One state senator found humor in the budget squabbles of Arkansas’ first ever fiscal session.

Term-limited state Sen. Terry Smith of Hot Springs took a jovial jab at Gov. Mike Beebe in a poem he read to Senate colleagues today on what likely was the final day of the three-week session.

Patterned after “The Night Before Christmas,” Smith’s poem recalled when Beebe was in the state Senate in 1997 and supported taking away the governor’s authority to distribute all General Improvement Fund money.

“That is until now, the historic fiscal session, when Beebe the king tried to corner the action,” Smith’ poem read. “He says he’ll give presents to good girls and boys but in order to do so, he needs all the toys.”

The senator was referring to Beebe’s recommendation to use $9 million of surplus money set aside to fund projects in legislators’ districts to plug holes in the state budget through the rest of the fiscal year.

“So shovel your coal, throw your luggage on board and tell folks back home that their ox was gored,” Smith read. “It was sacrificed for Beebe — the best gov in the nation and forget local projects, that train’s left the station.”

Beebe later visited the Senate floor and asked Smith for a signed copy of the poem.

“That was clever, and cute,” Beebe told reporters later, although he did not withdraw his threat to veto the Legislature’s use of money from other state funds to cover some of the state needs Beebe wants to pay for out of lawmakers’ local projects fund.

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