In his first two days in office in January, Gov. Sarah Sanders has issued several executive orders for state agencies to provide reports to her within 30, 60 or 90 days.
Talk Business & Politics’ review of three of the major executive orders found that the Department of Education, Department of Transformation and Shared Services, and the Office of Inspector General completed these tasks within the window requested by the governor.
Inspector General Allison Bragg is tasked with reviewing all executive orders that are in effect or have been completed. Specifically, Sanders’ EO 23-03 requests reviews, analysis and recommendations related to executive orders, government overreach and bureaucracy throughout state government.
The report indicates that Sanders is not the first governor to use executive orders. The oldest executive order given in the report was a singular order from former Governor Winthrop Rockefeller to establish a code of conduct for public officials. That was later replaced by state law governing conduct for elected officials and state government employees.
Governors Dale Bumpers, David Pryor, Bill Clinton, Frank White, Jim Guy Tucker, Mike Huckabee, Mike Beebe and Asa Hutchinson have used executive orders for various purposes. Many are responding to disasters, but there are many in attendance with COVID-19, cybersecurity ahead of Y2K, enforcement of federal laws at the state level, and working groups charged with developing the Arkansas law for consideration. .
Then-Gov. Dale Bumpers used executive orders to create a state affirmative action program as well as an Arkansas Bikeways Commission. Clinton used executive orders to create the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission, enforce drug-free workplaces in state agencies, and place moratoriums on state purchases, travel and hiring.
Bragg saw that many executive orders accomplished their missions. Some are contrary to state law or the later EO, while state laws supersede some executive orders and are recommended for repeal. You can read the full report here.
CYBERSECURITY RISKS
Another executive order called for a review of materials and applications that could be subject to cybersecurity risks for state property, saying that China is a “foreign adversary that presents serious challenges of our values, our security, and our economy.” Sanders’ EO calls for a review of state entities’ information and communications systems to determine which devices and programs should be uninstalled or disconnected from state hardware, including TikTok, which was banned by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
EO 23-06 was overseen by Edward Armstrong, Director of the Office of State Procurement, and Jonathan Askins, Director of the Division of Information Systems. These two divisions are under the Department of Transformation and Shared Services.
“The initial review of relevant materials confirms that the risk of China and other foreign adversaries threatening the safety and security of the state of Arkansas through the state’s information systems, communication systems, procurement of technology products, and cyber services are real, imperfect, expanding, and evolving,” a memo dated April 6, 2023.
The report said that TikTok is clearly a threat to national security, but stated that there are many unspecified applications that can be used by foreign enemies to threaten safety and security.
“Because the threat is not fully known, a complete and final review of all relevant materials is impossible. However, the state must create an ongoing process to monitor and respond to those existing and emerging threats in accordance with an adaptive framework that is constantly reviewed and updated to make the response as reasonable as possible,” the memo said. “This exceeds the combined capabilities of OSP and DIS.”
Both agencies are proposing to contract with outside vendors to accomplish the goals of the executive order. You can read the full report here.
education
The third executive order issued by Sanders on his second day in office, January 11, 2023, lays out several directives for Education Secretary Jacob Oliva to be completed within 90 days.
The Department of Education’s website has posted several responses to the EO, including:
Conduct a kindergarten-readiness analysis for Arkansas.
“While Arkansas serves many children in highly rated early childhood programs, too few children and families have access to early care and education, and many children do not enter kindergarten ready to learn. To meet Arkansas’ early learning goals, the state must create an integrated early childhood system. The LEARNS Act puts Arkansas on the path to doing so,” the report said. – said.
Conduct a comprehensive review to ensure that schools and districts are implementing the Arkansas Right to Read Act.
The report states that “each student receives evidence-based literacy instruction with a curriculum aligned with the Science of Reading; and every teacher receives training in the science of reading.”
All Arkansas students are meeting the demands of today’s workforce.
The department said it will engage “third-party experts to conduct an annual audit of the state’s career paths, the first of which will be completed in no more than 180 days.” It also calls for identifying funding for “high-quality workforce apprenticeships” and “work-based employment programs.”
Reward good teachers and build a strong teacher pipeline.
The department stated that it will spend the next 90 days completing a report reviewing educator licensing standards and fees and, within 90 days, the department will post on its website a “ user-friendly, readable, and accessible list of alternative certification programs” recruiting teachers.
You can access the Department of Education’s report related to the executive order at this link.