Subject: Wednesday Morning Briefing
From: Talk Business <[email-masked]>
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Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2016 12:03:53 +0000
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GOV. HUTCHINSON SIGNS DEAL FOR CHINESE PAPER GIANT TO BUILD $1 BILLION PLANT IN ARKANSAS’ ‘WOOD BASKET’: Eight months after losing out on a bid to land a huge Pentagon contract to build the next generation military vehicle in Calhoun County, Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his economic development team on Tuesday landed another mega project that will bring one of China’s largest private companies to South Arkansas.

Hutchinson, with state Economic Development Chief Mike Preston at his side, said a memorandum of understanding with Sun Paper Co. Chairman and Founder Hongxin Li will bring the Chinese conglomerate to an industrial park near Arkadelphia to invest more than $1 billion to build a bio-products mill that will create 250 new jobs at an average salary of $52,000 a year.

Read more at this link (http://talkbusiness.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=4403c46412536341322b6e88c&id=ad61441b46&e=b5f4886f5f) .

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WALLER NAMED NEW DEAN OF THE SAM M. WALTON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS: Matthew Waller will become dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business on May 1. Waller, a teacher, researcher and administrator at the Walton College for more than 20 years, has been serving as interim dean of the college. He was selected after a university committee conducted an internal search this spring. Waller will hold the Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair in Business in addition to his position as dean. Read more here (http://talkbusiness.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=4403c46412536341322b6e88c&id=9a2c838c7c&e=b5f4886f5f) .

THE SUPPLY SIDE: WAL-MART AND WILD OATS TO PART WAYS ON ORGANIC SALES - It’s been two years since Wal-Mart Stores enthusiastically announced a deal with Boulder, Colo.,-based Wild Oats to bring 100 new organic products at lower costs to its customers. That enthusiasm has waned. Wal-Mart is phasing out the organic food brand because the deal between private equity firm Yucaipa Cos., owner of Wild Oats, and Wal-Mart was complicated and becoming unwound, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Wal-Mart had no comment on the issue and offered no timeline for how much longer Wild Oats products will be sold in its stores. Wild Oats also did not respond to a request for comment. What led to this apparent falling out after such hype? Read more here (http://talkbusiness.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4403c46412536341322b6e88c&id=004e2f4835&e=b5f4886f5f) .

ENTERGY 1Q PROFITS FALL 23%, ARKANSAS ACTIVITY NOTED: Entergy Corp. posted first quarter earnings well below year ago results even as the company’s Arkansas subsidiary received regulatory approval for a $167 million rate hike and closed on its $948 million purchase of the Union Power Stations in El Dorado, the New Orleans-based utility giant reported (http://talkbusiness.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4403c46412536341322b6e88c&id=ea965ebe24&e=b5f4886f5f) before the opening bell on Tuesday. For the period ended March 31, the parent company of Entergy Arkansas Inc. reported earnings of $230 million, or $1.28 per share, down 23% when compared to profits of $298.1 million, or $1.65 per share, a year ago. The energy giant, which has operating utilities in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, posted revenues of $2.61 billion.

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EFFORT TO OVERRIDE ARKANSAS WORKS VETO FAILS, OPPONENTS MAY TRY AGAIN IN 2017: An attempt failed in the Senate Tuesday to override Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s line item veto of a section of a law that would have ended his Arkansas Works program this year. Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, an Arkansas Works opponent, made the motion. No one spoke for or against it, including him. The motion failed on a voice vote, and no one asked for a roll call. SB121 will fund the $8.4 billion Department of Human Services Division of Medical Services appropriation, which includes $1.7 billion for Arkansas Works and also funds other programs, such as nursing homes. Read more here (http://talkbusiness.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4403c46412536341322b6e88c&id=82fabf59cf&e=b5f4886f5f) .

BILL FILED TO FUND ONLINE CAMPAIGN FILING SYSTEM: A bill to purchase a new online campaign filing system was filed Tuesday and is expected to run in the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee Wednesday. HB 1138 by Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers, would appropriate $750,000 to purchase a system from GCR Inc. out of New Orleans. Della Rosa said the system would allow candidates to upload multiple transactions at once and would allow members of the public to search transactions by many fields. It would replace a current online system that she said has been pieced together over time and doesn’t function well. It should be ready by the spring of next year. Read more here (http://talkbusiness.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4403c46412536341322b6e88c&id=35ae11a0dd&e=b5f4886f5f) .

LOBBYIST GIFT REGULATION, CAMPAIGN FINANCE MEASURE STUMBLES WITH AG RUTLEDGE: A proposed constitutional amendment led by attorney David Couch that would remove exemptions on gift bans from lobbyists to legislators and would lower campaign contributions to candidates from $2,000 to $1,500 failed to receive approval from Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. The AG's office said the ballot title was rejected because the popular name was misleading and it failed to "sufficiently inform the voters about the proposed changes in current law." Couch can resubmit the proposal with changes.

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CENTENE MANAGEMENT CARE ENROLLMENT JUMPS 17% IN ARKANSAS, UP TO 50,700: Healthcare giant Centene Corp. said in its first quarter financial results that it offered health insurance to 50,700 Arkansans in 2016, up 17.4% from 43,200 in 2015. Overall, the St. Louis-based healthcare provider said its managed care membership is now at 11.5 million, a 152% increase from 7.1 million members in the first quarter of 2015. Centene, which reported a first quarter loss of $24 million, or 13 cents per share on revenue of $7 billion, is one of four healthcare insurance providers for Medicaid expansion in Arkansas.

HHS ISSUES MAJOR RULE MODERNIZING MEDICAID MANAGED CARE: The federal Department of Health and Human Services on Monday (April 25) issued a final rule on managed care in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The rule, which is the first overhaul of Medicaid and CHIP managed care regulations in more than a decade, advances the Obama administration’s efforts to transform the health care system. The new rule supports state delivery system reform efforts, strengthens the consumer experience and key consumer protections, strengthens program integrity by improving accountability and transparency, and aligns key rules with those of other health coverage programs.

Currently, 39 states and the District of Columbia contract with private managed care plans to furnish services to Medicaid beneficiaries, and almost two-thirds of the 72 million Medicaid beneficiaries are enrolled in managed care. The final rule will affect Medicaid managed care plans and the beneficiaries enrolled in them, including low-income children and families, pregnant women, elderly, and individuals with disabilities. The provisions of the final rule will be implemented in phases over the next three years, starting on July 1, 2017. Read more here (http://talkbusiness.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=4403c46412536341322b6e88c&id=de5cd1a6cf&e=b5f4886f5f) .

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"The fact Sun Paper is investing more than $1 billion in south Arkansas speaks volumes of their confidence in our workforce and pro-business environment." - Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

"This project will be the most modern, the highest efficiency and the most environmentally progressive factory in the paper industry in all of North America." - Sun Paper Chairman and Founder Hongxin Li.

"Nobody likes the current system and right now, I’m not asking to make it mandatory. I’m just asking them to get us a new system." - Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers, on her bill to create an online campaign report filing system.

"We will find that the enrollment’s higher than they’re going to say, and the cost is higher than they’re going to say. And so I think time is my friend because the facts will continue to come out that this thing is over budget and unaffordable, and I think we’ll be forced to revisit that each year." - Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, after a failed override of the Governor's line-item veto of Arkansas Works funding.
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