thursday’s decision, Griffin said:
“I sued the Board of Corrections to defend our Freedom of Information Act. I am thankful for today's Arkansas Supreme Court decision, which will allow that lawsuit to go forward. I take defending the FOIA seriously, and I will not tolerate those who violate it.”
The case now returns to circuit court, where the question of whether the board violated Arkansas’ open government laws will be litigated in full.
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A federal judge has ordered Crawford County and the State of Arkansas to pay more than $441,000 in attorney fees and legal costs after losing a lawsuit over Arkansas Act 372, a 2023 law that sought to criminalize librarians and booksellers for providing minors access to certain materials.
The lawsuit was filed in June 2023 by a coalition of 17 plaintiffs, including the Fayetteville Public Library, the Central Arkansas Library System, independent booksellers, and civil liberties organizations. They challenged two key sections of the law:
The plaintiffs argued the law was vague and unconstitutional — and that it would chill access to protected speech and expose librarians to prosecution for simply doing their jobs.
In December 2023, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued a summary judgment in their favor. In legal terms, a summary judgment means the court ruled without going to trial because the facts were not in dispute and the law clearly favored one side. Judge Brooks ruled that both challenged sections violated the First Amendment and issued a permanent injunction, blocking enforcement of those parts of the law.
Then on Wednesday, Judge Brooks ruled that the state and Crawford County must cover the legal bills for the plaintiffs — totaling $441,646, including $435,275 in attorney fees and $6,371 in costs. The judge held them jointly and severally liable, meaning either party could be required to pay the full amount.
Crawford County had argued the state should bear the full financial responsibility since the Legislature passed the law and the county never enforced it. But the judge rejected that, pointing out that Crawford County chose to hire separate counsel and filed multiple legal motions that contributed to the overall cost.
This isn’t the first time Crawford County’s library policies have landed them in court. In a separate 2023 lawsuit, the county was ordered to pay nearly $113,000 after a federal judge found that the county had violated the First Amendment by segregating LGBTQ-themed books in a “social issues” section of the library following public complaints.
That case also involved pressure from the Crawford County Quorum Court, which had leaned on library leaders to move certain titles — particularly those in the children’s section — based on content.
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The State Board of Election Commissioners issued strong sanctions decertifying all three members of an unnamed county election commission after investigating complaints tied to last year’s general election. The commission didn’t name the county, but the board said it would be closely involved in that area’s election operations moving forward.
Among the violations: unauthorized changes to voter addresses, intimidation of poll watchers, and delayed delivery of provisional ballots.
The election reviews are allowed under state law in the year following a general election and are meant to evaluate both voter registration practices and the accuracy of results.
It also reprimanded Pulaski County Clerk Terri Hollingsworth because a deputy clerk changes the street addresses of 132 voters without authorization. The error was caught but not before 4 voters had cast the wrong ballots.Â
Izard County will also be the subject of an election integrity review, but no reason was given at the meeting.
A bench trial is scheduled to begin today in Pulaski County Circuit Court over the removal of a Confederate statue from MacArthur Park in 2020.
Attorney Joey McCutchen is representing a local resident who says the city violated Act 1003, a state law passed in 2021 that restricts the removal of historical monuments. The city argues the law doesn’t apply because the statue was removed before the act was passed — and because the city already resolved the issue in a 2020 settlement with the state, including a $45,000 payment to support a statue of civil rights leader Daisy Bates.
The outcome could set a precedent for future monument-related disputes across the state.
The Carroll County Quorum Court voted this week to adopt a five-year moratorium on new commercial wind and solar energy projects. The decision follows years of debate over the Nimbus Wind Project, a 30-turbine installation currently under construction near Green Forest by Scout Clean Energy.Â
The moratorium doesn’t affect that project but blocks any expansion or new projects during the five-year window. It does limit the Scout project from expanding beyond its current 30-turbine plans. Those turbines will be about 600 feet tall.Â
Supporters of the ordinance say they want time to develop appropriate regulations and prevent future conflicts between residents and developers.
The ordinance passed unanimously and takes effect immediately. Madison County became the first county in December to pass a moratorium on wind farms.
That’s it for today’s Free News Arkansas — real news, no filters, no lectures. Just what’s happening around the state and why it matters.
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