Facing an election year marked by anti-tax rhetoric and obstacles to even get on the agenda, a proposed increase in the tax forestland owners pay for fire protection may be the ultimate exercise in futility during the legislative session that begins next month. It could also be a way to build support for the idea in 2013.
The agency director proposing the tax increase has compared the idea to pushing a large rock up a steep hill. Legislative leaders from both chambers call it an impractical way to address funding shortages at the Forestry Commission. Even Gov. Mike Beebe, who said he authorized the state forester to present the tax as an option, is distancing himself from an idea that he doesn't think could pass during a session intended to focus on the budget.
"I don't think it's realistic, particularly during a fiscal session," Beebe said last week.
State Forester John Shannon last week pitched increasing the fire protection tax — paid for by private timberland owners — from 15 cents an acre to 20 cents as a way to raise $675,000 and restore 21 jobs that were lost to layoffs or unfilled vacancies as the commission filled a $4 million shortfall.
Instead, a legislative panel formed to look at the commission's budget recommended restoring 20 firefighters. But they left unanswered the question of how to pay for the additional jobs.
"It's back to the governor to find within his Revenue Stabilization Act the money to fund this appropriation," said Rep. Buddy Lovell, D-Marked Tree, who co-chaired the forestry subcommittee. The Revenue Stabilization Act is the state's budget bill that sets funding priorities based on revenues.
The options for paying for the new jobs are limited. Beebe plans to ask legislators to use $2.7 million from the state's surplus to keep the commission solvent through the end of this budget year and to repay federal money that officials say the commission improperly used to prop up its budget.
Beebe's $4.7 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 calls for $163 million in additional funding, primarily for Medicaid and public schools. Most agencies would see their budgets stay flat. Beebe last week said he won't propose using any one-time money to pay for the additional positions recommended by lawmakers.
"You can't do that forever without a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of some realistic permanent solution that absorbs some of that one-time money for operations," Beebe said.
Beebe said he authorized Shannon to present the tax increase to lawmakers as an option, and it's one he's willing to sign if it reaches its desk. But he said he's not actively pushing for the measure and doubts that lawmakers could find the two-thirds vote necessary in both chambers to even consider the tax increase.
Even Shannon acknowledges the difficulty of proposing such a tax.
"I don't know if we can get on the agenda this session," Shannon said. "I think it would be climbing a steep hill, and I'm not sure it would pass during the session, that might be a steep hill, but we're going to push a big rock up a steep hill."
The idea of raising the timberland tax has some support from industry groups, though none are actively lobbying for it during this session. The Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Forestry Association in general have supported the idea of a tax increase, but neither currently has plans to push for it during the fiscal session.
Pointing to that support, at least one lawmaker says he's not willing to give up on the tax during the fiscal session. Sen. Percy Malone, D-Arkadelphia, said he thinks the tax should be on the table and hasn't ruled out introducing a proposal if there's consensus from industry groups.
"I don't buy the idea that the intention was not for the Legislature to have those options when there's some extraordinary circumstance," Malone said.
It's an idea that others aren't as eager to buy. House Speaker Robert Moore and Senate President Paul Bookout said they didn't expect the tax to gain enough support during the fiscal session to be considered. They cite the restrictions of a fiscal session, along with election-year politics, as reasons why it's an unrealistic idea this year.
If nothing else, the talk may be a preview of the tax debate that's to come when the Legislature convenes in 2013. Beebe said he has no idea whether the proposal has a better chance then, and said Shannon is merely responding to lawmakers' requests for ideas on how to restore some of the laid off firefighting jobs.
There's no guarantee that the fire protection tax will have a better chance next year. With Republicans aiming to win control of one or both chambers of the Legislature in November, a tax hike could face even steeper odds in 2013.
Sen. Missy Irvin, who co-chairs the forestry subcommittee, said she wants to study over the interim long-term solutions for the Forestry Commission that lawmakers could consider in 2013. But she said a higher tax isn't one of those solutions.
"I don't think raising taxes is always the best answer," said Irvin, R-Mountain View. "I think we can look at maybe other ways and find other solutions."
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Andrew DeMillo has covered Arkansas government and politics for The Associated Press since 2005. He can be reached at www.twitter.com/ademillo
