by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)
All 29 Arkansas Democratic legislators have signed an open letter addressed to Arkansas teachers and support staff calling for increasing their pay in the upcoming legislative session, but a spokesperson for Gov. Asa Hutchinson said not enough support yet exists for including it in the call.
The letter was signed by all seven Democratic senators and by all 22 Democratic representatives and released publicly Monday (July 18). There are 27 Republicans and one independent in the Senate and 88 Republican House members.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has announced he is calling legislators into special session Aug. 8. The primary reason is accelerating already approved tax cuts and to pass new ones with the state’s budget surplus this year totaling $1.628 billion.
