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Beebe would boost library spending; Hutchinson touts health care Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 By Doug Thompson Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The major party candidates for governor pitched additional state spending initiatives Wednesday, with Democrat Mike Beebe proposing a $1.7 million boost for libraries and Republican Asa Hutchinson touting a $1 million plan for a state trauma center. Beebe, the state attorney general, proposed fully restoring state support for state libraries, which was cut drastically during a state budget crunch in 2001. Much of the library budget has been restored in the years since to the current level of $4 million annually. Beebe said he wants to increase spending to $5.7 million, which he said would be the amount of spending before the 2001 cuts plus regular cost of living increases. "The cornerstone of education is the ability to read," Beebe said during a news conference at the Central Arkansas Library System's main library in Little Rock. Libraries and state efforts to improve education go "hand in hand," Beebe said. Library use has surged in recent years and has become the main link for many communities to the rest of the world through the Internet, he said. Beebe cited the Fayetteville Public Library in his remarks. From 1997 to 2005, it saw the number of items checked out increase by 206 percent and the number of visitors increase by 176 percent, Beebe said, while attendance in programs rose by 188 percent and the number of library cardholders by 288 percent. Participation in summer reading programs grew 617 percent. Meanwhile, Hutchinson outlined a health care policy that he said would save money on state health spending. The policy included about $1 million to allow the state to form a partnership with a willing hospital to create a federally certified trauma center. Such centers are designed to cope with large numbers of severely injured patients, such as those in major disasters. They also deal with sudden, life-threatening injuries on a daily basis. Hutchinson also proposed appointment of a state surgeon general, which would entail promoting an existing manager of the state Division of Health. He released his proposals at a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Little Rock. Major aspects of the health program included a pilot, voluntary Medicaid program to encourage volunteers to adopt a more healthy lifestyle. The program would be similar to a pilot program in West Virginia, Hutchinson said. Another aspects include improvement treatment of methamphetamine addiction and creating a Governor's Council on Affordable Health Care. Hutchinson said he also would propose legislation as governor to create health insurance purchasing groups for small businesses. Those groups would act as pools where small businesses could share the risk of an insurance plan, allowing them to provide health care benefits on a scale similar to larger employers. About 26 percent of the state's small employers offer health care coverage, compared to a national average of 40 percent, Hutchinson said. ----- On the Net: Hutchinson health care plan www.asaforgovernor.org |
