LITTLE ROCK – On Wednesday, Governor Asa Hutchinson issued Executive Order 19-12 to establish the Arkansas Complete Count Committee to promote statewide participation in the 2020 Census. The Arkansas Complete Count Committee will consist of 30 volunteer members appointed by the Governor from state, municipal, and county government, as well as citizen and private sector representatives. 

Fort Smith Mayor George McGill will serve as Chair, and Shelby Johnson, Director of the Arkansas Geographic Information Systems Office, will serve as Vice Chair.

“Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau surveys the United States to determine the nation’s population,” said Governor Hutchinson. “April 1, 2020, is Census Day. In Arkansas, we’ve been preparing for years, and an accurate count of Arkansas’s population is critical. The most obvious reason is that the federal government allocates funding back to the states based upon population counts. An undercount of even 1 percent could cost Arkansas $990 million over the next decade.”       MORE