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Huckabee quizzed on mounting state surplus Thursday, Aug 3, 2006 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Several callers to Gov. Mike Huckabee's monthly radio call-in show Wednesday clamored for tax relief as the state's $400 million budget surplus swells. The surplus is projected to be $700 million by the June 30, 2007, end of the current fiscal year, and one caller Wednesday suggested the state should give $15 million back to taxpayers so they can purchase or invest in alternative energy sources. The Lonoke man said energy bills are skyrocketing and people could save a great deal by using wind or solar energy. "This would put more money in the people's pockets," he said. Another caller suggested the state should give back all of the money it has not spent. "That money does not belong to you, not you nor the state Legislature" the Conway man told the governor. Huckabee said he would like to return the money to taxpayers. "(But) I don't get to make that decision singularly," he told a statewide audience on the Arkansas Radio Network, noting that any tax rebate would have to be approved by the Legislature. "When government has a surplus, it has more money than we have budgeted for, then it means that we have taken in more than we have to have," Huckabee said. "The money doesn't belong to us, it belongs to the taxpayers and it needs to be returned." The governor has said previously that at least part of the surplus should be earmarked for a "rainy day" fund that would help fund essential state services in the event of an economic downturn. He has also said that he is open to providing tax relief in the form of a one-time rebate, a reduction in the sales tax on groceries or other methods. However, he said his proposals have not gained much traction with legislators. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Beebe and Republican candidate Asa Hutchinson have both said they would support eliminating the grocery tax and using part of the surplus to offset the loss to state coffers. Also during Wednesday's radio show, several callers criticized the statewide workplace smoking ban that went into effect July 21. One caller derided the law as an example of government having too much control and said the new law would create a new level of bureaucracy in state government. Huckabee said government has a responsibility to protect innocent people, including non-smokers, and he said the new law did not create additional jobs. The governor predicted that someday cigarettes will no longer be sold because they are such a health risk. "I think the day will come when we probably won't" sell cigarettes, Huckabee said. "If cigarettes were introduced to the marketplace today, they wouldn't be sold," he said. "They'd never make it because what we didn't know when they were first created, sold and marketed is just how deadly harmful they were." The new law prohibits smoking in most public places, including restaurants. Exemptions are allowed for outdoor smoking areas and for businesses where no one under 21 is admitted. Violators of the smoking ban face possible misdemeanor criminal penalties and civil fines of up to $1,000. However, officials say establishments will not be investigated for violating the new law until the state Division of Health has received at least three complaints about the business. |
