The House today overwhelmingly approved, 78-17, legislation to issue state bonds for the startup Big River Steel mill proposed for Mississippi County. The state is prepared to put $125 million in incentives into the project in the hopes of creating more than 500 jobs. Nucor, already making steel in Mississippi, has fought the proposal, saying the market demand isn’t sufficient to justify state subsidy of a competitor. The legislation had been approved in the Senate previously.

Rep. Stephen Meeks spoke against the bill. He said the super project money was meant to attract proven businesses, not those such as Big River Steel with no customer base and depending in part on public money from the teacher retirement system. He said it could turn out to be a “money pit” for the state.

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The Arkansas Democratic Party took pains to note the “job-killing” Republicans who did not support the bill:

17 Republicans voted against the Big River Steel job creation bill or HB1870, including Alexander, Bell, Collins, Dale, Davis, Dotson, C. Douglas, Hobbs, House, Kerr, Lea, D. Meeks, S. Meeks, Miller, Payton, Westerman, and Womack. Three Republicans choose not to vote including representatives Hammer, Lowery, and Carter.

UPDATE: A GRIM DAY FOR THE WORKING:

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ALSO AT THE LEGISLATURE TODAY:

*SCREWING THE WORKING MAN AND WOMAN: Without debate, the Senate passed legislation requiring random drug testing of people receiving unemployment benefits. No mention in the bill of drug testing all the unemployed members of the legisalture periodically. But that was only salt in the wounds of a vote to cut unemployment benefits. Check this out. Maybe the House can stop greedy Sen. Bart Hester’s oh-so-Christian work.

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* GUN BREAK FOR SENIORS: The House a bill to reduce the permit fee for concealed weapons for people 65 and older from $100 to $50. Rep. Andrea Lea had wanted to cut the fee for all, but the State Police said that would deal a budget blow to the agency, which runs the background checks and keeps the database.

* SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION: The House fell three votes short on a second try at expunging the vote that beat a moratorium on school consolidations based on a district falling below the 350-student minimum enrollment.

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* TRUCK TAX: The House completed action on a 15 percent increase in the registration fee for big truck rigs, an industry-supported bill to both create a truck safety program in the Highway Department but also to make up for the break truckers got the last session when a planned diesel tax increase didn’t go forward, though a sales tax increase on all other taxpayers for road work did.

* OPPOSITION TO BUFFALO RIVER HOG FARM: The National Parks Conservation Association has called on the Agriculture Department’s Farm Services Agency to pull a permit for hog farm along a tributary of Buffalo National River. The Association contends (see jump) that the permit was granted without proper consultation of the National Park Service.

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