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Gov. Hutchinson delivers final state of the state address

By Roby Brock
Talk Business & Politics

Gov. Asa Hutchinson closed out his final state of the state speech to the Arkansas legislature with a litany of accomplishments, a laundry list of budget requests, and a liturgy of hope for the future.

Arkansas lawmakers convened Monday (Feb. 14) for their biennial fiscal session, which is expected to last three weeks. Legislators will consider the annual budgets for all state agencies, but may delve into controversial policy issues such as abortion bans or critical race theory, if two-thirds of the legislature approve.

Hutchinson, a two-term Republican governor, gave his first state of the state address in January 2015 after winning the governor’s race in November 2014. For his eighth address, he reflected on his successes.

He noted that unemployment stood at an all-time low of 3.1%, while jobs have grown by 81,000 since his first term. He touted 556 incentive agreements with new and existing businesses that he said created 25,000 new jobs.

“I wanted to be the jobs governor, and through the work of Mike Preston and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and our many partners, we’ve had historic success,” Hutchinson said in his prepared remarks.

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