Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders urges lawmakers to pass budget as session kicks off

By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is urging lawmakers to pass her $6.3 billion budget proposal that boosts spending on a new school voucher program. But she stopped short of making new policy proposals as she delivered her first state of the state address. The Republican governor addressed a joint gathering of the state House and Senate on Wednesday as lawmakers convened for an abbreviated legislative session focused on the state’s budget. Sanders, who served as former President Donald Trump’s press secretary, took office last year. Sanders last month proposed a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 that increases state spending by 1.76% over the previous year.