A nonprofit child advocacy group gave a mixed review today to Gov. Mike Beebe’s balanced budget proposal.

The $4.5 billion proposed budget for the next fiscal year, unveiled this morning, calls for reducing the state’s sales tax on groceries from 3 cents to 2 cents. Beebe also is proposing setting aside about $146 million from the General Improvement Fund as one-time money for state needs, including prisons, Medicaid and the Department of Human Services.

“Gov. Mike Beebe said he was committed to improving the child welfare and children’s mental health systems, and his budget priorities reflect his commitment on these issues,” said Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, in a statement.

Huddleston said investing in a rainy day fund would be critical in preventing cuts to the Department of Human Services in the event of a severe economic downturn.

“On the flip side, we are disappointed that the budget does not address two major economic issues facing working families: the lack of health care coverage and the lack of access to subsidized child care,” he said.

Huddleston also questioned whether a 1-cent cut to the grocery tax might be too large given the current economic climate. A smaller cut would allow room for tax relief targeted more toward low-income families, such as an earned-income tax credit or fixing a flaw in the state income tax that penalizes low-income single parents, he said.

Beebe said today he usually considers it bad policy to use one-time money for ongoing programs, but in this case he felt it was necessary. He made the proposal even though some advisers in his administration thought it was a bad idea, he said.

Tags: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Mike Beebe, Rich Huddleston, state budget

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