Arkansas Trucking Association

Up Front- Before, during, after: hope

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

2020. A number. A year. An era. A verb. A tragedy. A triumph. A numbing out. A waking up. A distancing. A coming together.

It’s been almost 20 years since Sept. 11, 2001, when hijacked planes flew into the towers and buried our sense of security beneath rubble in New York City. Still, every year, people, unprompted, tell us what they were doing when they heard the news, where they were when they watched it happen on TV. It was a moment in our nation’s history that had a before and an after.

As I’m writing this, 2020 is about to end, and I’m searching for a single moment that I might remember in 20 years. There have been many I won’t forget, but we didn’t get that demarcation between the before and the after that we all experienced together. The whole year has been “during” the pandemic. Even when we didn’t know it was here in the United States, perhaps as early as December 2019 or early January 2020, spreading slowly at first, unnoticed.  The pandemic was happening to us.

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The Last Word

One state's scheme threatens the whole industry

By Chris Spear

It is more than 1,400 miles from Little Rock to Providence, R.I. – more than 20 hours of driving to get from statehouse to statehouse, but what is happening there could have a profound effect on truckers in Arkansas and across the country.

In 2016, leaders in Rhode Island came up with RhodeWorks, a financing scheme to outsource funding for their failing infrastructure by tolling only large trucks. And not all large trucks – but just combination trucks mostly from outside Rhode Island. Politicians in Rhode Island made it clear, the brunt of the tolls was going to be borne not by citizens of Rhode Island, or even businesses in Rhode Island, but by out-of-staters who need to travel to or through the state.

It was robbing Peter to pay for Paul’s roads – if Peter lived three states away and was asked to deliver Paul’s groceries.

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Trucking Executive Update - Celebrations and Salutations

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

When the world came to a screeching halt this spring, trucks delivered the supplies needed to shelter in place. As people prepared to bring their whole lives under one roof, we delivered their laptops, desks, treadmills, medicine and much-coveted toilet paper. With a vaccine ready, trucks are delivering what we need to be able to safely leave our homes again.

Are we glad to put 2020 in our rearview mirror? Absolutely, but we accomplished a lot this year, both as an industry and as an association. We are winning a nationwide PR campaign that prominently portrays truck drivers as the frontline heroes they are. Here in Arkansas, we had a major victory on the ballot with the passage of Issue 1 in favor of better roads.

I want to thank you, your company and all our safe, professional drivers for stepping up and meeting each challenge – and there were plenty this year. Despite shutdowns and constantly-evolving regulations, you delivered. I also want to extend a special appreciation to our PAC and Governmental Affairs Fund contributors who helped make this year a success at the polls.

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Highway Dollars and Sense: Vote for Roads. Vote for Issue 1.

Vote for Roads. Vote for Issue 1.

Ed. note: In November 2020, Arkansas voters will have the power to decide if the state should keep collecting a half-cent sales tax in order to raise over $205 million annually for state highways and bridges, plus an additional $43 million each for counties and cities. In each issue leading up to the election, we have covered the potential impact of that decision. In this month’s issue, we tackle the economics. We encourage you to educate yourself before you vote and to help educate your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers who will help Arkansas make critical choices about our state’s infrastructure. Read Part 1 of this special series "Highway Dollars and Sense" on the political history of the half-cent sales tax for infrastructure,  Part 2 on the necessity of roads to our everyday lives, Part 3 on how highway funding creates a safer state for everyone, and Part 4 on the economic repercussions of making the temporary tax permanent.

Every time that we arrive at this moment—days before the election—we’re always ready for it. Maybe every election cycle, we get more anxious for the attack ads and op-eds to end, for holiday cards to replace candidate fliers in our mailboxes, for the conversation to be about anything else.

The Governor and advocates for Issue 1 have taken every opportunity to tell voters about what a YES vote would mean for drivers on Arkansas roads. There have been challenges of campaigning across the state when the pandemic thwarted original plans, and opponents have also spent time trying to persuade voters.

If you are still on the fence, we hope you’ll consider reading our entire series “Highway Dollars and Sense,” but to sum up, Arkansas Trucking Association has been working toward a reliable infrastructure package for over a decade. Right now, we have a chance to seize the moment and make it happen as voters. Funding roads by continuing to collect a half-cent sales tax will allow people in all corners of the state to have access to an essential resource, maintain and improve safety, and support the economy and prosperity of communities.

Voters get to make it happen

Issue 1 has had late opposition organize in the weeks leading up to the election. One consistent argument is that a tax should not be written into our state Constitution. It’s not a controversial stance to want to revere and preserve our most fundamental state text. In fact, just down the ballot, Issue 3 proposes to make it more difficult for lawmakers and petitioners to change the Constitution.

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