阿肯色州州长桑德斯提交69.7亿美元平衡预算：上年盈余6.55亿，加码医疗与教育
阿肯色州州长萨拉·赫卡比·桑德斯（Sarah Huckabee Sanders）11月6日向州议会提交新财年平衡预算，总额69.69亿美元，较上年增加3.117亿美元、增幅3.94%。州府小石城位于该州普拉斯基县，是全州政治与财政决策中心。
预算案的底气来自州财政的强劲表现：上一财年阿肯色州录得6.55亿美元盈余，为该州历史上最高之列；本财年前四个月，税收收入超出预期逾1.5亿美元，其中10月单月就超出预期4500万美元。州长办公室称，自2023年以来，该州所得税率已累计下调逾25%，州储备金接近30亿美元。
在支出投向上，预算案增拨幼儿教育经费，增投州人类发展中心（Human Development Centers）运营，扩大「社区与就业支持豁免」（CES Waiver）候补名单上的服务供给，并继续投入由桑德斯推动的 LEARNS 法案所设「教育自由账户」。医疗方面，医疗补助（Medicaid）获增拨1.5亿美元，另以一次性盈余资金安排2亿美元支持 Medicaid 的长期可持续性，并按安排将每年约7500万美元的利息收入划入 Medicaid；此外，预算案拨出5000万美元推进州水资源规划。
该预算案将交由州议会审议，议员将在后续会期中逐项表决后决定最终版本。
（来源：阿肯色州州长办公室）
Arkansas Governor Sanders Presents $6.97 Billion Balanced Budget, Drawing on Record Surplus for Medicaid and Education
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on November 6 presented her balanced budget to the state legislature, an executive recommendation totaling $6,969,073,258 — an increase of $311,625,372, or 3.94%, over last year's budget. Little Rock, the state capital in Pulaski County, is Arkansas's center of political and fiscal decision-making.
The proposal rests on strong state finances. Arkansas closed its last fiscal year with a $655 million surplus, one of the highest in state history, and revenues for the first four months of the current fiscal year have come in more than $150 million above forecast, including $45 million above forecast in October alone. The Governor's Office says state income tax rates have been cut by more than 25% cumulatively since 2023, while state reserves stand near $3 billion.
On spending, the budget adds funding for early childhood education, invests in operations at the state's Human Development Centers, expands services for Arkansans on the Community and Employment Support (CES) Waiver waitlist, and funds the Education Freedom Account program created under the Governor's LEARNS Act. For health care, Medicaid receives a $150 million increase, with a further $200 million in one-time surplus funds directed to Medicaid sustainability and about $75 million a year in interest earnings assigned to the program. The plan also sets aside $50 million to advance the State Water Plan.
The proposal now goes to the Arkansas Legislature, which will take it up item by item before approving a final budget.
(Source: Office of the Governor of Arkansas)
来源：阿肯色州州长办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于小石城的阿肯色州议会大厦。xiquinhosilva 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock. Photo by xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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