Rivals differ on gas tax, ethics
Posted on Saturday, April 19, 2008
ROGERS — Northwest Arkansas legislative candidates all say they’re for better highways, but they don’t all favor the new tax the Legislature passed to pay for such improvements.
The Legislature put the issue to rest in a special session last month, voting in favor of increasing the state’s natural gas severance tax with the proceeds going for city, county and state road improvements.
So this year’s candidates likely won’t have to vote on the issue, even if they get elected. But it’s still a point of contention in Northwest Arkansas, home of most of the Legislature’s “no” votes last month.
Duncan Baird of Lowell, a candidate for the Republican nomination in District 95, said at a forum Friday that he would have voted against the increase. His opponent in the May 20 primary, Linda Bisbee of Rogers, said she would have voted for it.
A similar split exists in the District 99 race between Republicans Vickey Boozman of Cave Springs and Tim Summers of Bentonville. Boozman is against the tax increase; Summers is for it.
Baird said a couple of times during the forum, sponsored by the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, that he thinks highways are a crucial investment for Northwest Arkansas.
“I’ll be an advocate of any mechanism that brings more money for roads to our area,” he said. He said after the forum that his statement doesn’t include raising taxes on Arkansas families.
Experts on the natural gas industry have said the increased tax won’t add to consumers’ gas bills because the price of natural gas is based on a national market rate that the Arkansas tax wouldn’t change.
Bisbee said she hopes that’s true and that’s one reason she would have voted in favor of the tax increase. Her husband, state Sen. Dave Bisbee, R-Rogers, voted for it.
Boozman said she believes the tax will trickle down to consumers, no matter what the industry officials say.
Summers said that may be true, but the state can’t provide more services without more revenue.
“If we want roads, we’re going to have to pay for them,” he said.
Baird and Bisbee clashed again Friday on the question of ethics rules for legislators — whether it’s OK for a lawmaker to accept meals and other entertainment from lobbyists.
Baird said that he favors a ban on legislators accepting gifts and meals and that he wouldn’t take any.
“There’s a sense of entitlement when you go down to Little Rock and you become a part of the culture of the Capitol where legislators — they think they deserve special things,” he said.
Bisbee said it’s more important to elect people with integrity and maturity, people who can work with all kinds of people for the good of Northwest Arkansas.
She held up a sign sitting on the table in front of her, which said the forum was sponsored by Arvest Bank Group and AT&T.
“The culture of the Capitol reaches out, Mr. Baird,” Bisbee said. “Look who bought your lunch.”
After the forum, Baird said that he’d like for the Arkansas Legislature to pass an ethics law similar to Wisconsin’s. There, a lawmaker can’t take meals, among other gifts, from lobbyists unless the meal is at an event open to the public.
Friday’s forum, attended by about 50 people, was open to the public.
Bisbee said in an interview that she doesn’t see a problem with a lobbyist taking her to dinner if she’s gleaning knowledge at the time, which she said is similar to having lunch at the chamber forum and learning about the issues important to chamber members.
“My intent is to gain as much knowledge as possible. Certainly lobbyists hold a large amount of information, and if they need to get that to me at dinner, so be it,” she said.
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