Natural State News

The Arkansas state legislature has passed measures to end several federal unemployment benefits in the state.

Sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Wardlaw (R-Hermitage) and State Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe), SB 1 and HB 1001 passed in a special session and will end the state’s participation in certain federal unemployment programs, according to WREG Memphis News.

Last July, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson decided to terminate extra federal unemployment benefits in an effort to encourage people to return to the workforce, according to Natural State News. He opted out of the extra $300 in federal unemployment insurance and reinstated job search requirements for unemployed workers that were collecting benefits.

"The $300 federal supplement helped thousands of Arkansans make it through this tough time, so it served a good purpose," Hutchinson said, according to Natural State News. "Now we need Arkansans back on the job so that we can get our economy back to full speed."

Weeks later, the governor's order was challenged in court, and was temporarily halted by a judges order, KATV News reported.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herbert Wright ordered the state to reinstate the supplemental federal unemployment assistance program and wrote that the choice to end the program was not for Hutchinson to make, but for the Arkansas Legislature to decide.

“The court has serious doubts that the Governor and the Director of Workforce Services were acting within the scope of their duties, as these decisions would normally be the subject of legislation from the General Assembly,” Wright wrote, according to KATV News.

Arkansas' unemployment rate has been holding steady at 4.4%, which is below the national average of 5.4% for July, according to a release from the Governor's Office.

“Our 4.4 percent unemployment rate continues to be significantly below the national rate of 5.9 percent,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “In fact, the national rate has been moving in the wrong direction. While employers are searching for workers to keep their businesses in operation or to expand, the shortage of workers reflects a hesitancy of some to return to the workforce. This hesitancy should diminish in the coming months as federal stimulus money slows, and our workers transition from training into full employment.”