Governor Asa Hutchinson took the opportunity Tuesday, during a regular weekly update on COVID-19, to also provide an update on his legislative agenda as governor.
In addition to providing news about the state’s fight against the ongoing pandemic, he also spoke about bills he had signed into law and others he hoped to see passed through the General Assembly, which is currently still in session.
Police reform, computer science and other bills
Hutchinson began Tuesday’s update by signing two bills into law: HB1343 and SB107.
“It’s important to put an exclamation point on some bills that are passed, particularly whenever it’s part of my agenda,” he said. “It gives me the opportunity to give an update on where we are on the legislation this year.”
HB1343 allows Arkansas State Police to retire after 28 years of service, rather than the 30 previously provided for under state code. Hutchinson said it puts the ASP’s retirement provisions in line with other state government workers.
“This will help as an incentive for recruitment and retention for our incredible Arkansas State Police troopers,” he said.
State Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, and Rep. Sonia Barker, R-Smackover, both voted in favor of the bill and Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, who is Arkansas Speaker of the House, did not vote on it.
SB107 makes taking a computer science class a prerequisite to graduate from a public high school in Arkansas. Expanding computer science education has been a major part of Hutchinson’s platform, and coding education in elementary schools has grown during his time in office.
“This is a huge step forward among many steps we’ve taken in advancing computer science education in Arkansas,” Hutchinson said. “This bill allows Arkansas to stay on the forefront of national leadership on computer science education. We have led, for six years, our nation in comprehensive computer science education programs; this takes that up a notch further. There’s only one other state — South Carolina — that’s done anything like this.”
Neither Barker nor Shepherd voted on SB107, and Garner voted against the bill.
Hutchinson also highlighted another bill he recently signed on police reform, which was recommended by a task force he created in the midst of nationwide protests that also were held in Arkansas following the police killing of George Floyd, of Minneapolis, last summer. He noted that the task force was made up of both civil protesters and law enforcement.
He also pointed to other bills that are currently under consideration in the Assembly, including one to raise teachers’ salaries across the state to the median level for Arkansas teachers; and one that will extend the state of emergency he has declared due to the pandemic for another 60 days.
Hutchinson was asked about a bill that was filed earlier this month by Shepherd that would allow collegiate athletes to receive compensation for the use of their images, names and likenesses. He said he is “favorably disposed” to it while noting it is still under consideration by the legislature and he would like to study it further. He was also asked about a bill that was delivered for his signature Tuesday that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports in Arkansas schools and said he supported the intent of the bill and planned to continue to study it while considering whether to sign it.
COVID-19 update
Hutchinson was joined by Arkansas Department of Health Secretary Dr. Jose Romero and Dr. Margie Scott, medical director of the Central Arkansas Veterans’ Healthcare System, for his weekly COVID-19 update Tuesday.
He began by announcing that according to the United States Centers for Disease Control, Arkansas had surpassed one million COVID vaccine doses administered by Tuesday afternoon.
Most of the doses administered have been through the state’s vaccination program, which partners state agencies like the ADH with community pharmacies to vaccinate Arkansans; the rest have been through the federal government’s vaccination program, which is partnered with Walgreens pharmacies.
Scott announced during the update that all veterans over the age of 18 who are enrolled in Veterans Administration (VA) health care programs are now eligible for vaccination, and she encouraged Arkansan veterans to contact their community VA health centers for information about getting a vaccination appointment.
“We want to make this vaccine available for all of our heroes in Arkansas,” she said. “You wont get COVID from the vaccine, it won’t alter your DNA … It’s safe, effective and free.”
Hutchinson said that despite the milestone reached Tuesday, he is not satisfied with the rate Arkansans are being vaccinated. He said he thinks some Arkansans may be so encouraged by the lower case numbers seen in recent weeks that they aren’t motivated to get a vaccine.
Romero agreed, also noting that another potential factor in the relatively low demand for vaccines could be reluctance to be vaccinated. He emphasized that all three COVID vaccines currently available in the United States are safe and effective and, in order to truly end the pandemic, between 70 and 90% of the state’s population will need to be vaccinated so Arkansas can achieve herd immunity against the virus.
“Now is the time to get immunized. Now is the time to become vaccinated. We do this for all our vaccines — we don’t wait until we have a measles outbreak to immunize the public, the children, for measles; we don’t wait until the middle of flu season to begin vaccination for the flu,” he said. “We cannot fully and safely economically open the state without risk of re-triggering this outbreak if we do not have a sufficient number of individuals vaccinated.”
Hutchinson urged all Arkansans to get a COVID vaccine when they are eligible. He noted that Arkansas will receive more vaccine doses this week than expected earlier, per information provided by a member of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force.
“I want to ask everyone — when it’s your turn, get a shot. Get that shot in your arm because it helps our entire state to completely move out of this pandemic,” he said
Romero and Hutchinson also touched on Spring Break travelling. For many school districts, including all five in Union County, this week is spring break. Both officials asked that those who chose to travel this week be tested for COVID-19 upon their return to Arkansas to ensure the state doesn’t see a resurgence in community spread and cases of the virus.
“If you’ve travelled, if you’ve not kept your social distance, if you’ve been in crowds, please get a test when you come back. Make sure that we do not reinvigorate the virus when we’ve got it at a low level,” Hutchinson said. “When you’re travelling and you’re in settings that could lead to contagion of the virus, please come back and get a test and make sure everyone is protected.”
Hutchinson pointed out that the number of new COVID-19 cases identified in Arkansas on Tuesday — 239 — is more than the 52 reported Monday, but fewer than the 396 that were reported last Tuesday, March 16. He noted that the number of tests performed each day has continued to be modest and will likely stay that way.
“Testing is at a modest level and the fact is that when people do not feel threatened, or they do not feel ill, they’re not going to get their test. We encourage them to whenever they have symptoms or if they’ve been travelling, but our testing will probably continue at that lower level,” he said.
Since Sunday, only seven COVID-19 cases have been identified in Union County, and the number of active cases in the community had dropped to 13 by Tuesday afternoon. However, a report on COVID cases in nursing homes produced by the ADH on Monday showed three active cases in workers at Hudson Memorial Nursing Home.
According to the report, the most recent positive test result from a worker returned on March 9. No Hudson residents have tested positive for the virus since February 3. In total, 54 workers and 67 residents at Hudson have contracted COVID-19, and 21 residents have died as a result.
Arkansas COVID, a University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media program that has been tracking COVID-19 data in the state, reported this week that as of Tuesday, 5,422 Union County residents, or about 18% of the county’s population, have received one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 2,959 county residents, or about 10% of the population, are fully immunized.
Statewide, 291 COVID-19 cases have been identified since Sunday, and active cases have dropped to 2,263. Eight Arkansans have died as a result of the virus.
See the local COVID case count here.