Over the weekend, the legislature wrapped up a special session on “fixing” the teacher health insurance premium spike. You’ll recall that Governor Beebe hates special sessions. Like, a lot. Because they’re so expensive. But exactly how much did the special session cost taxpayers? According to the Arkansas House, the cost to taxpayers for staff and legislative reimbursements will be roughly $53,500. According to the Senate, the cost to taxpayers for staff and legislators will be close to $35,000. That gives us a grand total of approximately $88,500 — and that of course doesn’t include the $43 million that the legislature voted to spend to bailout teacher insurance. We’ll have more on the results of the special session later today, but perhaps, just this once, Governor Beebe was right: special sessions are (sometimes) an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars.
Special Legislative Session Cost Taxpayers (At Least) $88,500
Updated: Apr 13
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