Source: http://www.annalsofhealthlaw.com/annalsofhealthlaw/vol__24_issue_2?pg=13
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 21:53:52+00:00

Document:
law, an essential correction to post-Civil War extravagances that had plunged the state into debt,29 has kept Arkansas free from the fiscal stringencies that have recently handicapped some other debt-burdened states from taking measures to improve the health status of their uninsured populations.
Second, the state constitution requires every appropriations bill to pass both houses of the General Assembly by a three-quarters supermajority vote.30 Just twenty-six of the one hundred House members, or just nine of the thirty-five senators, can block any spending bill.31 Due to these two constraining features of Arkansas law, when it comes to government expenditures, Arkansas is a tight-fisted state.
By contrast, children’s health coverage was relatively extensive. Low-income families obtained coverage for children through Medicaid, while the state’s ARKids- B program covered children in many moderate-income families.36 Three-fifths of Arkansas children received their health insurance Revenue Stabilization Law is a complex accounting tool designed to insure that the recipients of State funds receive monies only so long as cash is on hand. The appropriation for each agency sets a top limit on the amount that may be paid to that agency, and the Revenue Stabilization Law insures that no more is spent than is taken in and is allocated by the Legislature.”).
29. See id. 235 Ark. at 229-31, 357 S. W.2d at 541-42 (upholding the constitutionality of the Revenue Stabilization Act and explaining its history).
30. ARK. CONST. art. 5, § 39, as amended by ARK. CONST. amend. 19, § 5 (1934). See Humphrey v. Garrett, 218 Ark. 418, 236 S. W.2d 569 (1951) and Fisher v. Perroni, 299 Ark. 227, 771 S. W.2d 766 (1989) (explaining ¾ supermajority requirement).
31. See ARK. CONST. art. 5, § 39.
32. See How Will the Medicaid Expansion for Adults Impact Eligibility and Coverage?, KAISER FAMILY FOUND. 4 (2012), http://www.edfoxphd.com/8338-4_copy.pdf (comparing all fifty states and the Medicaid income eligibility limits for adults as a percent of the Federal Poverty Level in Table 1).
33. Id. (referencing Table 1).
34. See id. at 5 (indicating that in 2012, Arkansas’ Medicaid limit for a jobless parent was $2,409 and for a working parent was $3,150). In 2012, the Federal Poverty Level for a family of three was $19,090. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines, 77 Fed. Reg. 4034-02, 4035 (Jan. 26, 2012). Seventeen percent of that was $3,245.
35. Allison, supra note 7, at 1090.
36. See ARK. DEP’T OF HUMAN SERVICES, ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM OVERVIEW 2 (2012), available at http://humanservices.arkansas.gov/dms/DMS%20Public/Medicaid_ Program_Overview_SFY2012.pdf.

References: art. 5
 § 39
 § 5
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 v. 
 art. 5
 § 39