LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Friday that she plans to veto multiple bills that she deems to be "duplicative" and "unnecessary" for the state.
The governor pinpoints four different bills as areas of concern, with the first of the group being Senate Bill 509 (SB509), which deals with stipends for members of state boards.
Gov. Sanders plans to veto SB509 as she feels that it's a way to prevent "government waste" of tax dollars, as the stipend is set to increase which puts more pressure on taxpayers.
"As Governor, I made a commitment to the State of Arkansas that I would look for ways to reduce government waste and ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely. Elected officials have a responsibility to eliminate unnecessary spending at every level of state government," Gov. Sanders said in the press release.
The second of the four bills is House Bill 1176 (HB1176), which deals with pandemic related expenses.
With the vetoing of HB1176, Gov. Sanders said that she plans to continue to overturn existing executive orders related to the COVID pandemic, which she describes as being "over."
"During my first days in office, I terminated several existing Executive Orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe in freedom and personal responsibility – not COVID mandates or shutdowns," the governor said.
The third of the four bills that the governor plans to veto is House Bill 1189 (HB1189) which aims to create a state-based behavior analyst license.
The governor plans to veto HB1189 as she feels that it creates a regulation for behavior analysts in Arkansas that's "unnecessary" and "overburdensome." Gov. Sanders believes this bill would just create additional fees and wouldn't benefit the public.
"Behavior Analysts are already certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and are subject to regulation. Creating duplicative licenses with new fees attached is additional red tape that does not ensure additional protections for the public," Gov. Sanders said.
The final of the four bills that the governor plans to veto is House Bill 1622 (HB1622), which aims to create a Heart Attack Task Force.
The governor said that she plans to veto HB1622, as it's "duplicative" of other programs that already exist in the state.
"This program is duplicative of pre-existing programs in the State of Arkansas, which exists with the Arkansas STEMI Advisory Council, currently housed in the Arkansas Department of Health," Gov. Sanders said.