‘Thank you’
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/61831/
ROGERS — There was a day, not so long ago, when spotting an Arkansas governor in the northwest corner of the state was a rarity. According to the discussions of many of those who flooded into the Embassy Suites late Tuesday morning, that changed when Gov. Mike Beebe was elected.
“ I don’t think there’s a governor who’s spent as much time here as Beebe, ” said one individual as he scrambled to take his seat. “ It seems like he’s here all the time. ”
The individual he was talking to nodded in agreement.
Within minutes, Beebe himself stepped to the podium to deliver his most recent speech to northwest Arkansans, this time to a room of some of the most influential leaders in the region and the memberships of Rotary clubs from Bentonville, Bella Vista, Rogers and Springdale. And not 30 seconds into his address, Beebe confirmed even he has taken note of how many times he’s made the trek north to Benton, Washington and other nearby counties since taking office.
“ It seems at least every two weeks I’m in some part of northwest Arkansas, ” Beebe said. “ This is a special place. There are so many wonderful things happening in this region that aren’t just having an impact here, but are being felt across the entire state. ”
Prior to arriving at the Embassy Suites late Tuesday morning, Beebe was making the rounds. First, he stopped at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. Then, it was time to tour the recently opened Mercy Medical Center along Interstate 540 in Rogers.
Beebe’s main message at the podium, however, was not just for northwest Arkansas, but rather for leadership from the entire state.
“ I’m here to say ‘ thank you, ”’ Beebe said.
“ People have been trying to raise the severance tax on natural gas for years, but it got done this time around, ” Beebe said. “ It’s all thanks to people who had the courage to stick their necks out and do something about it. Now, we have a source of funding to keep this economic engine going. And there are people right here in this room who were involved in that. ”
For years, the state has been depending on sales taxes from gasoline to take care of the necessary improvements to the state’s highways and byways, something it has more miles of than states with significantly larger population bases, such as California. But with the cost of gasoline rising dramatically in recent years and people attempting to shorten their trips and commuting times, the state couldn’t count on that source of revenue to get everything done. By raising the severance tax on natural gas — something the southern part of the state has plenty of — a new funding source was created.
“ We desperately needed another source and didn’t have it, ” Beebe said. “ Now we do. ”
According to a release issued by the governor’s office last month, the severancetax agreement will create an ongoing roads program for Arkansas without increasing natural-gas rates for residential Arkansas customers. Terms of the agreement, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2009, include the following:
• A base rate of 5 percent of gas-sale proceeds received by the producer;
• A reduced rate of 1. 5 percent for the first 36 months of production on high-cost wells; well owners who have not recovered their costs after 36 months may apply to the Department of Finance and Administration for a possible extension of up to 12 months;
• A reduced rate of 1. 5 percent for the first 24 months of production on other wells; and
• A reduced rate of 1. 25 percent for marginal gas wells that do not meet minimum production thresholds.