Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Assembly To Address Property Taxes

As the calendar changes to 1999, the Arkansas General Assembly prepares for its biannual meeting.

There will be plenty of business for the state house and senate to deal with, including tackling making property taxation more equitable.

State Rep. Percy Malone, who is in line to be co-chairman of the powerful joint budget committee, discussed the upcoming session.

Malone will also be on the insurance and commerce committee, the public health committee and will serve on the energy committee as well.

The house and senate will look at the governor's proposal on property taxes, with all involved working to make the system more fair and offer some relief to senior citizens.

He said people need to be protected from having their property taxes increased and have a cap of some type placed on those increases that do occur.

There needs to be a way when property values increase, he said, people don't have to sell the property to pay the taxes.

This issue was brought about partially through proposed Amendment 4. This measure was removed from the Nov. 3 General Election ballot, but generated much controversy until its removal.

It also brought out the need for making property tax assessment more fair.

Another major issue facing the assembly this year will be energy deregulation, primarily electrical energy.

Many other states have already deregulated their energy departments to allow customers to get the best prices they can, much like the deregulation of the telephone system in America.

In Arkansas, Malone said, the legislature will be working to decide what to do, if anything. However, if the assembly fails to propose some type of deregulation method, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could step in and place the state's energy under a federal format. This, he said, may not be in Arkansas' best interest.

Only the generation of electrical power will be deregulated, he said. The transmission and distribution will not be affected.

The assembly must be careful, Malone said, and protect residential customers and small businesses.

In some instances major users, primarily industry, negotiates for lower rates, leaving homeowners and small businesspeople to carry heavier loads on their electric bills.

"This is a complex issue with far-reaching implications," Malone said. "It will affect everyone, and we will spend a lot of time debating those proposals coming before the legislature."

As a member of the insurance and commerce committee, Malone has attended countless meetings on the topic of energy deregulation.

Currently, more electricity is being produced nationally than used, he said, and the results are fewer generating plants are being constructed. This, he added, is the base cause of deregulation.

Transmission of electricity will be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Deregulation, though, could result in lower rates, he said, and this would make economic development in Arkansas easier. The state wouldn't lose existing industries to other states with lower utility rates.

But, he said, it is important to make sure Arkansas will have a reliable source of electricity and keep it, guaranteeing access to all, business, industry and residential customers alike, with fair competition.

To prevent fly-by-night operations, Malone said, the legislature will make sure no company is licensed to sell electricity until it has been thoroughly checked out and shows it can fulfill the obligations it makes to its customers.

Another important issue facing the legislature will be work force training.

Malone has been working on this issue in other areas. With the legislature, though, he will work to improve the work force training program in the state to allow aid to students and adults, giving them access to programs currently available so they can get better paying jobs.

Distance learning is one method being discussed as a means of upgrading the training of Arkansas workers, with Malone pushing to get interactive video programs to every school in the state.

These interactive programs will offer courses not available in the state's smaller school districts, and will help provide training on the local level.

The assembly will work with the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN), providing funding for a wider range of programs to educate the work force, as well as upgrading the network for digital, high-density television.

HDTV, as it is called, would allow AETN more channels to provide specific programs for helping train workers for today's industrial jobs.