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The Arkansas Times and KUER FM 89.

Hello again everyone.

Thanks very much for joining us a legislative session that gets more conservative with every passing day, more conservative than a conservative governor might prefer.

We'll get to that in a few minutes with Cook and Vickery.

First, a solemn anniversary.

It's been a year since COVID-19 was diagnosed in our state.

The patient at Pine Bluff would recover, but in the months that followed, more than 300,000 of his fellow Arkansans, more than 10% of the state's population would contract the disease.

And more than 5000 of them would not recover.

The Corona virus claimed not only lives but livelihoods, and almost certainly would have done more economic damage without federal relief efforts.

It became the longest and sternest test of the administration of Governor ASA Hutchinson.

With whom we spoke earlier this week, we are at the one year point.

Anyway, the 1st anniversary of the arrival or the diagnosis.

Anyway of Covid in Arkansas, some 330,000 of our fellow Arkansans have been Diognosed and 5400 were approaching 5400 deaths anyway.

Could we have done better?

Well, there will be a time to assess how we have performed an.

I have no doubt that there will be a.

Things that we look at and say maybe we could have adjusted that some, but by and large I think that it's been an incredibly difficult year.

Arkansans have responded well.

I think we have made good decisions and trying to have a balance between making sure that we have regard for public health and saving lives at the same time.

Recognizing that we have to have food deliveries, we have to have critical work being done.

And we just can't shut down the economy as some states did.

So I'm very proud of Arkansas as to how they've handled this.

They've responded by wearing masks by adopting guidelines to make sure that people are protected, but at the same time, it's such a tragedy.

Whenever you look at the lives that have been law.

Stan, I've lost number of my friends or people that I cared about as well.

So it touched every.

Life in Arkansas.

Well, to be fair, you have caught it.

Your administration has caught it from both sides right and left and from the left it was that your administration in dealing with the pandemic in Arkansas, chose the economy over epidemia or put more weight on the economy than you did.

Epidemiology.

Your response to that, Sir.

Well, I do get criticism from both sides.

You know, if we lift restrictions I get criticized from those that believe we ought to just shut it down.

If I put on restrictions then I get hit from those that believe we've got to open it up and that government shouldn't be that oppressive.

And so you have to listen to the epidemiologist.

You have to understand the disease and how it's transmitted.

But you also.

Have to balance it and that's my job as governor with the need of people to go to school.

The need of people to get their groceries and and the importance even of sports in our society for our young people.

So we've tried to do the education we've put in restrictions and mandates where needed, but I'm glad we're to the point because vaccines are getting out that we can relax some of those standards rely upon people's good judgment.

And the fact that vaccines are being distributed to our most vulnerable, and hopefully we'll see the day when we can get it to everyone in your executive order, Sir, in terms of designating certain professions, is critical work.

That was it too.

But for example, hospitality and retail was your definition of critical work too broad?

Well, we tried to follow the CDC guidelines.

That's the starting point and so we listen to those national experts and and really, ethics plays a role in it as well.

And then we adjusted as we need to fit Arkansas.

For example, you know, we moved it down to age 65 because that picks up those that have had higher death rates that have comorbidities underlying conditions.

In terms of the critical workers, we have to 1st get those covered that are in essential industries.

Providing electricity for US manufacturing is critical.

Food service is critical and then when it comes to government workers that you have to make a distinction between those that are on the front lines that are dealing with the public versus those that can wait a little bit longer to get the vaccine.

So we listen to our epidemiologist but also.

Trying to keep this supply line full, we want people demand to increase.

We want to make sure there's more people asking for the vaccine than even what we have available.

Becausw, we want to keep the we don't have any LAX or slack in getting the vaccine out.

We want that demand to be high and that's why we raised it this last week.

Your restriction, Sir, your executive orders and your judgment were appropriate.

And not excessive, and you say that Arkansans have responded well in the past year, yet still we remain among the top tier of states.

In both case rate per capita an fatalities per capita morbidity, why Sir?

Well, I think if you look across the South you have underlying health conditions as part of it, and so it's you can't compare necessarily where we are in Arkansas with a North Dakota or a Massachusetts necessarily.

So there's a lot of differences between the States and also I think you'll see as we go through the review of this overtime that there's a lot of different statistical variations on how you count some of these.

We've done a very good job in Arkansas.

But it is.

You know something that's going to be looked at as to why we've had the deaths that we've had, you know, is it the cause of the underlying health conditions?

Or is becausw of other steps that we may or may not have taken?

As I look back on it, I think that we did the right judgments.

We put a public health measures in place.

We put restrictions on businesses.

We educate the public.

We put 'em at mask restriction in place.

We we put our.

Workers and vaccination priority in our long term care facilities 1st.

And so we've done all the right steps to preserve life.

No, we did not shelter in place, but we had restrictions in place that would minimize the spread and hopefully have the measures in place that would reduce the number of cases and and while we haven't been 100% successful in that, I do believe we've maintained the right balance and that we trusted people who make good judgments.

Balancing that with restrictions we put in place.

Some of those restrictions served by your directive are going to wind down at the end of the month.

Perhaps you could you have reserved the right to renew them.

But there have been warnings from health experts here in Arkansas as well as nationally that we are running the risk.

Well, to quote Doctor Fouchy, a fourth wave.

Are you concerned?

How concerned about that or user?

Well, I listen, I hear those concerns.

Someone said we're going to have a fourth wave.

As you mentioned Doctor Fouchy, others say that we're in the eye of the hurricane.

That is calm.

Now it's the cases are going to come back.

I don't know whether that's going to happen or not, but you have to be prepared in the event the cases do go up, and that's why the emergency is still in place.

That is why I didn't have a Cliff that we immediately ended our mandate.

Sanare restrictions and RR.

Our mask mandate.

We kept that in place for 30 days to see how the cases will go.

Arm urgency will continue in place as needed.

If we have to put additional protective measures in place, we will, but I'm hopeful with the increase of the vaccine going out with the education of the public and the decisions that they make that we can continue this path of moving back toward a more normal life.

People today know exactly what they need to do.

If they're in a vulnerable position, if they need to stay 6 feet away from people not have that close contact.

If there's a restaurant that's not following good guidelines and health practices don't go there.

People can make good judgments to protect their health.

We've been in this a year and at some point you have to say we have got.

To move from mandates to public common sense, and that's the direction we're going, are we moving that vaccine fast enough?

Your honor to our governor?

Are we moving that vaccine fast enough into Arkansans arms?

We hear reports of of leftover quantities or unused quantities.

I should say a vaccine at the end of a particular day.

Can we make that process more efficient?

We're working on every day to make it more efficient.

We've, I think, had good success and getting believe it's 13 or 14% of our population.

This received one dose by the end of this month.

We will have over a million doses that have been put into the arms of Arkansans.

We do not waste any doses and so whenever a.

Provider runs out of people to vaccinate on the list there to make sure it gets in the arms.

Nobody's wasting any doses, and we want to continue that path in terms of efficiency or balancing that with equity.

Trying to get it to every part of a rule state to make sure that our minority populations are covered as well.

And whenever you have a limited supply, you have to set priorities.

You have to organize this so it is a listed logistical challenge that very proud of the Department of Health and our team members that are doing a great job.

From Walmart to our pharmacies that are local to our hospitals are doing a great job in getting that vaccine out as fast as we can governor your frustrations with the previous administration in Washington were transferred.

You acknowledge them.

I think over the past year.

Has the response has the coordination between Washington and Little Rock or the assistance from Washington improved in the last?

Well, frankly since January 20th?

Well, the first of all the at the level that's critical, which is the staff leadership from the coronavirus Task Force, the medical professionals.

There's been a mutual and continued commitment from the Trump administration to the bided ministration and so the dedication is there.

The urgency is there, there are some changes.

The bite administration has probably given the states a little bit less flexibility.

In terms of the vaccine management there directing a little bit more of it from the federal level, which chase the state some because we think we're very effective in getting that out, and we know our states the best, but the dialogue is consistent.

It is good, and I compliment the bite administration for using the Defense Production Act to require Merck to join in the manufacturing of a vaccine for a competing company.

That's the problem.

I'm sorry, Sir.

Well, it's a proper use of that, and it really has helped to accelerate production and what we're going to see in the future.

Well, as in facts are as we were taping this interview in mid morning on Wednesday.

The announcement from Washington that 100,000,000 additional doses may be coming online very soon from that consortium that you just mentioned, JJ and Merck.

I think how soon that was very yeah, how soon, Sir, can we expect.

A shipment from that cash.

They tell us every week what we are going to expect over the next two or three weeks.

There's a little bit of a long term planning information, but I think for the rest of this month it will be a steady flow with small increases.

But whenever you get to April, I expect that's whenever it will accelerate very quickly, and that's what we have to be prepared for.

Becausw, we're going to finish 1B, the critical manufacturing workers and others.

This month, next month, we're going to move in to add another million people to those that can be vaccinated.

And that's when that supply is going to have to be there.

And it looks like there's some promising information that that could happen.

OK, and finally, so you had a victory in the Senate the other day, and now you're a Medicaid expansion.

Bill renewal anyway, is going over to the House, but those were the easy vote.

Simple majority.

You still have an appropriation to get through at a much higher threshold in both chambers.

Where do you stand?

Well, I expect that to pass both the authorization which is a simple majority and the appropriation bill.

Now we gotta get 3/4.

So we've got to add votes to that.

But this is very encouraging.

Yesterday the Legislature have done an outstanding job in helping to craft this new authorization to keep 300,000 Arkansans covered with good medical coverage.

And so we've got more work to do, but everybody thought we'd go into this session that that might crash and burn.

I'm delighted with the leadership and how that's progressing, and I expect that to pass before the session ends.

And finally, this are you as governor and also as a former DEA administrator and federal prosecutor.

There's not legislation in the General Assembly to decriminalise water term, small amounts of marijuana with the administration, have a position on that.

I would oppose that, you know, I understand medical marijuana, but to decriminalise it really sends the wrong signal to the next generation that is not harmful, but it's OK and it would increase usage dramatically.

And I don't think that is beneficial right now.

It is at a good place with medical using it for medicinal purposes and that should be good for Arkansas.

All right now I would oppose extending that governor your generous with your time and we thank you for it.

Great to be with you, Steve.

Thank you how you been.

And we'll be right back.

And we're back now with Bill Vickery on the right and Michael Cook on the left gents.

As always, thanks for coming in.

We're at about halfway point in this session and it's been an unusual session for a sitting Governor bill.

Well yeah, I mean you mix in the pandemic, cool which that's no small order, by the way, which I think has had a profound impact on the way the legislative session has been carried out.

And I believe that we're going to see some of these practices that were put in place because of the pandemic.

Permanent with the state legislative process, but you know the governor's in his sort of final term.

Traditionally these recessions that can become somewhat contentious between executive branch and the legislature, but.

I do believe that hasn't foot that hasn't reached the the promise that was delivered on the front end to talk about the combativeness of the session, I, I think, given everything, there's been a pretty good working relationship between the governor's office and the state legislature so well.

Then tell me if I've got it right here.

Part of the dynamic at work here is that the General Assembly, or at least his caucus in House and Senate Conference GOP.

It's really more random, more conservative than he is.

Well, I think that's a great point.

I mean, I think the argument politically in Arkansas.

Now when it comes to legislative politics is center right versus the right for a long time, Democrats, that's really action was.

And you had all the policy arguments and discussions were center, left, left, Anan.

Now you see that shifting and so it's not so much.

Sort of a real breaking of the party as much as it is just this is the way business is being done now.

This is where the policy arguments are being had.

An you just you know you see it all playing out in public now.

But all this really changes.

We've just become more conservative and I believe this legislature is reflective of the safe that it represents.

Yeah, and Bill or other excuse me, Michael in terms of of the Democratic Party.

Just the sheer numbers or lack of same in both chambers.

And ideology, there's not a lot of room for for the Blues to maneuver, or thus far there has been no right now.

I mean, Bill is is correct in that the you know this is a vastly Republican controlled legislature, so they get to set the terms of the debate, and they set the terms of, you know, frankly, what bills get passed?

That's just the nature of the beast.

You know.

I would agree with Bill, and at this so far there's been a little sniping at the beginning of the legislature.

It's kind of calm down currently, you know, maybe it'll pick back up.

Things get more intense tored the end of the session, but what is strikes me about this session so far?

And kind of talking to that to the issues is that I've never seen so many social issues come before the legislature and seemed to dominate the discussion, frankly to the detriment of Arkansas in my opinion.

But that's been interesting to watch in terms of, and frankly a lot of it is driven by these people who want to run for statewide office.

In 22 Jason Rapert with his abortion bill, Senator Misyar win with her bill on transgender and others.

They're pushing these bills to get themselves more play in a Republican primary, and those are a lot of times dominating the discussion in the Arkansas Legislature.

So you know, I mentioned to see what the next few weeks bring in terms of will it be when they start getting more intense between the governor's office in the legislature, or will it?

Kind of, you know, be relatively calm as it has been for the most part.

Well, there's no question about it.

Social Conservatives would appear to be gentle and having Bill having a field day.

In this particular session.

Well, those are always the same.

It's the issues to cover 2 by the way, very quietly.

I think you see what started out as the private option which morphed into Arkansas Works, which has been renamed now very critical element to state government.

That's very quietly making its way through the legislature the the, the, the social stuff.

Again, it's the **** stuff to cover.

It's easy, it's all front page stuff and you know, and Michael's right.

And then you have a lot of strong personalities and smart people who are looking to move.

Say out of the state Senate to statewide office.

But they also are very convicted on those issues and they believe in them very strongly.

But into the day here there is a lot of the meat and potatoes work of government that's getting done it just it just doesn't make, doesn't dominate.

You know, the newspaper above the fold on page one.

Well, certainly the meat and potatoes wooden from the administration standpoint would be a continuation of the Medicaid expansion, now restyled as our home.

The governor indicates, well, he got a victory this past weekend that he got it out of the Senate, but the threshold on the appropriation, of course, is rather higher.

3/4 bill give us the lay of the land there.

Your estimation.

I think.

I do think you see a lot of members, especially conservative members of that, would vote against the program as is.

But they are registered to vote against an appropriation to run an entire Department.

And so I do think as it stands now, the appropriation would pass and there is a coalition of folks.

And as you noted, Steve.

It takes a significant majority to pass appropriations bills in Arkansas.

I think it would pass.

I think that that fight has been had in terms of the policy.

Now it's about running government.

Michael cook you know there's something every couple of years they have to rebrand the Medicaid expansion from private option to Arkansas works to our home.

I think it's just part of it.

Just to you know, to give some of these Conservatives.

So I was against the private option or I was against Arkansas.

Works, but now there's this new thing.

I know there's more to it than that.

There are some policy details, but it's interesting that every two years they have to rename the very important Medicaid expansion.

One thing back on social issues though.

For a moment that you know there is some meat and potatoes work, but some of these social issues do have significant.

Impact on the people in this state, for example, with this new abortion bill.

Basically what this Republican legislature is saying.

If a 15 year old girl is ***** by her father, she will now be forced to carry the child.

Or if a woman is ***** or ******** assaulted, she must now be required to carry the ****** child.

That's some significant change to social policy.

So the reason why it is getting a lot of place.

So we need to point out the courts would have to go along with that.

Of course, this is subject to judicial review and.

Lawsuits already been in the works.

Sure, but that but that you're exactly right, Steve, but that's the law that they pass and what they want to happen.

So it is impacts potentially peoples lives.

But there's also this and it's a key administration objective.

And that's hate crimes.

And it would seem to still have a very uphill battle, Michael.

Yeah, I have never thought sadly that this legislation would get through this legislature.

All that we've seen on these socially, there is no way a lot of these socially Conservatives Republicans are going to vote for a piece of legislation that is going to frankly stop discrimination and help out members of the LGBT community.

I just didn't see that happening in this legislature.

The fact that it dies, sadly, is not surprising, but I would give kudos to the people who are fighting for it because it is Anita.

Legislation is important legislation.

But it will not.

It will not surprise me when this dies Bill.

Is there anything that Mr. Hutchinson could add?

It's an the bills, advocates in the General Assembly, anything they can do to move this legislation?

You know, at the moment I don't see any way that it moves forward.

I think the devil really is in the details here with a lot of members on both the House and the Senate in an when you begin to define what hate is and in groups that are subjected to it and the element of criminal activity relative to that, it gets it's pretty sticky.

And so I think you've got a really.

I've got a number of very smart, focused, well meaning legislators who do care about the details surrounding this.

And are unwilling just to pass a law just so that we can cover Arkansas in with a number of other states.

I think that both judiciary committees.

I think you're very deliberate, but at the moment I don't see the political will there in the legislative body.

OK, on another subject, and that's federal state relations Bill will start with you and then go to Michael.

Give Michael the last work we had with no Republican votes, we had a met almost $2 trillion relief packages, quite a bit in it for Arkansas, including some individual checks with that's often.

The states Republican leanings at all.

No, no, I don't believe so, and I think that's why you saw the delegation opposed it in mass.

It's a Christmas tree.

Bill it it had was $2 trillion and it easily 900 billion of it was could have been lopped off and we'd still get the aid that is necessary.

Yeah, Michael.

Won't change the makeup of the state, but what we're going to see I predict, in six months from now, is the congressman or the Senators will be passing out the checks that came from this bill will be get.

You know they'll be.

They'll be touting the benefits of this massive in need massively needed spending bill.

So just just keep watching the paper for Senator Cotton or muslin or or Frank Congressman French Hill to be touting the benefits and house helping Arkansans even though they all voted against it to a person.

Got it ended there guys, because we're out of time, Vickery, Cook, Cook and Vickery.

Thanks very much and will be back to you in a couple of weeks.

And that's our broadcast for this hour.

Thank for this week.

Thank you for joining us.

As always, see you next week.

Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

The Arkansas Times and KUER FM 89.