KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas’ 2024 fiscal session, which was initially projected to end this week, is now expected to end May 2 or possibly the following week, House Speaker Matthew Shepherd said Thursday.

During the final days of the session, the Legislature will pass the fiscal year 2025 budget, also known as the Revenue Stabilization Act. The Joint Budget Committee started considering the legislation Thursday morning.

The documents on lawmakers’ desks are similar to what Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposed in March for the $6.3 billion general revenue budget, with a projected surplus of nearly $377 million. The proposed 1.76% increase of $109 million compared to the current fiscal year would be a significantly smaller increase than previous years’ budgets.

Arkansas lawmakers propose amendments as passage of fiscal 2025 budget nears