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<title>Senate Newsroom : Senate Weekly Session Updates</title>
<description>News Releases from the Senate Newsroom</description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/files/weeklyreview.xml</link>
<language>en-us</language>
<copyright>2009 Information Network of Arkansas</copyright>
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<pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:32:55 -0600</pubDate>
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<item>
<title><![CDATA[Career Counselors to Help Grads Plan Life After High School ]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK -  Beginning in January, high school guidance counselors in 58 Arkansas school districts will get a helping hand from career coaches.
Technically the career coaches will be employees of local two-year colleges. They will work at high schools in 21 Arkansas counties with high unemployment, or where relatively few high school graduates go on to college.
Some of the career coaches wi...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=200</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator Larry Teague Honored by Arkansas Hospital Association]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[November 16, 2009

For information call 501-682-5954

Senator Larry Teague of Nashville has received the 2009 Statesmanship Award from the Arkansas Hospital Association in recognition of his work during the 2009 legislative session to help rural hospitals.

Teague was the lead sponsor of Act 562 of 2009, which will provide an estimated $105 million to $110 million a year in additional Medica...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=199</link>
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<pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Prison Board Puts Off Opening of Malvern Unit]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - The state Board of Correction has imposed $6.3 million in spending cuts, which will postpone the opening of a unit for inmates with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities.
Construction of the special needs unit in Malvern is very close to completion, but the budget cuts will force the delay of its opening until the department has enough funding to pay salaries and continu...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=198</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Arkansas to Honor Veterans]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - About 260,000 veterans of the Armed Forces live in Arkansas and 50,136 veterans or their spouses receive disability compensation or pension payments.
Veterans Day, a state holiday will be commemorated next week in numerous locations across the state as Arkansans gather to honor the men and women who have served their country. According to the American Legion, an organization of ve...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=197</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[State Budget Reduced by 2.2 Percent]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[October 23, 2009
LITTLE ROCK - State government's budget for the current fiscal year has been cut 2.2 percent because tax revenue has slowed during the current economic recession.
The cuts amount to almost $100 million. After the cuts, the state's general revenue fund for this fiscal year will total an estimated $4.4 billion.
Funding for prisons, State Police operations and community health ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=196</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Arkansas Students Score Close to National Average on Math Tests]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas students scored close to the national average in mathematics on a nationwide standardized test.
A randomly chosen group of about 10,000 fourth and eighth graders in Arkansas took the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The national average for fourth graders was a score of 240 out of 500. Arkansas fourth graders scored 238. The national average for eighth ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=195</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Sen. Jeffress and Rep. Shelby Honored During Teen Driver Safety Week]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Senator Jimmy Jeffress of Crossett was honored Monday by the Arkansans for Graduated Drivers Licensing Coalition in appreciation of his sponsorship of Act 394 of 2009.

The act restricts teenagers from driving after 11 p.m. and prohibits them from using a cell phone while they're behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

Representative Gene Shelby of Hot Springs, the lead House sponsor of Act 394,...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=194</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[AEDC Reports on Job Creation Efforts]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Last year the Arkansas Economic Development Commission signed incentive contracts with 95 companies that will create almost 7,000 jobs.
Total investment for the 95 projects will be more than $1.7 billion, a healthy increase over the previous year when new investments amounted to $1.58 billion. The new jobs created by the projects will pay hourly wages of $14.74, on average. That i...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=193</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Ban on Text Messaging While Driving Now in Effect]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK -  It is now illegal to text message while driving a motor vehicle on Arkansas roads and highways.
The new law that prohibits driving while text messaging is Act 181 of 2009, which took effect on October 1.
Arkansas is now one of the nineteen states that prohibit all drivers from texting. Several other states prohibit teenaged drivers or bus drivers from texting while they're beh...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=192</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator David Wyatt to be Vice Chairman of Transportation Committee]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[LITTLE ROCK - Senator David Wyatt of Batesville has become vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs.
Wyatt was appointed by Senator John Paul Capps of Searcy, the chairman. The vacancy occurred because the previous vice chairman resigned from the Senate.
The committee considers legislation affecting roads, bridges and highways, airports and comm...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=191</link>
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<pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator Key to Chair Academic Facilities Oversight Committee]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[LITTLE ROCK - Senator Johnny Key of Mountain Home has been named co-chairman of the Academic Facilities Oversight Committee.
The state distributes funding to local school districts for upgrading facilities. The state aid keeps the state in compliance with the state Constitution, which requires the state to provide an adequate and equitable education to all students.
In the 2007 regular session t...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=190</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator Bryles Honored by Arkansas Archeological Society]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Caption: Dr. Claudine Payne (left) and Mr. Marion Haynes of the Arkansas Archeological Survey's Research Station in Blytheville present the Charles McGimsey Preservation Award of the Arkansas Archeological Society to Senator Steve Bryles (center).

Senator Steve Bryles received the Charles R. McGimsey Preservation Award from the
Arkansas Archeological Society at its annual meeting in Eureka S...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=188</link>
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<pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Arkansas Execution Protocol Under Federal Court Review]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK -  A three-judge panel of the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis last week heard arguments for and against the constitutionality of methods used in Arkansas to execute inmates.
Attorneys for four Arkansas inmates on death row argued that the procedures for lethal injections could cause severe pain, in violation of constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=187</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator Faris to Chair Water Quality Task Forces]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Senator Steve Faris of Malvern has been appointed co-chairman of two newly-created task forces charged with protecting the quality of drinking water.

Senator Bob Johnson of Bigelow, President Pro Tem of the Senate, named Faris co-chairman of the Legislative Task Force on Water Quality, which was created by Act 1184 of 2009, and the Task Force on Water Source Protection, which was created by Act...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=186</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Retired Teachers Get One-Time Compounded COLA]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK -  Retired teachers recently got an average increase of $51 a month in benefits, thanks to a resolution passed by the Board of Retired of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.
The increase results from the board's voting to compound the annual cost of living adjustment for this year. The amount of the increase in the COLA will differ among individuals, depending on their final ave...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=185</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator Salmon to Co-Chair Arkansas History Task Force]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[September 9, 2009

Senator Mary Anne Salmon of North Little Rock has been named co-chairman of the Legislative Task Force on Arkansas History.
Representative Rick Saunders of Hot Springs will be the House co-chairman.
The task force was created by Act 1462 of 2009. Its duties are to assess how well public schools are teaching Arkansas history, gauge whether they need better instructional mater...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=184</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator Baker Honored by National Guard Association ]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Cutline information: Senator Gilbert Baker of Conway (center) accepts the Patrick Henry Award from Major General Tod M. Bunting, chairman of the National Guard Association of the United States (left) and Colonel Murray Hansen, awards committee chairman.

September 14, 2009
For information call 501-682-5954

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE -- Senator Gilbert Baker of Conway has received the Patrick Henry...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=182</link>
<enclosure url="" length="1" type="application/octet-stream"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Credit Scores Probably Affect Your Insurance Premiums]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Consumers' credit scores influence the premiums they pay for most of the insurance policies written in Arkansas for motor vehicles and homes.
In the past 12 months,  almost half the people who bought car insurance got lower premiums because of  their good credit scores. More than a third of those who bought homeowners insurance had lower premiums because of good credit.
The legi...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=181</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Look for this Brand: "Arkansas Grown" ]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Many farmers use sophisticated machinery to grow their crops and modern communications technology to market them.
In a sign of the times, a new Internet web site has gone on line whose purpose is to help Arkansans find locally grown products from Arkansas. The other benefit is to help Arkansas farmers tap into the market of Arkansas food shoppers.
ArkansasGrown.org is the web si...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=180</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Legislators Look for End to Pulaski County Desegregation Case]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - The outcome of the Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit is important to every school district in Arkansas for financial reasons.
This year more than $67 million in state funding is obligated to the three districts in Pulaski County. Since a 1989 settlement of the case, in which the state agreed to pay for desegregation efforts in the county, the state has provided $919 mill...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=179</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[More Staff, Training to Improve Child Welfare System ]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Earlier this year the legislature approved additional resources for the state child welfare system. The governor ordered a top-to-bottom review of the agencies that provide services for children from broken families.
The review is now complete, and the state Division of Children and Family Services is hiring additional employees so that they will not have unmanageably large case ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=178</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Percentage of High School Graduates Going to College Drops]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Last year 28,295 seniors graduated from Arkansas high schools and 63.4 percent of them went on to attend an Arkansas college or university in the fall.
That percentage is slightly lower than the previous year, when 64.7 percent of Arkansas high school graduates enrolled in college.
Legislators, higher education officials and business leaders pay close attention to college attend...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=177</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Pro Tem Names Appointments to Poverty Task Force]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Senator Bob Johnson of Bigelow has named five appointments to the newly created Legislative Task Force on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunity.

They are Senators Joyce Elliott of Little Rock and Larry Teague of Nashville, Reverend Steve Copley of Little Rock, the director of Justice For Our Neighbors, Dr. Sherece West, President of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and Sikia Br...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=176</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Legislators Look Into Tobacco Settlement Spending]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Since Arkansas voters in 2000 approved a plan for spending revenue from a legal settlement with tobacco companies, the state has received about $446 million.
A subcommittee of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee recently began a series of hearings to make sure the tobacco revenue is still being spent according to the wishes of voters. Auditors will measure admini...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=175</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[New Laws Take Effect as of July 31]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Many new laws approved in the 2009 regular session took effect on July 31, the 91st day after the legislature adjourned.
Teenaged drivers with an intermediate license or a learner's permit now must comply with a new set of restrictions, thanks to Act 394. They may not use a cell phone or wireless device, so they may not text or access the Internet while driving. They can have only...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=174</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[No Easy Solutions to Highway Funding Issues]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Serving on a blue ribbon panel is usually prestigious, but few people envy the 19 members of the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Commission on Highway Finance.
Their task is difficult and their recommendations likely will generate controversy. They face tough choices and their decisions could affect every taxpayer in Arkansas. To top it off, they're under a tight deadline - the law requires ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=173</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Tourism a Cornerstone of Arkansas Economy]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - Tourism generated $5.6 billion in the sale of goods and services in Arkansas last year, accounting for 5.6 percent of the state's gross domestic product.
Rising gasoline prices and uncertainty in the national economy slowed the growth of the state's tourism industry, but it still managed to grow in comparison to other components of the Arkansas economy.
One measure of Arkansas t...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=172</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Health Department Confirms Case of West Nile Virus in Arkansas]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[	LITTLE ROCK - The state Health Department has confirmed the first case of West Nile virus in Arkansas this year.
Last year there were nine confirmed cases in Arkansas. The virus is spread by mosquitoes to humans, horses and other animals. The mosquitoes transmit it from birds, which are the host animals.
Most people who get West Nile virus experience mild flu-like symptoms for a couple of day...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=171</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Senator Johnson Appoints Paul Dumas to Ethics Commission]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[July 6, 2009
For information call John Reed. Senate Information Officer: 501-682-5954
or Paul F. Dumas at 501-354-7700


Paul F. Dumas of Morrilton has been appointed to the state Ethics Commission by Senator Bob Johnson, the President Pro Tem of the Arkansas Senate.
Dumas has been in private practice in Morrilton since 1998. He was president of the Young Lawyers' Section of the Arkansas B...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=170</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Arkansas Better Off Financially Than Many Other States]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[
LITTLE ROCK - State government's fiscal year for 2010 began July 1, and Arkansas is in relatively good financial shape compared to other states.
California legislators were struggling to eliminate a $24 billion deficit, and California officials said the state may have to issue IOUs to creditors until its budget crisis is resolved. The Arizona legislature had to find a way to raise more than $...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://www.arkansas.gov/senate/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=169</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Senate Weekly Session Updates</category>
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