State Agencies & Govt'l Affairs-Senate
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Bills discussed (46)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1604
Act 943
· 8 mentions in transcript, agenda, chapter
Matched: “…right, well, Billy, y'all running 1352 or 1604. All right. House Bill 1604 members. Y'all introduce yourself, and”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROHIBITED CONTRACTS BY STATE AGENCIES; AND TO PROHIBIT THE USE … | McAlindon | Notification that HB1604 is now Act 943 |
|
HB1352
Act 937
· 6 mentions in chapter, transcript, agenda
Matched: “HB1352 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS CONCERNING ACTIONS RELATED…”
|
TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS CONCERNING ACTIONS RELATED TO CERTAIN FOREIGN ENTITIES. | Beaty Jr. | Notification that HB1352 is now Act 937 |
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SB468
· 5 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. SB468 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING FLUORIDATION OF A PUBL…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING FLUORIDATION OF A PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM; AND TO ALLOWS VOTERS … | C. Penzo | Died on Senate Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1694
Act 996
· 3 mentions in transcript, chapter, agenda
Matched: “…unning representative again? This is with the amendment for House Bill 1694. Okay. House Bill 1694 has got the amendment. I'll let staf…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ALTERNATIVES TO ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS. | Hawk | Notification that HB1694 is now Act 996 |
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HB1243
Act 994
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TEERS. SB538 Gilmore TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PROCUREMENT LAW. HB1243 Underwood TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY REGARDING CAMPAIGN CONTR…”
|
TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY REGARDING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES; TO AMEND CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING AND PROTECT … | Underwood | Notification that HB1243 is now Act 994 |
|
HB1524
Act 939
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…S; AND TO ALLOW A CURE PERIOD FOR INSUFFICIENT SUBMISSIONS. HB1524 Wooldridge TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE BIDDING PROCEDUR…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE BIDDING PROCEDURE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES. | Wooldridge | Notification that HB1524 is now Act 939 |
|
HB1706
Act 829
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…estrictions designating areas as 'Members and Staff Only'. HB1706 McCollum TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO PROH…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO PROHIBIT RANKED CHOICE VOTING. | McCollum | Notification that HB1706 is now Act 829 |
|
HB1707
Act 524
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…ught to me by the Secretary of State's office, and now that House Bill 1707 has passed, what we're trying to do is get everybody to fil…”
|
TO REQUIRE CERTAIN CANDIDATES TO FILE REPORTS WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE; TO AMEND PORTIONS … | Hawk | Notification that HB1707 is now Act 524 |
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HB1714
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RNATIVES TO ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS. HB1714 Rose TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF PAID CANVASSER. HB1604 McAl…”
|
TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF PAID CANVASSER. | Rose | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1739
Act 814
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…1967; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS. HB1739 M. Brown TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIALS AC…”
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TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIALS ACT. | M. Brown | Notification that HB1739 is now Act 814 |
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HB1774
Act 562
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…NTEGRITY; AND TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996. HB1774 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ARKANSAS FAIR HOUS…”
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TO AMEND THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ARKANSAS FAIR HOUSING COMMISSION. | Beaty Jr. | Notification that HB1774 is now Act 562 |
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HB1797
Act 944
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1797 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ARKANSAS DEVELOPM…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ARKANSAS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. | Beaty Jr. | Notification that HB1797 is now Act 944 |
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HB1873
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1873 B. McKenzie CONCERNING NOTIFICATION TO PERSONS ELECTED TO S…”
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CONCERNING NOTIFICATION TO PERSONS ELECTED TO SERVE AS A MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF … | B. McKenzie | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1886
Act 823
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…THE LIMITATION ON SERVICE UNDER THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION. HB1886 Pearce TO DESIGNATE THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER AS THE OFFICIAL…”
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TO DESIGNATE THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER AS THE OFFICIAL CANINE OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. | Pearce | Notification that HB1886 is now Act 823 |
|
SB141
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…EN INTERIM COMMITTEES MAY MEET DURING A LEGISLATIVE RECESS. SB141 B. King TO ELIMINATE FUNDING TO THE ARKANSAS CENTER FOR HEA…”
|
TO ELIMINATE FUNDING TO THE ARKANSAS CENTER FOR HEALTH IMPROVEMENT. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB212
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…OM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967 CONCERNING PERSONNEL RECORDS. SB212 K. Hammer TO CREATE THE DOCUMENT VALIDITY DIVISION; AND TO…”
|
TO CREATE THE DOCUMENT VALIDITY DIVISION; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. | K. Hammer | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB247
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…NATE FUNDING TO THE ARKANSAS CENTER FOR HEALTH IMPROVEMENT. SB247 C. Tucker TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ABSENTEE VOTER INTEGRITY A…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ABSENTEE VOTER INTEGRITY ACT OF 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING … | C. Tucker | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB248
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE. SB248 C. Tucker TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967;…”
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TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AND TO AMEND THE PROVISIONS OF … | C. Tucker | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB395
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…E ENFORCEMENT LICENSING BOARD; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. SB395 Hickey TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING STATEMENTS OF FINAN…”
|
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL INTEREST; AND AMENDING A PORTION OF ARKANSAS … | Hickey | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SB398
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB398 C. Tucker TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING INITIATIVE PETIT…”
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TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING INITIATIVE PETITIONS AND REFERENDUM PETITIONS; AND TO ALLOW A CURE … | C. Tucker | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB4
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB4 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS;…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS; AND TO ALLOW VOTERS TO ELECT "FOR" … | C. Penzo | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB434
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB434 J. Dotson TO CREATE THE "PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION ACT"; TO…”
|
TO CREATE THE "PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION ACT"; TO AMEND A PORTION OF THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION … | J. Dotson | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB44
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…LLOW VOTERS TO ELECT "FOR" OR "AGAINST" WATER FLUORIDATION. SB44 Hester TO CLARIFY THE LAW CONCERNING WHEN INTERIM COMMITTEE…”
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TO CLARIFY THE LAW CONCERNING WHEN INTERIM COMMITTEES MAY MEET DURING A LEGISLATIVE RECESS. | Hester | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SB453
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB453 B. King TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRIC…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB476
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB476 J. Scott TO ALLOW LEAVE FOR ORGAN DONATION FOR CERTAIN STAT…”
|
TO ALLOW LEAVE FOR ORGAN DONATION FOR CERTAIN STATE EMPLOYEES; AND TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST … | J. Scott | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB493
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB493 J. Bryant TO TRANSFER AND CONSOLIDATE THE DUTIES OF TRADE-R…”
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TO TRANSFER AND CONSOLIDATE THE DUTIES OF TRADE-RELATED BOARDS TO THE CODE ENFORCEMENT LICENSING BOARD; … | J. Bryant | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB517
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…STATE AGENCIES TO PURCHASE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS MADE IN CHINA. SB517 J. Scott TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS;…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS; AND TO ALLOW A COUNTY BOARD OF … | J. Scott | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB538
Act 782
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB538 Gilmore TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PROCUREMENT LAW.”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PROCUREMENT LAW. | Gilmore | Notification that SB538 is now Act 782 |
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SB569
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…END THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ARKANSAS FAIR HOUSING COMMISSION. SB569 M. Johnson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCER…”
|
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING BALLOT TITLES OF PROPOSED MEASURES; AND AMENDING THE … | M. Johnson | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB579
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…E AUTHORITY OF ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 5, SECTION 1. SB579 M. McKee TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EM…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; AND TO PROHIBIT A PUBLIC EMPLOYER … | M. McKee | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB608
Act 991
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RETRIEVER AS THE OFFICIAL CANINE OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. SB608 M. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING RUNOFF ELECTIONS FOR…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING RUNOFF ELECTIONS FOR COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL OFFICERS. | M. Johnson | Notification that SB608 is now Act 991 |
|
SB614
Act 992
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB614 C. Tucker TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967;…”
|
TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING … | C. Tucker | Notification that SB614 is now Act 992 |
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SB617
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “AGENDA (Revised 4/3/2025 @ 2:15 PM) Added SB617 Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE CAPITOL ZONING DISTRICT; AND TO AMEND THE ZONING AUTHORITY … | M. Johnson | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SJR11
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SJR11 J. Payton A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONS…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 2, § 5, TO PROTECT THE RIGHT … | J. Payton | Approved by the Governor. |
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SJR12
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ARTICLE 2, § 5, TO PROTECT THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. SJR12 C. Tucker AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION REQUIRI…”
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AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION REQUIRING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO ESTABLISH BY LAW A … | C. Tucker | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SJR13
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…AL ASSEMBLY TO ESTABLISH BY LAW A REVISED ELECTION PROCESS. SJR13 J. Dotson A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ALLOW A CANDIDATE F…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ALLOW A CANDIDATE FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE, … | J. Dotson | Died on Senate Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SJR14
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ION OR INDEPENDENT STATUS WHEN RUNNING FOR JUDICIAL OFFICE. SJR14 J. Dotson A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE DETERMI…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE DETERMINATION OF THE TRUE VALUE IN MONEY OF REAL PROPERTY … | J. Dotson | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SJR15
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…UE VALUE IN MONEY OF REAL PROPERTY FOR ASSESSMENT PURPOSES. SJR15 J. Dismang A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING ECONOMIC D…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL … | J. Dismang | Approved by the Governor. |
|
SJR17
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ENT DISTRICTS TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Page 2 of 3 SJR17 J. Dotson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO CREA…”
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AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS. | J. Dotson | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SJR18
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ONSTITUTION TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS. SJR18 J. Payton THE CITIZENS ONLY VOTING AMENDMENT. SJR22 G. Ledi…”
|
THE CITIZENS ONLY VOTING AMENDMENT. | J. Payton | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SJR2
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…MMISSION. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS Number Sponsor Subtitle SJR2 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS A…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS APPORTIONMENT COMMISSION TO APPORTION DISTRICTS FOR THE HOUSE … | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SJR22
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RIGHTS. SJR18 J. Payton THE CITIZENS ONLY VOTING AMENDMENT. SJR22 G. Leding A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE QUALIFI…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE QUALIFICATIONS TO VOTE IN AN ELECTION. | G. Leding | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SJR24
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…DMENT CONCERNING THE QUALIFICATIONS TO VOTE IN AN ELECTION. SJR24 M. Johnson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCER…”
|
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING INITIATIVES, REFERENDA, AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS REFERRED TO VOTERS. | M. Johnson | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SJR3
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SJR3 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHI…”
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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SJR6
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION. SJR6 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN…”
|
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND … | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SJR9
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…GRAMS AND ASSISTANCE FOR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION SERVICES. SJR9 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PERMITTING THE STATE OF…”
|
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PERMITTING THE STATE OF ARKANSAS TO BE SUED AS A DEFENDANT IN … | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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First up, we need to expunge the vote by which Senate bill 468 passed as amended, so I got a motion from Senator Dodson, second from Senator Payton. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right. Vote's been expunged. Then we need to, Carly, what's the next motion? Expunge the vote by which the verbal
Speaker 3
0:20
amendment passed. And then we need to expunge the
vote by which the verbal amendment passed. That's where I can't leave here for two minutes. We've got a motion from Senator Dotson.
Second. Second. Second from Senator Clark. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right. The vote has been expunged. Now, we have got a new amendment here. Formal amendment. I'll let staff hand that out. Members take a look. Senator Penzo, you want to briefly explain that it's pretty self-explanatory.
County clerk, substitute circuit clerk. 468, Senator. All right,
Speaker 14
1:10
we'll take a motion to adopt the proper time. Question, Senator
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
1:22
Dotson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just for clarity, this amendment only replaces page one, line
33. That is correct because it needs to, it is supposed to be county clerk on the other because it has to do, yeah.
Well, no, I think we did the wrong one the first time. Page two, line 20. Yeah. So page two, line 20 needs to be county clerk. Yes, it does. And then page one, line 33 is circuit clerk. That's correct. Okay. - The circuit clerks, when they were here, stated that's how it should be. - All right, then I'll make a motion to adopt at the proper time. - Okay, now it's proper
time, got a motion to adopt. - Second. - Second by Senator Payton. All in favor, say aye. -
Aye. - Opposed? All right, amendment's been adopted.
All right, now, Senator, you are recognized to present Senate Bill 468 as amended. - Okay, I ask for a
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
2:18
good vote and I'm closed for my bill. - All right, Senator's closed.
I've got a motion do pass as amended. A second from Senator Payton. Any discussion on the motion? Not hearing
Chair
Unverified
2:32
any. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations, Senator. Thank you. Passes as amended. All right.
Speaker 33
2:44
Senator Johnson, Representative McClendon, y'all want to come? Are we
Speaker 34
2:50
doing House bills? I thought we were supposed to be Senate bills. We're
doing whatever the House. All right. What bill are y'all running? 1352 or 1604? All right. House Bill 1604, members. Y'all
introduce yourself and you'll be recognized to proceed with your bill.
Representative Rick McClure
Unverified
3:14
Senator Blake Johnson, District 21. Representative Mindy McElindon, District 10. All right. Y'all go ahead. I'm going to defer to Representative McElindon. is that okay all right
Representative Mindy McAlindon
Unverified
3:41
you're ready oh okay making sure all right this is um house bill 1604 it is
straightforward common sense measure that prohibits state agencies from buying promotional items that are made in china this bill aligns perfectly with the strong stance that governor Sanders has taken against the Chinese Communist Party. We've already enacted policies to prevent Chinese government-linked companies from buying our farmland. We've also had prohibited state agencies from purchasing drones made in China. So now it's time to take the next step and make sure that our public dollars are not funding a regime that opposes our values. Let me be clear, this bill is not anti-free market. As a strong conservative, I believe in the power of the free
market. Competition drives innovation, it strengthens businesses, and it can lift communities. Private citizens and businesses will still be free to purchase products from wherever they choose. This bill does not infringe on anyone's rights. However, when it comes to taxpayer dollars, we have a responsibility to protect Arkansas and Arkansans. Public funds should serve our interests, not those of a foreign adversary. The Chinese media called America a paper tiger, a nation that is rotting from within. Every dollar that we send to China strengthens their future, not ours.
And I don't believe that that's a wise use of Arkansas taxpayer money. From a financial impact, this bill does not have a financial impact because it does not increase costs. The financial impact report came back unknown. We know there are many countries, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, that produce promotional items at comparable prices. So state agencies should be able to purchase these items through those companies. So House Bill 1604 is very simple. State agencies should not use public funds to buy promotional items made in China. Our dollars should be spent wisely strengthening our state and
our country and not funding those who stand against us. And with that, I'll take
any questions. All right, members, you've heard an explanation of the bill. Any questions from the committee? Senator Clark or Senator Tucker? So
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
5:36
I just want to make sure I understand. Yes. These promotional items, they're not promoting China. They're, like, for example,
just pick parks and tourism. The bumper stickers would be promoting parks and tourism just made in China. Correct. Okay. No promotional items,
Representative Mindy McAlindon
Unverified
5:51
can be purchased from Chinese companies. So hats, pins, T-shirts that you give away, all those, not uniforms, those are not included in this bill. Okay, so why the distinction? Just in terms of the scope of the bill and what we thought we would be able to accomplish in the right amount of time was this, and also a lot of times, like at RDOT, they may buy their own uniform or their own shirt, and so we
Speaker 64
6:13
didn't want to put that burden on the employees. Okay. All
Speaker 65
6:16
right, thank you very much. Because it was hand money. Thank you, Senator.
Are there any other questions from the committee? Senator Sullivan. So if a private vendor buys them
Senator Dan Sullivan
Unverified
6:28
and then sells them to the state agency, is that okay? No. The vendor is, so if the state
Speaker 45
6:34
agency is using public dollars, then it shouldn't come from
Representative Mindy McAlindon
Unverified
6:37
China, even if, so whether they buy it themselves from a Chinese company or through a vendor. Okay, there's no middleman involved. Yes. Okay. All right. Any other questions?
All right, I don't see any other questions. Anybody sign up to speak for or against? Don't see anybody. Representative, do you recognize
Chair
Unverified
6:59
the close for your bill? I would just ask for
a good vote, and I'm closed for my bill. All right. Representative's closed. What's the
will of the committee? Got a motion to pass, Senator Sullivan. Second, Senator Hammer. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all
Representative Rick McClure
Unverified
7:17
in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations, your bill passes. Thank you so much.
All right, Senator Johnson, stay there. You got another bill, don't you? Do you think I could get her to come to the well with me? No. If I
Speaker 76
7:30
ask for a reason. Probably not. Are you going to do 1352? It's representative Beatty.
Representative Rick McClure
Unverified
7:36
Okay. Come on down. Representative Beatty come on down. I didn't know y'all were meeting so I saw y'all on the camera whenever I was coming down and I understand and I was going to be stuck in traffic anyway so you too.
Speaker 81
7:51
I'll take a motion to adopt the amendment. We all get it.
Chair
Unverified
8:01
Pretty simple. Representative Beatty. I got a motion to adopt by Senator Sullivan.
Notice these technical... Second by me. Technical... All in favor, say aye. Opposed. All right, amendment's been adopted. You're recognized to proceed with House Bill 1352 as amended. Introduce yourselves and proceed with your
Representative Rick McClure
Unverified
8:18
testimony. Senator Blake Johnson, District 21, Senate.
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
8:21
State Representative Howard Beatty, District 95. All right, Representative Beatty, kick it off. Members of the committee, Mr. Chair, here to present House Bill 1352, which is basically combating the hostile foreign influence of China in Arkansas. Right now, the states are facing increasing pressure from foreign actors, Some of which are acting on behalf of hostile foreign governments to enact policies to serve the interests of the governments or seek to sow division among Americans.
This bill takes a step to combat the influence of China and other hostile adversaries, especially in the area of limiting the manipulation of our state institutions. Section one of the bill preventing Chinese Communist Party influence on higher education system. The FBI has reported that Chinese governments engaged in an ongoing pattern of stealing intellectual property from U.S. universities and companies, engaging in spying on their students here and funding campus programs such as Confucius Institutes,
Chinese Students and Scholars Association and similar organizations designed to spread the Chinese Marxist philosophy on campuses. These organizations also serve China's ongoing efforts to suppress dissent among students studying abroad. So section one of the bill, page one, line 21, through page two of line eight requires state-supported institutions of higher education to ensure no such organizations are recognized by campus officials
and that any such existing organizations be disbanded. Failure to do so would result in withholding the state institution funding. The remainder of Section 1 of Page 2 address the investments in Chinese companies by higher education institutions. Section 2 of the bill, limiting Chinese and other hostile foreign influence on Arkansas municipal governments. While having a sister city agreement with a municipality in a foreign land
may seem like an innocent, fun arrangement, this section of the bill recognizes that such agreements when entered into with governments that are hostile to the United States, they can be used by that foreign government as cover for some of their human rights abuses and also as a way to gain a foothold with local public officials to advance their causes. We've had some examples of that in New York City with the governor. I think Linda Sun, one of the staffs there, was accused by federal prosecutors
of being paid by the Chinese authorities to push their agenda and interest over the state of New York. Section three of the bill focused on divesting from Chinese companies deemed to be a threat to state security, continually despite warnings from the FBI and others as well as advisors to a retirement system, majority of our U.S. pensions continue to be invested in China and Hong Kong. Moving through this bill, each dollar invested in China
supports the regime that actively oppresses and jails to sinners and clamps down on free speech around the world. A number of our state pensions and others have invested from China. We need to move that forward. Section 3 of this bill, page 5, line 5 through 14, requires that public investment entities and public pension and investment funds at the state, county, municipal level, other than those of self-directed plans, refrain from investing in Chinese companies
and investment vehicles in China that are known to be controlled by the Chinese government. Each public entity must identify and report any existing investments, that's page 5, and divest from such holdings reasonably unless they constitute a diminuous investment and there's no financial harm to the state. And with that, I'll entertain any questions.
Speaker 85
12:37
All right, members, you've heard an explanation. Any questions from the committee? Senator Tucker,
Chair
Unverified
12:43
you're recognized for a question.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
12:47
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just asking about Section 1. What
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
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12:57
is a Confucius Institute? My basic understanding of a Confucius Institute
is a, I guess it's kind of like a club or an organization on campus that provokes the ideologies and the beliefs of Confucius and the Chinese Communist Party.
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
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13:23
the bill. I think it was defined in a previous act that had banned these. I think Senator Mark Johnson passed a bill maybe in 2021 that banned Confucius Institutes in the state, but part of this bill was to go back in and withhold funding if they still have those institutes. So I think it's defined in previous statute. Okay.
Senator Clarke Tucker
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13:49
That same subsection, page two, line four, Chinese Cultural Center. And in your remarks, I think I heard you say Chinese Student Association. Did I hear you say that?
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
14:05
I'll go back and look exactly at what I had in my notes. I don't think I had
student association. I mentioned students in those opening remarks that they use some of those organizations, the Confucius Institutes, and Chinese students and scholar associations along the same lines to spread their philosophy on campuses.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
14:30
Okay. I mean, I just, my concern is, I mean, if I hear about a Chinese student association, I think of Americans with Chinese heritage who, you know, form a student association to be with each other, but they're not promoting.
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
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14:50
I think in response to your question, I think the focus of the bill is not Chinese Americans that are trying to. have a tie back to there.
I think these are focused strictly on the organizations that are out promoting the policies of the Communist Chinese Party. I know
Senator Clarke Tucker
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15:08
that's not the intent. I'm just trying to make sure the language in the bill matches the intent. If you're banning a Chinese cultural center, to me that also, again, a cultural center is not the same thing as a propaganda machine. So anyway, I'm just not sure that language is the best fit for what you're trying to do.
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
15:35
I was reading from my notes. I want to go back and make certain that within the language of the bill in Section 1, I mean, I think those are just some of the notes that I had placed in. I'm looking at it now. I when I ran down if you've got a copy of it I'd be glad I ran down I just grabbed my notes and printed those off before I came down. Yeah the Chinese Cultural
Center I don't think in in the actual bill that it mentioned anything on student associations those are just some of my notes. All right thanks Senator -
Thank you, Senator Tucker. Are there other questions for the committee? Senator Sullivan, you're recognized for a question.
Senator Dan Sullivan
Unverified
16:27
- I'm just, I'm blanking on the name. The U of A has a separate facility that's being funded by a foreign organization, a foreign country, I don't
remember the name of it. Do y'all? - I do not, Senator. - I don't know if it's China or not. - Okay.
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
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16:41
- Right now, all the institutions say, they do not have these organizations on campus. - Okay,
thank you. - Thank you, Senator. Are there any other questions? All right, so any no further questions? We don't have
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
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16:57
anybody sign up to speak for or against this. Representative Beatty, you're recognized to close for your bill. Members, I appreciate y'all giving the opportunity. Basically, this bill just aims to regulate and restrict the actions and financial investments related to entities associated with the People's Republic of China
and the state of Arkansas. With that, I'd appreciate a motion due passed and a good vote on the bill. All right, members, what's the will of
the committee? Motion due passed. Got a motion to do pass as amended by Senator Payton, second by Senator Hammer. Any discussion? Seeing none. All in favor say aye.
Speaker 107
17:29
Aye. Opposed? All right. Congratulations. Your bill passes as amended. Thank you, committee. Do you all have another
Speaker 109
17:35
bill? We have the housing, fair housing. Can you?
Speaker 111
17:43
Yeah. I might have that. Is that what? 14? 14. 17. Senator
Speaker 13
17:59
All right. All right. Representative Hawk.
Chair
Unverified
18:21
running representative again? This is with the amendment for House Bill 1694. Okay. House Bill 1694 has got the amendment. I'll let staff pass that out.
All right. I'll take a motion at the proper time. If you want to explain the amendment really quickly,
Representative RJ Hawk
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18:56
Representative. Representative R.J. Hawk, District 81. Colleagues, I appreciate you allowing me to come back twice in one day. This is the amendment we talked about earlier this morning that allows for an emergency for a candidate to be able to file via email, fax, or delivery to the Secretary of State's office. And it outlines it in the bill with the amendment. All right.
Chair
Unverified
19:15
Members, for an explanation of the amendment,
take a motion. Got a motion to adopt by Senator Dotson. Second by Senator Hammer. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right. Amendment's been adopted. Representative Hawke, you recognize and proceed as adopted.
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
19:30
Yeah, as we talked about today, Senators, this was a bill that was brought to me by the Secretary of State's office, and now that House Bill 1707 has passed, what we're trying to do is get everybody to file online, but after the conversation that we had in committee earlier this morning, sometimes there's cases where it's just not possible for some people. And so with the amendment, we are now allowing for if there's an emergency that is addressed, like let's say a candidate comes and says, my computer quit working, I had a baby, or dog ate my homework, whatever it might be, they can now email their contribution for their campaign at report by email fax, or they can actually come up with a paper copy to the Secretary of State's office.
One thing I failed to mention this morning, the Secretary of State's office has let me know that they're going to put kiosks in the Secretary of State's office. So if somebody does come up here, they will be able to upload those forms onto that kiosk. They've got a facility here in Little Rock downstairs, and they also have one in northwest Arkansas currently. So that's what the bill does. All right, members.
Explanation. Senator Payton, you're recognized for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So you just reminded me of something with the other bill that passed.
Yes, sir. It's going, if it becomes law, it's going to cause all local candidates to file with the Secretary of State's office. Yes, sir. So they're going to be under the same requirement. Do we know how many filers that's
going to be and that the system can handle the volume? It can handle the volume,
Representative RJ Hawk
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21:09
according to the Secretary of State's office. The last time we checked, it was going to be between 6,000 to 6,500 new filers to the system.
That was according to the Secretary of State's office. So this will affect, so currently we have 135 House and Senate members. We have the seven constitutional officers. I guess currently do we have like
Representative RJ Hawk
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21:31
judges and things that run? They don't
file on this because they do their own thing with ethics, from what I'm told. And so, yes, to your point, for the state, we have our reps and senators. We've got the constitutional officers that file with the state currently. So
we're going from less than 200 to how many thousand?
Representative RJ Hawk
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21:50
To about 6,500, yes, sir. Okay, thank you. And that bill passed today on the Senate floor, 1707. And that was a bill that was brought to us by constituents, essentially, because they wanted to be able to see their local candidates. I like that bill. Yeah, and
so what this would entail due, we're going to make them file online as well, right? But then this would be
in place as well for them to, if there's an emergency, they would be able to send in email facts
or bring a copy to the SOS. Okay, thank
Senator Kim Hammer
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22:28
you. Senator Hammer? A simple head nod. Secretary of State, sit back there. You guys able to handle what this bill is going to do? Okay, with the current system and what's coming with the improvements. Okay, thank you. That's a heads up for those that didn't see that.
Okay, any other questions from the members of the committee? All right, seeing enough further
questions, don't have anybody to sign up to speak for or against this. Representative, you're recognized to close for your bill. I would appreciate a good vote and do pass. All right, representatives close.
What's the will of the committee? Got a motion to do pass as amended by Senator Hammer, second from Senator Sullivan. Any discussion on the motion? Say none. All in favor, say aye. Opposed? Congratulations, Representative. Your bill passes. Thank you, Senators. All right. Senator Hammer, do you want to run?
Let's say here, 1714. All right, Senator, you're running House Bill 1714.
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
23:27
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This bill has been amended. it was engrossed so what you're seeing in your packet is the bill as it was amended i did it members own so when it came in it came in clean removed all the itemized list and it now simply states that receives anything of value this by the way kim hammer state center district 16 sorry presenting house bill 1714. thank you receive anything of value before after the signature and a local option election petition is solicited.
So this is just bringing a definition of what is a paid canvassage. - All right, members, you've heard an explanation of the bill.
Are there questions from the committee? Senator Tuchner, you're recognized for a question. - So I hadn't seen
Senator Clarke Tucker
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24:17
this amendment. I'm just trying to catch up here.
What my recollection is, you know, there was a list of eight things before and-- - Could you say, how can you hear the echo?
- My recollection is that there was a list of eight items. It was a list like that includes without limitation or whatever and then there were eight things that were listed and Senator Dodson made the point that four of them or so he was good with and four of them or so he was not good with. And so again, I'm just trying to understand, but I guess my impression was that maybe we were going to remove the four things that we didn't like from the bill
and keep the other four, but the way this amendment reads, it's still including everything that was listed before just without listing them. I think
Senator Kim Hammer
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25:12
the issue that was brought up and the reason we removed everything is if you're going to remove four, just remove them all and have it just be a clean definition as defined in the amended bill.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
25:25
Okay, fair enough. But I still think this presents the same problems
that we had before because, I mean, I think it's still the problem as we talked about before is what if you get a bottle of water or what if you get reimbursed for your gas, you know,
for driving somewhere to solicit signatures? I mean, that would qualify as anything of value. So the way I'm reading this, and I've been familiar with it for about 90 seconds now, is
that I still have the same concerns that I did before.
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
26:01
Okay, and I think part of the discussion was this would help alleviate what might be regarded as minor infractions, the water, the situations that were brought up. And I just go back to the argument that if you start, and this was something that was pointed out after, you know, in discussions, if you start listing, how thorough do you make that list all the way down the line, or do you make it broad like this so that, and we all know that if something's brought up,
it's probably going to end up in litigation, and this allows that broad interpretation in the event it ends up in litigation, would a judge or someone interpret giving a bottle of water the same value as paying for somebody coming from out of state and paying for their motel and for their gas and all those kind of things. And I understand this was, but I think this gets us to what at least it's intended to do. Okay.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
27:05
I guess it's just my, you know, obviously you can write the bill as you deem fit, but to my thinking, narrow is better and anything of value still includes a bottle of water or a piece of pizza or the things that we were discussing before. And I think it would be better to exclude some of those things or have a narrower definition
for payments, bonuses, you know, the other things that were listed in the stipends, allowances, awards that were listed in the previous bill.
Speaker 149
27:36
So anyway, that's just, that's my thought.
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
27:44
Thank you. Sure. Thank you, Senator. All right, Senator Dotson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I read
the bill, I don't necessarily share the same concerns I had before on it. I think it's tremendously better, but I don't know that it really does anything. So what exactly does, as I'm reading it, the only thing it really does is inserts, exchange for, or as a reward, those words are added to it.
It's still saying anything of value. So is there, how is that, I mean, it's kind of maintaining the status quo is the way I'm reading it. I may just be reading it, but it doesn't have a list of anything in there, so it's still very broad. It doesn't change anything of value. So I appreciate you amending it, and I'm supportive
of it as it is now, but I don't know that it actually changes anything.
I think what it does is it creates the
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
28:51
opportunity that if in the event someone is being rewarded. And some of this is going to be left up, I get it, some of this is going to be left up to interpretation that is probably going to maybe come as a result of litigation and there would be a standard of interpretation that may be rendered by the court that at least you could have some rail guards
that would give at least some direction as to does a bottle of water rise to the same level as paying for a meltail room or reimbursement? Of course, we've done other things as far as like domicile, resident, but I think this at least brings it to the forefront where that can be determined, whereas before I think it
Senator Jim Dotson
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29:43
left it a little open-ended. I'm saying just as far as the status quo, where before when it said food,
when it said travel, when it said all those other things. It was incredibly restrictive, and I felt as if it would make any volunteer a paid canvasser by definition. This doesn't change that. I mean, this changes that in that it's not that specific, but it doesn't change existing law where on, like, page, is this page one? Page one, line 24, where it says anything of value, it's just repeating anything of value later on. So I don't know that it changes the problem that Senator Tucker kind of sees in there that it still would potentially a bottle of water or pizza party or something like that could be defined as some or seen as something of value or anything of value, but it's kind of open up, it's vague, open up to interpretation.
So I wouldn't necessarily see a bottle of water or a pizza party as anything of value or something in exchange or a reward necessarily. Somebody else might, but I don't know that it rises to the level of someone filing a lawsuit probably for somebody getting pizza. Now, if they're going out for steak every night, 30 nights, putting up in a hotel, paying them, you know, those things would be more rewarding, I would say, and that might rise to a level where somebody actually starts to challenge it and then get a definition by a court that's open to interpretation.
Senator Kim Hammer
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31:29
21-22, paid canvasser means a person who, and this is new language, in exchange for or as a reward for soliciting or obtaining a signature on a petition. As far as like, is somebody giving them a bottle of water, is somebody giving them a pizza or something, and I'm just going to use the phrase low level for distinction purposes.
equivalent to, hey, you come here and we are going to pay for your motel room, we're going to pay for your gas, we're going to do all those things. I think the one thing this bill does is add a little bit of clarity for the purpose of what
rises to the level of reward versus what is human compassion.
Senator Jim Dotson
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32:18
Yeah. I mean, I agree. I'm fine with the bill as it is now. Like, I just, I don't know
that it necessarily changes a whole lot of what the existing law is to what it's going to be if this passes all the way through the process. But I appreciate you amending it and taking out some of the other language that I did find problematic. - Okay. All right, Senator Clark, you're a recommendation
Speaker 110
32:52
for a question. - I'm with Senator Tucker. I thought we were taking out three things probably.
Senator Alan Clark
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33:00
And now it says receives anything of value before after signature. And I don't think it's better. I disagree with Senator Dodson because we're back to a t-shirt, we're back to pizza has value, a shirt has value, a bottle of water has value, and receives anything of value. It goes from vague to absolute, you could be in trouble for anything.
Senator Kim Hammer
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33:32
Am I wrong? I'll tell you what I'd like to do. Reading the room.
Don't want to waste the time. Appreciate that. but I think I can find a pathway forward based on the conversation today instead of sitting here and drilling down. I think I've figured out a way to get forward, but it's not going to be during this meeting. Let
me pull down and I'll be back first next week. - All right. - Thanks. - We will meet again. All right,
thank you. All right. Senator Johnson, Representative Beatty. I'm going to...
Speaker 117
34:29
y'all what what bill are you all going to run this bill
Speaker 79
34:35
number 7, is it 1775? 1774. 1774, members.
House Bill 1774. If you go ahead and
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
34:46
introduce yourself. Senator Blake Johnson, District 21. Representative Howard Beatty, District 95. You are recognized to present House Bill 1774. Mr. Chair, committee, it's House Bill 1774. It's to amend the membership of the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission. Currently, the commission has, if you look at the bill starting on page one and extending down through, I think, the middle of page three, those are all the requirements of the board.
They have a 13, currently they have a 13-member board of directors. And basically what this bill would do is it would change the composition of the board to a seven-member board with four-year terms. Five members would be appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Five members would have to have knowledge in the fields of real estate, home building, mortgage lending, banking, or another related field. One member would be appointed by the pro tem of the Senate.
And this member, one member who would have demonstrated active involvement or interest in fair housing issues. And then there would also be one member appointed by the Speaker of the House who has demonstrated active involvement in or interest in housing, fair housing issues. Justification for the changes that currently statutory requirements for appointments are so specific, and you can see that in that language that struck out, that it's difficult to comply.
It's also difficult to find candidates who are willing to serve and also meet the narrowly defined requirements. It's burdensome for the appointing authorities and the citizens interested in serving or even anyone making recommendations. So broadening those requirements allows a much greater pool of candidates to fill these positions for appointment and will give more opportunity, more people opportunity to participate. It will result in a much more active and engaged board of directors.
And with that, I'll entertain any questions. - All right, members, you've heard an explanation.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
36:52
- Senator Tucker, you're recognized for a question? - You may have mentioned this. Do the current folks
get grandfathered in? What happens with the current folks? What happens
Speaker 172
37:00
to the current members of the commission? - Whenever I read it, they all serve out their terms. - Okay, so they're grandfathered in basically. - Yes,
Speaker 173
37:07
until the end of their terms and then it updates. - Okay. - Correct. - All right.
Are there other questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing no further questions. I don't have anybody
to speak for against this bill. Representative, you are recognized to close your bill. Mr. Chairman, again, I appreciate y'all's time this evening.
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
37:25
This afternoon, I'm closed for my bill. All right, members, what's the will of the committee? We've got a motion due passed by Senator Tucker, second by
Senator Dotson. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations. Your bill passes. Thank you again. Y'all have a good evening. All
Speaker 107
37:43
right. All right, members, seeing no further business come, oh.
You got one? Okay. 1797, members. Representative Beatty, why don't you hang back?
Speaker 9
38:22
All right. There is an amendment on this. We're going to let staff get that out real quickly.
Speaker 117
38:49
All right. Senator Tucker, you want to go through your amendment real quickly, just
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
38:59
a brief explanation? Yes, Mr. Chair. And just for clarity, Senator Hammer was out of the room this morning. I had what I called the Gilmore Agenda, and this is the final bill on the Gilmore Agenda
that we didn't get to. I'll discuss the amendment. I'd like to invite Mark Conon from ADFA to come up. Yeah, Mark, come on up. since we have the House sponsor here in the room, please join us at the table, Representative Beatty.
All the amendment does is there was a concern that there was some language in the bill that would amend an initiated act, which raises the vote threshold, as you all know, from simple majority to two-thirds. And the amendment clarifies that there's nothing in the bill that will amend an initiated act to take the voting threshold from two-thirds
back down to a simple majority. So that's the amendment. I move to pass on the
Speaker 17
39:48
amendment. - All right, we have a motion to adopt the amendment. Senator Tucker, second from Senator Sullivan.
All in favor say aye. - Aye. - Opposed? All right, and it's been adopted. You were recognized to proceed with House Bill 1797 as amended. - Thank
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
40:03
you, Mr. Chair. With that, I'm gonna invite Mr. Conan to identify himself and I'm happy to take questions and whatnot. Again, we have representative Betty here as well, but Mr. Conon is the expert and he will do an excellent job describing what the bill does. - Mark Conon, president, Arkansas Development
Speaker 193
40:20
Finance Authority. - Great, all right, Mark, go ahead.
Speaker 195
40:26
- Okay, before you House Bill 1797, the gist of the bill is try to provide ADFA with some flexibility. We do business in the private market on behalf of the state. We do not receive state tax dollars. We do not receive special revenue, general revenue, no penny of any kind, but we have a public mission. And so we are essentially a bank or a finance company on behalf of the state. And so what we're trying to do here is to provide ourselves
with a little flexibility to attract investment. We're trying to adapt to market demands. And so a lot of the partnerships that we have are banks, they are developers, they are venture capitalists, they're people that play in the private market and so a lot of times there's some state constraints that keep us from partnering with some of them and meeting their timing of their market needs. As you guys know, a lot of times there are opportunities to present themselves
out there in the private market and they want us to partner with them and we miss those opportunities because maybe it's procurement delays or budgeting delays or something to that effect. And so 42 of the other 49 states are structured this way. We feel like the original intent was for us to kind of operate this way. It's a good model. Other states have been successful with it. And when we do well, when we grow, your constituents and Arkansas businesses do well. So we want to do more.
And so as we do more, they benefit. And so I kind of look at this as kind of being on a drag strip, and we're ready to go and just need the green light. And again, when we do more, your constituents, they benefit. And that's kind of how it works. So I'll take any questions. All right, members, you've heard an explanation. Are
there any questions for members of the committee? Senator Payton, you're recognized for a
question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And number one, I think I benefit greatly by having this amendment engrossed
because I'm having a hard time flipping back and forth and figuring this out. I know I spoke to one of y'all out in the hall a day or two ago, and I promised I'd read it and study it. I didn't get a chance to do that. So this afternoon, I realized it might come up, thanks to Senator Dotson. I tried real quickly to get a couple of opinions from people that know more about it than I do, and their opinions being negative caused me to definitely need to read and study the bill. and the fact that it's not engrossed is complicating that.
I do have a couple of questions though. So on page two, section two, I mean, basically it's a real simple statement there. E says this chapter is intended to aid the state by creating an independent instrumentality of the state. That term is reused again a couple of times I've already seen below this. Do we have a definition or can you define for me what an independent instrumentality of the state is? - That's a great question.
Speaker 195
43:37
We've spent a lot of time talking to other states on this as well. And, you know, what we've come up with is essentially is the structure that we're presenting here that other states use. And I like to say it's kind of a dotted line on, like I say, a state org chart versus a straight line. So it would be where creation of the General Assembly and we have a public mission with public oversight, same board appointed by the governor, oversight doesn't change. But you just, you have increased flexibility
over what I would call a traditional state agency. And that seems to be the structure that I see across the country and that we're presenting here. - So
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
44:21
when you say oversight doesn't change-- - Can I add into that, the response on that? I think part of the issue is that ADFA is unique within the state government. And the bill is really taking a shot at defining what independent instrumentality means in terms of ADFA. And so that's what the bill is really fleshing out.
And there has to be some word for ADFA other than agency because they're not an agency. There has to be another word. And that's the word that was identified, but it wasn't identified by the drafter of this bill. Mr. Bleed, just let me know that it's been in the code since 1985, so. - So we do have, maybe not definition, but
we have used the term. - Yes, sir, since 1985. - Okay, so they're close to the bottom of page two, line 32 and 33. You said the oversight really doesn't change,
but the rules adopted by the authority are gonna be exempt from the Administrative Procedures
Speaker 195
45:23
Act. Are they already exempt? - Well, there are, we have, so first volume cap, which is for private activity bonds, that would continue to be under APA. The state low-income housing tax credit would continue to be. And what we're trying to address here is, on a daily basis, we set mortgage rates, and every day we violate the APA.
And then when we're doing other things, when we have to change building standards because international building standards change, or there's something out in the market, or with the federal guidelines. Now, we package those up and send them over, but by the time they get over and go through the process, we've changed them 10, 12 more times. So what we're trying to do is say, we'll follow the APA where it makes sense and where we can apply, but there are other times when we're out there mixing up in the private market and we're not able to meet the definition of APA,
we're not able to do that. And so we thought it would be best to pull back on that constraint. We do publish these things. We have manuals that we give our stakeholders. We publish them on our website and those types of things, but we're just not able to meet
that standard. - Okay, and so I'm trying to find it again. I know it's here on page three, somewhere in the line nine to 17 range. I read a minute ago, but so the employees that are gonna be still employees,
are they no longer going to be under any pay plan that, Are they currently under a state pay plan? Yes, they are.
Speaker 200
46:54
They would not be under this bill. So this would take them out of that? That's right. And one of the reasons for that
Speaker 195
47:02
is on a structure, when we're doing loan processing, we're wanting to hire anywhere from 40 to 60 people. These would be private sector jobs. And so they would move out of kind of a state class and comp. And one of the things we're wanting to do is now,
when we're doing collections or we're doing loan servicing, we might pay someone, say, $60,000 a year. And they don't have a lot of incentive to go out there and collect and meet our goals and do different things. So one of the things we would like to do is maybe we pay them $50,000 and say, you can make $75,000 if you meet these particular goals or if you keep defaults at a certain rate and give some incentive, right, because we want to make sure that we're keeping our balance sheet solid.
- And so all those decisions and that authority would just rest in your
Speaker 204
47:54
board? - That's correct, board and the
management, that's correct. - Okay, so they're close to the bottom of page three when it says to appoint and employ officers, agents, employees, prescribed duties. That's what you're talking about. So I guess easier way to ask my questions, what oversight and what authority does the state maintain beyond this? - Good question.
Speaker 195
48:20
So one would be the governor appointed board, okay. Number two was we didn't remove, if you look through here, any reporting requirements. So a lot of the activity reports that we still file with the legislature or the governor's office, we filed quite a few. We didn't address those in here, we just left them in here. And then I would say secondly, we have the Secretary of DF&A on our board, the State Treasurer on our board, and the Secretary of Commerce on our board, as well as with the other governor appointees, so it would come through that mechanism.
Plus, in the public finance sector that we kind of play in, especially for bond issuance, we are under so much regulation. I like to say they call it public finance for a
reason 'cause it's in the public. - Well, in one way it's been described to me is as a deregulated bank, that you're not
Speaker 211
49:14
under as much regulation as other banks. -
Speaker 195
49:17
I would probably say we're probably under more. We have so many federal guidelines and compliance requirements,
it's a little overwhelming to be honest. So there are a lot of, not only the board, but there's
Speaker 196
49:29
a lot of checks and balances in the programs we
administer, the IRS. - So one last question. If this passes and we grant you autonomy to this, to whatever level of autonomy this is, what clawback would we have if we found out this was a big
Speaker 195
49:49
mistake? - In 2027, you run a bill to reverse it.
- Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. -
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
49:56
Thank you, Senator. - Yeah, we would have 100% clawback of whatever we want. The other thing to me in discussing this with Mr. Conant and others is, he mentioned this in his presentation, but ADFA does not spend a single taxpayer dollar, not one. And they also have no
regulatory authority over anyone. So, they're not passing rules that people have to live by and they're
Speaker 195
50:20
not spending people's tax dollars, so. - One quick comment. We don't do any regulation, we don't do any licensing.
You have to make a conscious decision, business decision to come to us and do business with us. We don't have any authority over anyone unless they choose to partner with us. - Thank you. - Senator Sullivan, do you
Senator Dan Sullivan
Unverified
50:40
have a question? - Yeah, a few years ago when we talked, I had a lot of problems with ADVA. And I just heard you say that you'll get to choose what regulations you're under, what oversight regulations you're under. That bothers me. I'm
Speaker 211
50:54
sorry. If that came across, I did not mean that.
Speaker 59
50:57
I thought that's exactly what you said. No,
Speaker 195
50:59
no, no, no, no. The federal regulations of the housing
Speaker 219
51:03
programs that we run or the mortgage programs we run or the public finance, we don't have any say over those.
Senator Dan Sullivan
Unverified
51:09
If I said that, that was incorrect. Let me rephrase it. And Senator Payton was trying to get there asking this question. I just want to hear it very clearly.
So the legislature, again, what oversight do we not have over you? Procurement and appropriation.
Speaker 195
51:29
Unless the funds like CARES Act money or American Rescue Plan, if those come to us, because we have several of those programs that were appropriated to us, Those still go through the legislature, and we have to get appropriation
Speaker 205
51:47
feds just pull back all that money? No, currently not. They pulled back a small piece of a technical assistance piece of
Senator Dan Sullivan
Unverified
51:56
about a couple million dollars. I'm okay with the bill. I'm just very concerned that we've been fighting hard to have oversight over agencies
that don't think they need our oversight.
Speaker 195
52:07
If you task us with doing a federal program or there's some type of, that's coming from the federal government like CARES or ARPA or something, we still have to
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
52:25
get appropriation for it. Okay. Thank you, Senator. Any other questions from the committee? Senator Dotson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So in this new amendment that we just got on page 203, it says that in that new section 6, and again section 7, that it's exempt from section 19.4802 of the
code on that line number 2 there.
So cash fund appropriations, you're exempt from, I guess, walk me through how that, that's
new into, that'll be inserted into this bill overall, but why is that being inserted into it? And I see Mr. Bleed is chomping at the bit. Mr. Bleed, if you just want to
go up here and grab a microphone real fast.
You can set it to Senator Tucker's next if
Speaker 229
53:36
fine. Just hit that button. There you go. The original bill dealt with exemptions to 19-4-802,
Speaker 231
53:43
19-4-803 was the exemption. Jake, just introduce yourself. Jake Bleed with the Arkansas
Speaker 229
53:47
Development Finance Authority. My apologies. That section had been also amended by the Initiated Act. So in the people who drafted the bill's opinion, that meant that we were amending the initiated act.
So we had to address the issue we're trying to address, but just in a different section. The way that I had originally addressed it was what's before you now, which is to say we are exempt from that section in particular.
Speaker 233
54:18
So you're exempt from the obligation for our cash fund to be appropriated.
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
54:24
So right now the cash funds are appropriated? Yes, sir. And right now the funds that you use are subject to the Arkansas Procurement Law, 1911-201?
Some of them are. Because I guess that seems to grant you a lot more flexibility than what you currently have. And you're obviously not a state agency by definition, or you won't be, if I'm looking on page five of the bill, we're adding you in as not a state agency.
But currently, you are a state agency. We're a public body, politic and corporate. So, obviously, a quasi-governmental entity that's created by the General Assembly currently with regulations and subject to that. But this would completely make you free of the General Assembly. I disagree with that. And, well, free of some of the restrictions, I guess, as far as exempt from appropriation requirements. So we wouldn't vote on anything related to cash funds or Arkansas procurement law restrictions and things like that.
but you would still have, so you basically kind of become a private entity competing with banks.
Speaker 219
55:52
- Let me, I can address that. - With massive advantages. - Yeah, well, on the procurement side, so currently if
Speaker 195
55:59
it's like a bond issue, like if we're issuing bonds 'cause we do that a lot, we don't follow procurement, and the reason is because those are paid for out of the bond issuance by some other party, okay? So we don't use procurement a lot
under the procurement laws, you know? And what happens is, is when a bank or some type of company or philanthropic organization or developer comes to us, it's usually they need to go now. Like it's an opportunity, they wanna partner with us and they want us to help them to do something in the state. And so when we say, give us four or five months go through the procurement and score and all that. And it's usually, we're not talking a lot of money usually, but, and they're like,
Speaker 207
56:43
we're out. You know, we don't have that time, you know.
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
56:47
So when you're saying you issue bonds, is that you go out and you take out a bond and then you loan that money to, for that particular project? Or you are, you have the cash in the bank, so to speak, and you're issuing a bond to the entity that you're loaning the money to? Yeah, so what we do
is we work in here really quickly. I'm going to adjourn us in 15 minutes. So we're going to wrap this bill up next week. If we're not going to get there in 15 minutes, or there's not the votes here to pass this bill,
then I do not want to chew up this time clock right here. So 15 minutes, we're going to wrap this thing up, or we can pull it back,
Speaker 207
57:28
and we're going to run it again next week. So when we're issuing
Speaker 195
57:32
bonds, there's usually someone else out there that we are issuing for. So it can be a private business like a hospital. We did Big River Steel and U.S. Steel and High Bar. It can be a charter school, right? And so we're just the issuer. And so they're out there issuing bonds. We issue them in the private market. We partner with Stevens and Cruz and, you know, Raymond James and all the big boys.
And they will get that money and then go build their project. And we're just the issuer for them is what we do. Kind of the
Speaker 207
58:00
middle man. Yes. And we do that on behalf of the state. I mean, if, I
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
58:06
don't want to chew up a whole lot of time, Mr. Chair, so I would just, I would kind of suggest trying to get the bill, the amendment engrossed in the bill so we can see everything
all together and maybe coming back next week, but that would be my suggestion. Thank you.
- Okay, if we want to engrossed, expunge a vote on the amendment and take it to
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
58:31
the member's own calendar, so. - May I, may I? - Yeah, go ahead. As I said at the start of the presentation, the amendment does not change the bill substantively much at all, if any. What it does is, the concern was by the bill at BLR is that there were some code sections that were amended that had been part of an initiated act. And that raises the voting threshold, as you know, from simple majority to two-thirds. And they kind of move things around,
but substantively, it's basically the same, correct? So that's what it is. The reason I bring it up is just because right now it's too late to get this amendment on the member's own calendar for Monday. And the only way we could have it engrossed by committee on Tuesday is if it were on the member's own calendar on Monday, but the desk is closed. It's too late to get it on the member's own calendar for Monday. So if we come back on
Tuesday, at this point, it's going to be the exact same as it is now. It's going to be an unengrossed
Speaker 229
59:26
amendment. Can I also respond to a couple of comments you made earlier, Senator?
As far as procurement goes, procurement is limited to public funds, and that's all defined in the code, okay? The funds we're talking about are not in Treasury. They're not generated by taxes. They're not generated by any power of the state. They're generated through our activities as a lending institution. So procurement sometimes applies in that we have public funds from, say, the federal funds that Mark mentioned that are in Treasury, that we get, They definitely have to go through procurement, but then there's others like funds that we have access to
or that run through ADFA but never come anywhere close to Treasury because they're in effect a private market transaction. They're using the IRS code that we have access to, that the General Assembly has given us access to, to make that transaction happen. And as far as advantages we might have with the private sector, The IRS gives us advantages in terms of borrowing. We can borrow at lower costs, and that's a huge advantage. But then they turn around and say that any money you borrow for that is very strictly
limited to what we can use it for, low-income housing, student loans, certain types of industrial development like those steel mills in East Arkansas. We can't go build a gas station. We can't go build a real estate development. If somebody wants to go build low-income housing, they're free to do it. We would love to help them. We're not going to run them out of
Speaker 236
1:01:00
competition, believe me. All right, Jake, I'm going to recognize Representative
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
1:01:06
Beatty. Representative Howard Beatty, District 95.
Just to respond to Senator Dotson's question and comment is that I think one of the key parts about ADFAs, they're not in competition with the banks. I mean, I think they're more a partnering organization with banks to promote affordable housing, low-income housing development, student loans, and things along those lines. They're not in the sphere of competing against Arkansas banks. They are partners with Arkansas banks and banks throughout the nation. So it's not a competitive role that they have that they compete against Arkansas banks for loans.
Speaker 243
1:01:46
Okay. Senator Hammer, if I can ask for a
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
1:01:52
question. Real quick, Jake, you said some while ago you thought that in response to, you know, us not giving up any authority in 30 seconds less. Why did you say that? Why do you don't think we're giving up authority?
Speaker 227
1:02:03
What's the control? We are a creature of state law. You're what? A creature of state law. So
Speaker 229
1:02:08
as was mentioned earlier, if something happens, if you get calls from your constituents saying, hey, I don't like what ADFA is doing, we have to respond to that.
The question on the other end that came up on floor debate was, well, is this going to create another game in Fish Commission? And our response is absolutely not. We don't have a constitutional amendment that we're going to hide behind. We have to keep the Arkansas General Assembly happy and satisfied with what we're doing. And if we don't do that, we know what happens. So to my mind, the General Assembly is in complete control
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
1:02:41
over what we do and don't do. And then the other question is, if this doesn't pass, what can't you do? Real short, sweet.
Speaker 195
1:02:50
The housing, kind of affordable housing crisis that we have now with the cost of construction, we're going to be limited in what we do because we need more investment and more philanthropic support. Number two is we're going to have a hard time, you know, growing our mortgage program and specifically our down payment assistance that we use. And that's why banks love our product because they can't help people that don't have a particular down payment. And then we come in with the down payment assistance. So we're wanting to expand that. So it's really just about attracting investment
and about reaching more Arkansas, more first-time homebuyers and build more affordable housing. And then the last thing would be people borrow from us student loan rate at half the national rate. The national rate's about 11% now. We're about five and a half. And what we would like to do is make loans to contiguous states and then subsidize the Arkansas borrowers. So we can go out and student loan to the University of Memphis, University of Tennessee, Texas, Baylor, whoever, and they might pay 8%,
but we can loan that money to an Arkansas student for 4%. Okay, and Chambers, Fort,
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
1:03:57
where's the banking association? We have not, I do not know of
Speaker 195
1:04:03
any opposition because we partner with the banks on all of our mortgage programs. We pay them a fee, and it gives them a product. They can serve their customer. It's their customer, not ours. We're in the background. So they have all the customer contact. So they love this program because they can meet a borrower that ordinary couldn't get a mortgage.
All right. Senator Payton. I thought you all said a couple of times that it has no taxpayer money
in it. And then you were talking about American Rescue Plan funds and stuff like that. Do
Speaker 195
1:04:44
you not realize that that's taxpayer money? - No, federal, yes. When we got a call from, say, the governor's office saying, hey, we have these American Rescue Plan funds, we want you to administer this program, we say, yes, we can administer that program
on behalf of the state. That would be like on the federal tax dollar
Speaker 207
1:05:00
side. Yes, I totally recognize that. We were talking about state tax dollars. - I was talking
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:05:05
about state tax dollars. There have been occasions where we've sent them federal dollars, but again, that was a decision the legislature made to send them, but they don't spend a single, there's no state tax dollar that they have authority to spend. And when you
say down payment assistance, what are you talking about? You loan them the down payment or you give it
Speaker 205
1:05:23
to them? Yeah. So what we do is, is we come in and they say, you know, the number
Speaker 195
1:05:28
one impediment is a down payment in Arkansas. And so we come in
and say, we'll give you a down payment assistance loan. Okay. So it's a loan. Yeah, it's a loan. Not a grant. It's not
Speaker 211
1:05:38
a grant. Thank you. Yeah, it's a loan. All right,
any other questions from the committee? All right, seeing none, anybody that's not to speak for or against this? All right, Senator, we recognize closed for the bill. We just
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:05:51
need to free them up to do their work. I'm closed for the bill. I move to do pass. Appreciate a
good vote. All right, got a motion to do pass as amended by Senator Tucker. Do I see a second? Got a second by Senator Hammer.
Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations, your bill passes. We are adjourned. Thank you, Jim. Thank you. Thank you.
Agenda
RECONVENE/CALL TO ORDER - Senator Scott Flippo
REGULAR AGENDA
SB453 B. King TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
SB468 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING FLUORIDATION OF A PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM; AND TO ALLOWS VOTERS TO ELECT "FOR" OR "AGAINST" WATER FLUORIDATION IN THE COUNTY.
SB476 J. Scott TO ALLOW LEAVE FOR ORGAN DONATION FOR CERTAIN STATE EMPLOYEES; AND TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS APPLYING FOR LIFE INSURANCE WHO ARE ORGAN DONORS.
HB1352 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS CONCERNING ACTIONS RELATED TO CERTAIN FOREIGN ENTITIES.
HB1694 Hawk TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ALTERNATIVES TO ELECTRONIC FILING FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS.
HB1714 Rose TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF PAID CANVASSER.
HB1604 McAlindon TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PROHIBITED CONTRACTS BY STATE AGENCIES; AND TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY STATE AGENCIES TO PURCHASE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS MADE IN CHINA.
SB517 J. Scott TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS; AND TO ALLOW A COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS TO DESIGNATE A RESTROOM FOR CAMPAIGN WORKERS AND VOLUNTEERS.
SB538 Gilmore TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PROCUREMENT LAW.
HB1243 Underwood TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY REGARDING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES; TO AMEND CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING AND PROTECT ELECTION INTEGRITY; AND TO AMEND PORTIONS OF INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1996.
HB1774 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ARKANSAS FAIR HOUSING COMMISSION.
SB569 M. Johnson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING BALLOT TITLES OF PROPOSED MEASURES; AND AMENDING THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 5, SECTION 1.
SB579 M. McKee TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; AND TO PROHIBIT A PUBLIC EMPLOYER FROM DEDUCTING LABOR ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP DUES FROM THE COMPENSATION OF A PUBLIC EMPLOYEE.
HB1706 McCollum TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO PROHIBIT RANKED CHOICE VOTING.
HB1797 Beaty Jr. TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE ARKANSAS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY; TO AMEND A PORTION OF THE ARKANSAS CODE THAT RESULTED FROM INITIATED ACT 1 OF 2000; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
HB1873 B. McKenzie CONCERNING NOTIFICATION TO PERSONS ELECTED TO SERVE AS A MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE YEARS OF SERVICE REMAINING BEFORE REACHING THE LIMITATION ON SERVICE UNDER THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION.
HB1886 Pearce TO DESIGNATE THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER AS THE OFFICIAL CANINE OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.
SB608 M. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING RUNOFF ELECTIONS FOR COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL OFFICERS.
SB614 C. Tucker TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS.
HB1739 M. Brown TO ADOPT THE UNIFORM ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIALS ACT.
SB617 M. Johnson TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE CAPITOL ZONING DISTRICT; AND TO AMEND THE ZONING AUTHORITY OF THE CAPITOL ZONING DISTRICT COMMISSION.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
SJR2 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS APPORTIONMENT COMMISSION TO APPORTION DISTRICTS FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE SENATE, AND THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
SJR3 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION.
SJR6 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND CASINO GAMING SHALL BE USED FOR CRIME REDUCTION AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND ASSISTANCE FOR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION SERVICES.
SJR9 B. King A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PERMITTING THE STATE OF ARKANSAS TO BE SUED AS A DEFENDANT IN STATE COURT TO ENFORCE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OR AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW.
SJR11 J. Payton A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 2, § 5, TO PROTECT THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS.
SJR12 C. Tucker AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION REQUIRING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO ESTABLISH BY LAW A REVISED ELECTION PROCESS.
SJR13 J. Dotson A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ALLOW A CANDIDATE FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE, CIRCUIT JUDGE, OR DISTRICT JUDGE TO DECLARE HIS OR HER PARTY AFFILIATION OR INDEPENDENT STATUS WHEN RUNNING FOR JUDICIAL OFFICE.
SJR14 J. Dotson A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE DETERMINATION OF THE TRUE VALUE IN MONEY OF REAL PROPERTY FOR ASSESSMENT PURPOSES.
SJR15 J. Dismang A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN
THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AND AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
SJR17 J. Dotson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS.
SJR18 J. Payton THE CITIZENS ONLY VOTING AMENDMENT.
SJR22 G. Leding A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING THE QUALIFICATIONS TO VOTE IN AN ELECTION.
SJR24 M. Johnson AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING INITIATIVES, REFERENDA, AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS REFERRED TO VOTERS.
DEFERRED BILLS
SB4 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS; AND TO ALLOW VOTERS TO ELECT "FOR" OR "AGAINST" WATER FLUORIDATION.
SB44 Hester TO CLARIFY THE LAW CONCERNING WHEN INTERIM COMMITTEES MAY MEET DURING A LEGISLATIVE RECESS.
SB141 B. King TO ELIMINATE FUNDING TO THE ARKANSAS CENTER FOR HEALTH IMPROVEMENT.
SB247 C. Tucker TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ABSENTEE VOTER INTEGRITY ACT OF 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING COUNTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
SB248 C. Tucker TO AMEND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967; AND TO AMEND THE
PROVISIONS OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT OF 1967 CONCERNING PERSONNEL RECORDS.
SB212 K. Hammer TO CREATE THE DOCUMENT VALIDITY DIVISION; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
SB398 C. Tucker TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING INITIATIVE PETITIONS AND REFERENDUM PETITIONS; AND TO ALLOW A CURE PERIOD FOR INSUFFICIENT SUBMISSIONS.
HB1524 Wooldridge TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE BIDDING PROCEDURE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES.
SB434 J. Dotson TO CREATE THE "PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION ACT"; TO AMEND A PORTION OF THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION AS AUTHORIZED BY ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 5, § 1; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
SB493 J. Bryant TO TRANSFER AND CONSOLIDATE THE DUTIES OF TRADE-RELATED BOARDS TO THE CODE ENFORCEMENT LICENSING BOARD; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
SB395 Hickey TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL INTEREST; AND AMENDING A PORTION OF ARKANSAS LAW RESULTING FROM INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1988.
ADJOURNMENT
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE, Apr 3, 2025 | Agenda | 3 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Senator Scott Flippo Chair
Unverified
Speaker 3
Speaker 14
Senator Jim Dotson
Unverified
Senator Clint Penzo
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Chair
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Speaker 33
Speaker 34
Representative Rick McClure
Unverified
Representative Mindy McAlindon
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Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
Speaker 64
Speaker 65
Senator Dan Sullivan
Unverified
Speaker 45
Speaker 76
Speaker 81
Representative Howard M. Beaty, Jr.
Unverified
Speaker 85
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Speaker 109
Speaker 111
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Speaker 13
Speaker 117
Representative RJ Hawk
Unverified
Senator John Payton Chair
Unverified
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
Speaker 149
Speaker 156
Speaker 110
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
Speaker 167
Speaker 79
Speaker 172
Speaker 173
Speaker 9
Speaker 17
Speaker 193
Speaker 195
Speaker 200
Speaker 204
Speaker 211
Speaker 196
Speaker 59
Speaker 219
Speaker 223
Speaker 205
Speaker 227
Speaker 229
Speaker 231
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Speaker 207
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Speaker 243