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Democratic Sens. Jamie Scott of North Little Rock and Clarke Tucker of Little Rock expressed concerns that Arkansas PBS would lose both federal and private funding if its governance were no longer independent of the executive branch.
Arkansas PBS CEO Courtney Pledger spoke against the bill, saying the agency would stand to lose funding via grants and donations if it no longer has an independent board.
Senate Bill 184 would abolish both boards and transfer their powers and authorities to the education department.
An audit into Arkansas PBS’ “procurements and related processes” continued to raise concerns from state lawmakers about the educational television network’s business practices at a Friday meeting.
The Arkansas House of Representatives passed Arkansas PBS’ appropriations bill Wednesday after two failed attempts for the second consecutive fiscal session.
The network has faced questions from lawmakers over questionable spending practices found in a 2022 audit.
A fiscal 2022 audit of the station raised questions of whether administrators deliberately sidestepped or broke state procurement law.