Arkansas: Hutchinson lists 2017 priorities. In his final news conference of the year, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) presented 18 items he will urge the legislature to act on in the session beginning Jan. 9. The proposals include income tax cuts, government reorganization, and spending for mental health and higher education, reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ……. Oklahoma: State budget falls short. The State Board of Equalization has reported to Gov. Mary Fallin that the funds available for her Fiscal Year 2018 budget amount to some $6 billion, from $692 million to $868 million less that the legislature approved for Fiscal Year 2017, reports the Tulsa World. Fallin is calling for increased revenue-producing measures ……. Florida: Scott writes Castro. In a letter to President Raul Castro, Gov. Richard Scott (R) called on the Cuban dictator to end “decades of torture, repression, incarceration and death” and to “embrace freedom and bring in a new era of unprecedented prosperity” for the Cuban people, reports Sunshine State News …….