Arkansas governor urges school voucher, law enforcement funding boosts in State of State

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders gives her State of the State address in the House of Representatives chamber at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (Photo by Katie Adkins/Arkansas Advocate)

Sanders says she’ll call special session on tax cuts if budget priorities pass

By Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on state lawmakers during Wednesday’s State of the State address to think of everyday Arkansans as they consider approving her proposed budget that includes funding boosts for school vouchers and law enforcement.

During a nearly hourlong speech to the House and the Senate, Sanders didn’t mention a prison project that’s drawn sharp opposition and said she’s preparing to call lawmakers into a special session to take up an income tax cut.

The General Assembly will consider Sanders’ proposal for a nearly $6.7 billion budget during the month-long fiscal session that began Wednesday.

The proposed budget increases spending by 3% and includes up to $370 million for the state’s school voucher program, which opened to all K-12 students last year after being phased in over three years with increasing eligibility.

More than 44,000 students are currently participating in the Educational Freedom Account program, which was created under the LEARNS Act in 2023. Over 42,000 students have applied for next year when participants will receive up to $7,208 for allowable education expenses, such as private school tuition, tutoring and laptops.

During Wednesday’s address, Sanders again argued that the program helps families access schools that best fit their children’s educational needs and cited examples of families she said have benefitted.

“When you send me a budget, think of Kevin, think of Melissa, think of Ali and think of the 44,000 other EFA students whose lives have been forever changed because we fully fund the LEARNS Act, Sanders said. “We will not let them down.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns about the program’s rising cost and what programs would be cut from the state budget to make room for the vouchers.

Though education makes up the largest portion of this year’s budget request, Sanders said she’s also focused on supporting law enforcement. The budget proposes $53.4 million for the new state employee pay plan, with the majority supporting raises for corrections officers and state troopers.

“In 2024, I announced a new state employee pay plan to give our heroes in law enforcement and our corrections officers the raises that they deserve,” she said. “In this year’s budget, we are fully funding that commitment.”

Sanders also touted laws passed during her first term that she said gives law enforcement the tools they need to do their job and protect Arkansans.

“We put a law and order and rehabilitation-focused majority on the Board of Corrections, we ensured the most violent criminals serve their full sentence, we’ve opened 1,500 new beds at existing prison facilities, and we created a recidivism pilot program to get inmates back in the workforce and kept off the streets once they’ve served their time,” Sanders said.

Sanders did not mention a proposed 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County that’s faced resistance inside and outside of the Capitol. An appropriation bill for the project stalled in the Senate last year, and legislative leaders have said they don’t expect a debate over prison funding during the fiscal session.

Local officials and residents said they were blindsided by the governor’s announcement of the project in 2024. Lawmakers last year failed to approve a $750 million appropriation bill for the project.

Sanders also called for “holding the line” on government expansion and promised to call a special session to cut income taxes for the fourth time in four years, if lawmakers do so.

“This will allow us to immediately cut taxes by another two-tenths of a point and return more than $180 million to taxpayers this year,” Sanders said. “When we do this, together we will have cut 25% off of our state income tax in just four years and given back more than $1.5 billion to our people.”

Americans for Prosperity Arkansas praised Sanders for “prioritizing responsible budgeting” at a time when affordability is top of mind for Arkansans.

“Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has demonstrated transformational leadership for the people of Arkansas—expanding educational freedom and strengthening the state’s economy,” state director Ryan Norris said in a statement. “As we enter the fiscal session, there is a clear opportunity to build on that record by reining in spending and ensuring government lives within its means.”

In the Democrats’ response to Sanders’ address, the party’s gubernatorial candidate Sen. Fred Love criticized her plans to increase funding for the school voucher program and cut taxes.

“Every time we cut the top rate for millionaires and billionaires, it gets harder to fund schools, childcare, healthcare and services for our seniors,” Love said. “That’s the trade-off Republicans don’t want you to see.”

Legislative leaders have said they expect the governor to call a special session to cut taxes immediately following the end of the fiscal session.

Fiscal sessions last up to 30 days, though lawmakers can extend it another 15 days beyond that with a three-fourths vote in each chamber.

The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy.