Senate Bill Would Spend $9 Million to Cultivate Trucking Jobs

[Staff]

A Senate bill that Arkansas lawmakers referred to the Joint Budget Committee on Monday would appropriate $9 million from the state's general fund for a tuition forgiveness program for Arkansas residents who seek jobs in the trucking, transportation and logistics fields.

SB 703, sponsored by Sen. Jack Critcher, D-Batesville, has gained the support of the Arkansas Trucking Association. Critcher says the bill would allow for payment of the training expenses for up to 1,800 new jobs in the trucking, transportation, and logistics industry over the next two years.
Click here to see the full text of the bill.

"Real economic growth begins when a person gets a high-paying job," Critcher said in a news release "And Senate Bill 703 is a true jobs bill because it will help people receive the training they need to fill our state’s number one job growth occupation."

The ATA cited numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services saying that professional truck drivers will be Arkansas’ top job growth occupation through 2014, accounting for 11,653 new jobs, ahead of any other career choice.

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