Governor Sanders outlines 2026 fiscal priorities: education, tax cuts and public safety

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered the 2026 fiscal-session address to a joint session of the Arkansas General Assembly on Wednesday, laying out a budget that prioritizes education funding, tax reductions and public-safety spending.

Speaking in the House chamber, Governor Sanders said education remains her top funding priority and highlighted the LEARNZ Act’s results, saying literacy coaches are now in every D- and F-rated school and that, “in the most recent year for which we have data, 2,700 additional kids are reading at or above proficiency.” She credited the law for pay increases and bonuses, noting that starting teacher pay rose from $36,000 to $50,000 and that every teacher received a $2,000 raise.

The governor also pointed to the Merit Teacher Incentive Fund, which she said has delivered about $30,000,000 in bonuses to more than 7,000 educators, and singled out teachers and principals as examples of the policy’s impact. “When you send me a budget, think of Monica,” she said, referring to a fifth-grade teacher honored during the address.

On taxes and government efficiency, Sanders said her administration has identified hundreds of millions in savings through an Arkansas Forward initiative and said she has cut the state income tax rate by more than 20 percent over three years while eliminating the grocery tax. “We cut those and are returning more than $1,000,000,000 back to taxpayers,” she said.

Public safety and corrections were also central themes. Sanders said the state is funding law enforcement and corrections staffing, expanding bed capacity and implementing recidivism pilot programs. She described recruiting efforts that persuaded former service members and others to move to Arkansas for law-enforcement work.

Sanders described a new policy package she called the “10 33 initiative,” framed as an anti-dependency approach that pairs community supports and case advocates to help Arkansans exit cycles of poverty and re-enter the workforce. She told the personal story of Holly, a participant who she said moved from homelessness and addiction to employment and sobriety after receiving services through the program.

The governor reiterated limits she wants on new long-term commitments: “No new Medicaid coverage mandates, no additional long term ongoing expenses,” she said, and described her budget as designed to hold the line on government growth while funding core priorities.

The joint session followed formal action by the House to adopt House Resolution 1,001 to convene the governor’s appearance; the House passed the resolution by voice vote before the address. After the speech, Representative Meeks moved to adjourn the joint session; the motion carried by voice vote and the House left to reconvene later.

What happens next: Sanders asked lawmakers to act on the budget she will send, and her office’s proposals now move into committee consideration and the General Assembly’s standard budget-review process.