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House Management

March 19, 2025 ·9:00 AM ·Room 138 ·1:36:02
Video Transcript 1 document

Bills discussed (13)
Bill Title Sponsor Status
HR1084 · 5 mentions in chapter, transcript, agenda
Matched: “HR1084 Springer TO HONOR MARTHA JARROW FOR HER MANY YEARS OF SERVI…”
 TO HONOR MARTHA JARROW FOR HER MANY YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES … Springer READ AND ADOPTED.
HR1085 · 4 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HR1085 McCullough TO RECOGNIZE PARALYMPIC MEDALIST OLIVIA CHAMBERS…”
 TO RECOGNIZE PARALYMPIC MEDALIST OLIVIA CHAMBERS OF LITTLE ROCK FOR HER REMARKABLE GIFTS AND INCREDIBLE … McCullough READ AND ADOPTED.
HB1680 Act 811 · 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “House Bill 1680. Correct, sir? Yes. OK, I'm just making sure since I have s…”
 TO PREVENT A FOREIGN-PARTY-CONTROLLED BUSINESS FROM LEASING LAND; AND TO PROHIBIT A PROHIBITED FOREIGN PARTY … Vaught Notification that HB1680 is now Act 811
HR1079 · 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HR1079 Brooks TO HONOR D.J. DANIEL FOR HIS FIGHT AGAINST BRAIN CAN…”
 TO HONOR D.J. DANIEL FOR HIS FIGHT AGAINST BRAIN CANCER AND SUPPORT NAMING HIM AN … Brooks READ AND ADOPTED.
HR1086 · 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ENTS THAT BRING RENOWN TO HER AND TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. HR1086 McAlindon TO CONGRATULATE BENTONVILLE EDUCATOR BONNIE POLLO…”
 TO CONGRATULATE BENTONVILLE EDUCATOR BONNIE POLLOCK FOR RECEIVING A MILKEN EDUCATOR AWARD AND ITS ACCOMPANYING … McAlindon READ AND ADOPTED.
HR1087 · 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HR1087 Vaught TO RECOGNIZE THE DE QUEEN HIGH SCHOOL LADY LEOPARDS…”
 TO RECOGNIZE THE DE QUEEN HIGH SCHOOL LADY LEOPARDS BASKETBALL TEAM AS THE CLASS 4A … Vaught READ AND ADOPTED.
HR1088 · 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…Y LEOPARDS BASKETBALL TEAM AS THE CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONS. HR1088 L. Johnson TO RECOGNIZE MARCH 19, 2025, AS ROOTED DAY IN AR…”
 TO RECOGNIZE MARCH 19, 2025, AS ROOTED DAY IN ARKANSAS. L. Johnson READ AND ADOPTED.
SB327 Act 443 · 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “what bill number. This is bill number. SB 327. Representative Lane Jean District 99.”
 TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING PAYMENTS TO LOCALITIES. Crowell Notification that SB327 is now Act 443
HB1525 Act 923 · 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “Mr. Chair? House Bill 1525 and what this is, this is an agricultural remediation bill,…”
 TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING REAL PROPERTY; AND TO ADDRESS AGRICULTURAL IMPACT REMEDIATION AGREEMENTS. Steimel Notification that HB1525 is now Act 923
HR1 · 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ection, because I don't see Representative Brooks. Let's do House resolution 1,084 by Representative Springer. Recognize yourself for the…”
 Pre-2017 bill
SB218 Act 440 · 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “I do, uh, there again, thank you, Mr. Chair. So I have SB 218. What this bill does, this is a”
 TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM. Irvin Notification that SB218 is now Act 440
SB378 Act 446 · 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…epresentative of District 30. Um, the first one is gonna be SB 378, and this is just a simple repeal of a bill that's known of…”
 TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE ARKANSAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION SUBMIT A QUARTERLY REPORT CONCERNING … Crowell Notification that SB378 is now Act 446
SB388 Act 447 · 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “sir. Thank you. Um, this is gonna be SB 388. It's very similar. This is a repeal of another report that…”
 TO REPEAL THE ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT RELATED TO THE PROGRESS OF FOREIGN OFFICES OF THE … Crowell Notification that SB388 is now Act 447

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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 0:00
And I bring this resolution to y'all this morning to honor the Queen Lady Leopards who beat Pulaski Academy in the finals of the state championship to become the state champions for the 4A conference. So with that, I would appreciate a good vote. Do we have any questions by the committee? Seeing none, is there anyone in the audience who would
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Representative Steven Walker Unverified 0:18
like to speak for or against? Seeing none, are you closed for your resolution? I'm closed to make a motion. Do pass. All right, we have a motion. Do pass. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Congratulations, Representative Ott. You have passed your resolution. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But
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Speaker 9 0:43
I need a state chance, not conference. I said state chance, you're right. I'm sorry. They were a conference, too. You're right. I think they were conference, regional,
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Speaker 11 0:51
and state. I saw PA play back. She didn't play with you anywhere. They
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Speaker 12 0:54
got a new coach this year. She's a friend of mine. She was something now.
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Speaker 11 1:00
They were undefeated, and the queen beat them in the state. She did that. Queen,
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Speaker 15 1:06
and nobody would have known. There
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 1:09
you go. All right, moving right along. We'll go back up to, without objection, because I don't see Representative Brooke. Let's do House Resolution 1084 by Representative Springer. Recognize yourself for the record, and then you
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Representative Joy Springer Unverified 1:36
may begin, ma'am. Good morning, Madam Chair and members of this prestigious committee. My name is Joy Springer, representative for District 76. Today I bring to you House Resolution 1084 to honor Ms. Martha Gyro, the Director of Member Services. I just cannot begin to tell you all what a wonderful employee that we have here as director of member services. She served this House of Representatives for so many years. And with that, I'll just allow you to read the resolution to find out about all the other accolades that are being bestowed upon her. So with that, I would appreciate a good vote.
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 2:21
Are there any questions? Yes, sir. Representative Richardson you're recognized. Thank you. I'm just curious. I've
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Representative R. Scott Richardson Unverified 2:26
noticed the co-sponsors on here and not a single male is on there Is there a reason for that? Well
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Representative Joy Springer Unverified 2:35
This is an honor of women's history month So I didn't think that you all would want to be recognized as a as women So that is the reason why I did not ask any of the men Okay,
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Representative R. Scott Richardson Unverified 2:47
just so you know, we are very supportive of women's month and want to show our support in every
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Representative Joy Springer Unverified 2:52
way possible Alright then, would you like to make, I'm open to making a motion if you all want to be added, the men of
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Chair Unverified 2:59
the House would like to be added to this. Representative Allen, you're recognized? Question, when is Men's History Month?
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 3:08
There's no such thing that I'm aware of. Are there any other questions? Seeing no other questions, there's no one signed up to speak for or against the resolution. Are you closed for your resolution? Madam Chair, I'm closed. What's the will of the committee? Motion do pass. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing no discussion, all in favor say aye. Opposed, no.
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Speaker 36 3:35
Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you, members of the committee.
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 3:38
Moving right along, we'll move down to House Resolution 1085 by Representative McCullough. Please introduce yourself for the record, and then you may begin. Thank you.
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Unknown speaker 4:21
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 59:51
that you hear me though didn't you all right all right representative gene you're recognized to present your bill if you
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Representative Lane Jean Unverified 1:00:09
would introduce yourself to the committee what bill number this is bill number SB 327. Representative Lane Jean District 99. You're recognized. Thank you sir. Members today I bring you Senate Bill 327. This is a practice we've been doing for over 30 years. This sets the amount of money that we paid the State Fair. It's roughly $887,000 a year. The State Fair is owned and all the buildings is owned by the state of Arkansas. They have a dollar a year lease to the Fair Association. And for the last 30 something years, we have been putting money in there to help them maintain the buildings and they pay probably a little over $200,000 to premium for our kids that show cattle, hogs, chickens, rabbits, and stuff like that. But anyway, this is nothing new. It just sets the pavement for the next six or eight years, and I'll entertain any questions. All right. Committee, any questions?
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:01:20
Seeing none, anyone in the audience wish to speak for or against the bill? Seeing none, Representative Jane, you're closed for
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Representative Lane Jean Unverified 1:01:32
your bill, if you'd like. I close my bill. I appreciate a good vote, and I make a motion due pass.
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:01:40
All right. Committee, we have a motion due pass. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, members of the committee. Representative Stimel, introduce yourself
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 1:02:01
for the committee, please. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Trace Dimmel, Representative of District 2. So what I have here, first off, we're going to cover, I guess, 1525. Is that correct, Mr. Chair? That's correct. House Bill 1525. And what this is, this is an agricultural remediation bill, and this is going to be a good bill that will help as interest in wind and solar farms increase across the state of Arkansas. This will require, you know, folks in the commercial renewable energy that put these facilities in or require them to have a plan in place once the renewable energy facility is no longer usable. I mean, to me, it's common sense legislation when we have only so much land in the state of Arkansas and God didn't make any more in Arkansas for us. So I feel this is a great piece of legislation that will put some stopgaps in place and allow our farmland to return to usable farmland against once that renewable energy field is uh is is out so with that i'll take any questions committee any questions seeing none represented
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:03:09
to your oh hang on a minute we have a simon mockum here yeah if you would come to the table Introduce yourself to the committee,
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Simon Mayhan Unverified 1:03:42
please. Good morning, uh, chairman and members of the committee. My name is Simon Mahan. I'm with the Southern Renewable Energy Association. We're a trade association of large-scale wind, solar batteries and transmission developers. I have some written testimony here that I'm going to pass off to our representative here. We are in support of this legislation and just want to let you all know that this is some common sense rules that many of our developers already follow with our landowners, having plans in place of what to do when the facilities are at the end of their life. So we are here to support the legislation. Uh, there is a couple of, of, uh, issues around potential, uh, double bonding, uh, for, uh, when you retire these facilities, but otherwise we are in support of this legislation. I appreciate it. Thank you. All
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Representative Kendra Moore Unverified 1:04:32
right. Committee, any questions? Representative. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, sir, for your support of this legislation. I just have a question regarding soil quality and potential herbicides that may be applied over several consecutive decades. Would this remediation include returning that soil
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Speaker 66 1:04:51
quality back to productive status? Who was
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Simon Mayhan Unverified 1:04:55
that? Mr. Simon? Yes, sir. That I'm not sure. My understanding is most agricultural land uses already use herbicides and pesticides. And so to my knowledge, I don't think we use anything too different than what is already used in some of the other, in some of the current agricultural use to answer your question to
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 1:05:16
my understanding yeah that will be part of the plan is to make sure that that soil is usable as it was before it the solar field came in or the wind field came
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:05:28
in committee any other questions all right anyone in the audience wish to be far or against the
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 1:05:35
bill represent you you're ready to close for your bill I am and I appreciate the ability to close here what we have in front of some common sense legislation that will help Arkansas farm owners and I would also like to add that we place an amendment in here and probably one of the most important amendments is that if it is a private farm owner that is putting in a solar field to power their facility, their personal facility, they do not have to enter into this agreement. I'm a big believer of the government shouldn't tell me what I can and can't do with my property. And with that, that amendment was put in there. So there would be no remediation required if it was a private farm owner putting in a solar field to run his grain bins or any other facility on his personal property. So with that, I will, uh, you know, ask for a good vote. All right. See a motion
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:06:31
do pass. We have a motion do pass. All those in favor say aye. Opposed? Congratulations, Representative. Your bill's passed. I believe you have one
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 1:06:48
more. I do. Uh, there again, thank you, Mr. Chair. So I have SB 218. What this, uh, bill does, This is a bill that amends the Arkansas Small Business Innovation Research Matching Grant Program, commonly known as SBIR. And what this bill does, it lifts the lifetime cap of three awards under the state program. The federal program has no caps, and our limit penalizes the most innovative companies in Arkansas and discourages companies from potentially applying, knowing that they are limited to only three of these grants. So currently, the AEDC, you know, administers this program, and they are okay with the lift of this, you know, limit of three to my understanding. And, you know, with that, you know, I'll take any questions. All right, committee, any questions? Seeing
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:07:38
none, anyone in the audience wish to speak for or against the bill? Seeing none, representative, you ready to close for
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Representative Trey Steimel Unverified 1:07:50
your bill? Yes, I would appreciate a good vote on this, and with that, you know, I'm
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:07:56
closed. All right. Do I see a motion? Do I see a motion to
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Speaker 75 1:08:05
pass? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations. Thank you,
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:08:14
Mr. Chair. Thank you, committee. Francis? Okay. To introduce yourself to this committee, we hardly ever see you.
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Representative Frances Cavenaugh Unverified 1:08:20
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Appreciate it. Frank Cavanaugh, State Representative, District 30. The first one is going to be SB 378, and this is just a simple repeal of a bill of a report that's no longer needed because it's already in another report that we get. And so this is just a repeal of an unneeded statute. And with that, I'd take questions. All right, committee,
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:08:45
any questions? Would anyone in the audience wish to speak for or against the bill? Seeing none, we have a question. Motion. All right. You ready to close for your bill? I'm ready to
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Representative Frances Cavenaugh Unverified 1:09:02
close my bill. I appreciate a good
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:09:05
vote, members. All right. We have a motion do pass. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations.
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Representative Frances Cavenaugh Unverified 1:09:12
You have one more? Yes, sir. Thank you. This is going to be SB 388. It's very similar. This is a repeal of another report that was established in 1989, and the last time it was used was 1991. We're just asking to get it off of the law books. And with that, I'd appreciate a good
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:09:30
vote. All right, committee, any questions? Seeing none, anyone in the audience wishes to pick for or against the bill? Representative, are you ready to close for your bill? I'd close my bill. I'd appreciate a good vote. All right, we have a motion to do pass. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations. Thank you, members. Appreciate it. Is Representative Gassaway here? He is not here. You go? Oh, you got
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Representative Kendra Moore Unverified 1:10:18
it? All right. Okay. All right, Representative, introduce yourself. Jeremiah Moore, House District 61. Today I'm presenting Senate Bill 275. This is another agency bill coming from the Oil and Gas Commission. What this does, it has to do with the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board, or LPGB, and it enables the LPGB to adopt by rule the requirements of a nationally recognized safety standards of National Fire Protection Pamphlet 58 regarding the storage, handling, transportation, use of liquefied petroleum there is no known opposition to this board or to this bill and with that i would appreciate a good vote all right any questions committee seeing
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:10:54
none anyone in the audience will speak for or against the bill representative you're not closed for your bill i'm closed for my bill and i motion do pass all right we have a motion to pass committee what's the will Every way in favor, say aye. Those opposed? Thank you. Congratulations. All right. Mr. Gassaway is not here. Representative Vaught, would you like to present your bill?
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 1:11:39
All right. Representative Dan Vaught, District 87. All
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:11:45
right, you're recognized to present your
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 1:11:47
bill. And it is House Bill 1680, correct, sir? Yes. Okay, I'm just making sure since I have several on there today. Today I bring you House Bill 1680. I want to give you a little bit of back information before we talk about the bill itself. According to the most recent USDA Department of Agriculture report on foreign holdings of the U.S. agricultural land throughout December the 31st of 2023, foreign entities owned 1,597,000 acres of agriculture land in Arkansas. Arkansas is ranked third in the country for the largest increase in foreign-held agricultural acres in 2023, with 187,000 acres increase from 2022. Of the total foreign ownership, 1,143,984 acres are in the forest land and 368,867 acres are in cropland. The increasing amount of foreign-owned state farmland raises many concerns. I was going to point out just a couple of them today. But foreign ownership could lead to the transfer of valuable agriculture technology and intellectual property to other countries, potentially undermining the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture. In addition, the increased demand from the foreign buyers may drive up land prices, making it more difficult for our local farmers and residents to own land. The presence of foreign-owned land, particularly by entities linked to China, Communist Party, has raised concerns about potential foreign influence and control over critical resources. Furthermore, ownership of land near critical infrastructure sites, such as military bases and electric substations, raises national security concerns. There's a risk that such ownership could be used to espionage or other activities to threaten the United States security. The presence of foreign-owned farms can alter the dynamics of local farming in our communities, potentially leading to changes in land use and agricultural practices. Also, land prices and competitiveness from foreign investors can lead to the displacement of our local farmers who may struggle to compete financially. Recognizing the concerns associated with foreign ownership of the American farmland, the U.S. Congress passed the Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. This law requires foreign entities to report purchases, sales, and interest in U.S. agriculture land to USDA through the farm service agencies. It defines foreign entities broadly, including individuals, companies, and even foreign governments. So I want to talk about a few things that we've already done in our state. In recent years, Arkansas has taken significant legislative steps to address concerns over foreign ownership of agriculture land, particularly focusing on entities linked to China Communist Party. Other countries that are adversarial to the United States also are included in that. These efforts aim to protect the state's economy and security interests by limiting foreign influence and ownership of our critical resources. So in 2021, we had Act 1046, which required foreign owners of Arkansas land to submit a copy of their AFIDA to the Farm Service Agency. The form that they have to turn in is called 153. And they have to turn it in to our Arkansas Department of Agriculture. Non-compliance can result in fines up to 25% of the land market value. In 2023, we had Act 636, which prohibits foreign party-controlled businesses from owning public or private land in Arkansas. It prohibited entities under this Act include entities subject to the Federal International Traffic in Arms Regulation, which is known as the ITAR, which targets countries like China, North Korea, Iran, and the Russian Federation. The Act has led to the following actions by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. On October the 17th, 2023, the Department of Agriculture sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting an investigation into Sagenta, a Chinese state-owned ag chemical company, and their ownership of 160 acres of farmland in Craig County. The company agreed to divest the property and pay a $280,000 fine for not filing the appropriate foreign ownership paperwork with the state. On December 11, 2023, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting an investigation of Rizover, Rizover or Rizover, I'm not sure which way it's pronounced, Machinery LLC due to their Chinese ownership. Ultimately, the Attorney General found that there was not a violation of the current Arkansas law due to Chinese ownership's long-term lease agreement. On December 11, 2023, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting an investigation of Jones Digital LLC. The Chinese owners of these digital assets or crypto mining operations are currently contesting the Arkansas statute in federal court. On July the 23rd of 2024, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting an investigation of Zero Street, LLC, in Fort Smith. Ultimately, the Attorney General found that there was no violation of the current law here in Arkansas. So now let's talk a little bit about House Bill 1680 and what it would do. It would amend Act 633 from the 2023 session. It will be banning CCP-linked companies from holdings of any interest in agriculture land within a 10-mile radius of critical infrastructure. And you can find the definition for critical infrastructure on page 2 of the bill, lines 5 through 22. That will include military installations and facilities, emergency services, power generation or transmission locations, utilities, bridges, tunnels, railways, dams, cybersecurity or classified information storage systems and communication of information technology nods or facilities. It will also be expanding the scope of restrictions by barring a prohibited foreign party control business from leasing any interest in the land in the state. You'll find this on page 2, line 32. We're also going to be shortening the divest period of prohibited foreign party control businesses from two years to one year, and you can find that on page six. Expanding the definition of agriculture land to include land within the corporate limits of a municipality. That's pretty much what the bill will do. I think if we have questions, I can ask the secretary to come up here to help me answer questions if need be. All right. Committee,
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:20:03
any questions? Seeing none. You got one? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So,
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Speaker 96 1:20:12
Representative Vaught, I don't know if you can answer this or the Department of the Act can answer it, but just kind of something came to my mind, and you mentioned that I understand the prohibitive foreign parties and all, but we still have a large amount of foreign ownership. Is there any particular or do we have any information on where these foreign ownerships are
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 1:20:33
coming from? Where they're from? Yes, sir. I can give you some of where they've come from. Just a second. We have some from Canada, some from the Netherlands, some from Germany, and there's a lot in the other section. It doesn't list them all out for me, but it's like 508,000 acres of land that's just in the other section.
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Speaker 96 1:20:55
Is there any particular country where there's a larger percentage or is it just kind of balance out? Do we have more Canadians down here buying land or do we have more people from Argentina? I know a lot of rural crop land people from Argentina have been buying. Right. The secretary might can come answer that for me because
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 1:21:11
I'm not sure that I'll give the correct answer, and I don't want to be wrong. Hopefully I wasn't wrong by what I just said. I went by my
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Speaker 102 1:21:24
name. Secretary, would you introduce yourself, please? Yes, sir. West Ward, Arkansas Department of Agriculture, and Representative Vaught was absolutely correct. So those categories through the USDA report that we get completed every year, We get copies of those FSA forms and those filings, but the largest ownership is Canada and the Netherlands are the two biggest. Germany is third, and then just a broad variety of countries make up the other 508,000 acres.
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Speaker 103 1:21:48
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. All right. Committee, any
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Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified 1:21:53
other questions? All right. We have someone signed up to speak against the bill, Russell Thomas. Mr. Thomas, if you would introduce yourself for the committee, and you're recognized to
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Speaker 106 1:22:16
speak your piece. Thank you, Chairman. Is
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:22:19
it working now? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Russell Thomas. I'm from Hot Springs, Arkansas. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to speak before you regarding the proposed amendment to the law restricting property ownership of citizens of certain foreign countries.
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Speaker 109 1:22:36
I'm not only here as an almost lifelong Arkansan, but also as someone whose family is directly and unjustly impacted by this legislation. I was born
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:22:46
here in the United States, and I've lived in Arkansas for 50 years. My wife was born in the Soviet
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Speaker 109 1:22:55
Union. She immigrated here legally 30 years ago. She took up American citizenship 15 years ago.
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:23:02
Our daughter is 23 years old. She was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and has lived in the same house her entire life.
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Speaker 109 1:23:14
Under the laws of both nations, my wife and my daughter are dual citizens of the U.S. They have U.S. citizenship. They have Russian citizenship. As the law currently stands, it prohibits citizens from a list of countries, including China, Russia, and about 20 others, from owning real property through legal entities such as trust corporations partnerships etc additionally individuals from these countries are restricted from owning agricultural land the penalties for violating these laws are very severe foreclosure fines of up to fifteen thousand dollars and imprisonment for two years that probably is per incident potentially per piece of property or entity or something. While the law does provide exemptions for permanent residents, green card holders, for example, it fails to protect those who've taken the ultimate step of embracing American values by becoming U.S. citizens. Incredibly, the very act of naturalization strips these people of their rights to own property. The protections that they had when they were here on a green card are lost once they become a U.S. citizen. This means that
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:24:40
my family, along with tens of thousands of others, and including, I believe, the Jones Digital case you referred to, That gentleman's a U.S. citizen. He was naturalized. And his was not farmland. His was a crypto industry. This means my family, along with tens of thousands of others, could face foreclosure on their properties we rightfully own and have invested in our entire life savings into, even though we have no mortgages. It means we could be fined and imprisoned, not for any wrongdoing, but for the fact that my wife and daughter have dual citizenship. As for myself, I could be charged simply for acting as fiduciary or agent and managing the properties for them. Furthermore, the law must be amended to correct this injustice, in my
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Speaker 109 1:25:43
opinion. U.S. citizens, including dual citizens, should not be punished for embracing the American dream.
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:25:54
I urge the committee to add some exemptions and affirmative defenses for U.S. citizens that
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Speaker 109 1:26:01
currently exist for resident aliens, who are people who are simply citizens of
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:26:08
these other countries that are here on a visa. They have more rights than American citizens do under this law. Furthermore, the definition of prohibited foreign party should explicitly exempt U.S.
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Speaker 109 1:26:24
citizens, including dual citizens, from these restrictions. The law as it stands goes against the very
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:26:31
values our nation holds. It casts suspicion on loyal Americans based solely on their heritage. I implore you to ensure that Arkansas remains a place where immigrants who follow the law work hard, and become U.S. citizens are not treated as second-class citizens. Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope the committee will take
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Speaker 109 1:26:53
some necessary steps to protect families like mine from unjust penalties and uphold principles of fairness and equity under the law. All right. Mr. Thomas, are you
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Representative Marcus E. Richmond Unverified 1:27:10
willing to take questions? Yes, absolutely. Committee, any questions? Marcus? Thank you for your testimony and for coming here today. So this particular, as it's written right now, both naturalized citizens as well as dual citizens could actually fall under the potential fines and property and all that other stuff? Yes, they did. Okay. Follow-up? Yes. Representative Vaught, would you
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 1:27:44
comment on that, please? I would disagree, because it doesn't matter. You're a U.S. citizen, you're a U.S. citizen. It doesn't matter how many citizenships you have. You're still a United States citizen. So this does not negatively affect in any way. I mean, I can have the secretary come to the table and answer the question also, but it does not negatively affect anyone that is a U.S. citizen, no matter how many citizenships they have. Mr.
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Representative Marcus E. Richmond Unverified 1:28:09
Chair, could we have the Secretary come? Yes, Secretary West. Yes, sir.
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Speaker 102 1:28:28
Westmore, Department of Agriculture. Did you hear my question? I did, yes, sir. And so I would agree with Representative Vaught. I do think that just like the U.S. Constitution does not specifically state that U.S. citizens are entitled to own property. There are other provisions of the U.S. Constitution, as well as what we believe the Arkansas Constitution, that provide those protections for U.S. citizens. So we do not understand that this bill would impact a U.S. citizen's ability to own or do anything with personal property rights. Follow-up, sir? Again, I'm sorry,
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Representative Marcus E. Richmond Unverified 1:28:59
but this is an important matter. Sir, I'm sorry, sir, I've forgotten your name. Russell Thomas. Mr. Thomas, we're in the bill. Specifically, do you know or can you point out in the bill what
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:29:17
causes you the most concern about this issue? Okay, so in 1680, if we go to line 25 of page 2, we have a prohibited foreign party, and it's defined as being the same as in 1811-802. In 1811, 802, a prohibited foreign party means a citizen or a resident of a country subject to the international traffic and arms regulations. It has a CFR citation to it. So if you're a dual citizen, you're a citizen of both countries. And I repeat, the definition of a prohibited foreign party is a citizen of
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Speaker 109 1:30:09
a country subject to this regulation, to the I-FAR. Would anybody else like to read this? I'm sorry, what was that question?
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Speaker 127 1:30:26
Marcus, you recognize it. Okay.
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:30:31
All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. When you continue with
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Speaker 109 1:30:37
that definition, the real problem comes
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:30:42
with the definition of the foreign-controlled business. A trust falls under that. Our family's properties are all in self-directed IRA accounts, retirement accounts, which
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Speaker 109 1:30:57
are trust. And the definition of a prohibited business is a trust that is controlled
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:31:05
by a prohibited foreign party.
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Speaker 131 1:31:08
Okay. Representative Steele. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just
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Speaker 102 1:31:18
asked the Secretary to respond to that. Yes, sir. So I think our position would still be the same. Yes, sir. So I think portions of that were already in the current law as it existed, and we haven't had anybody try to challenge that particular portion under a dual U.S. citizenship. And certainly it is not of the intent of the department, though not specifically stated. I'm trying to prove a negative, I guess, but there's no intent of the department or the state to pursue
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Speaker 103 1:31:48
any U.S. citizen and their ability and their property rights in the state of Arkansas.
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Speaker 134 1:31:54
Representative Steele, you have a follow-up. Yeah, just follow-up, and I'm sorry, Mr. Richardson, I did forget your last name. Thomas. Thomas. Mr. Thomas, these proceedings, you know these proceedings are videotaped. So if this legislation would cause you any problems in the future, you would have evidence and testimony from the representative and the secretary of the Agriculture Department saying on record that this would not indirectly affect you. i i hear you but i don't know
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:32:24
a large number of properties and i'm getting to an older age and if if my daughter and my wife inherit these uh they would have great difficulty dealing with this the letter of the law is what i'm telling you the the other interpretations we're getting
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Speaker 109 1:32:48
or here's how we feel, this is what we think. Point blank, this needs to protect U.S.
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:32:55
citizens. It is incredibly offensive that it does not. It protects resident aliens but not U.S. citizens. Representative Shepard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So it looks like to me this
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Representative Matthew J. Shepherd Unverified 1:33:09
may be an issue that already is in existing law. Do you agree with that? I agree, but this also expands it. Well, I understand, but just to be clear, this is an issue in existing law. I understand that Representative Vaught's bill expands the prohibitions, and I recall that I believe when the underlying legislation ran, I think actually it was amended or there was definitely a discussion about allowing resident aliens to continue to be able to own property, and I think there's a provision that if you are no longer a resident alien, you have a certain period of time to divest yourself of that property.
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:33:51
That's correct. And you agree with that. I agree with that. And a lot of people are divesting that resident alien status is by becoming a U.S. citizen. And then they
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Representative Matthew J. Shepherd Unverified 1:34:06
fall into the grasp of this law. And I think I agree with you that this is just, it's a, I think clearly the intent was to prohibit citizens of these countries from owning land. There was a carve-out to allow resident aliens to own land, but this dual citizenship issue is just something that I don't recall ever being discussed when the previous bill
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Speaker 125 1:34:27
was brought through. That's correct. But in 2023, there was a previous bill, I
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:34:34
think it was House Bill 1225. I saw it, and I responded. I sent every sponsor emails, tried to discuss it with people. That bill was withdrawn. A few weeks later, what became Act 363 or 636 slipped through without me seeing it. But I've tried for two years dozens of contacts with a lot of legislators and most of my local delegation pointing out this issue and just asking for one simple thing, exempt U.S. citizens. You exempt resident aliens, so exempt U.S. citizens. So, and is that, that's your issue with this bill? Is that right?
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Representative Matthew J. Shepherd Unverified 1:35:14
That's what I'm here arguing. I mean, there's other issues, but that one is
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Russell Thomas Unverified 1:35:19
all I really need to take on. The
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Representative Matthew J. Shepherd Unverified 1:35:22
rest would be a policy discussion. This is the one that you think is just. Absolutely. So what I, and I was texting with the AG's office about this. So what I would ask is that, I mean, that I guess what I would ask is the sponsor would pull it down, let us have a discussion on putting an amendment on, even though this was not, this is not an issue created by this bill it's just highlighting an issue that may have already existed and hopefully we can resolve that I think we can
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Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified 1:35:54
pretty easily agree and with the committee's promotion I can pull it down because that's not the intent we believe if you're a US citizen this should not affect you and he and representative
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Agenda

REGULAR AGENDA

HR1079 Brooks TO HONOR D.J. DANIEL FOR HIS FIGHT AGAINST BRAIN CANCER AND SUPPORT NAMING HIM AN HONORARY STATE CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER, AND TO PROCLAIM MARCH 17, 2025, AS D.J. DANIEL DAY IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.

HR1084 Springer TO HONOR MARTHA JARROW FOR HER MANY YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.

1:32
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springer

1:38
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HR1085 McCullough TO RECOGNIZE PARALYMPIC MEDALIST OLIVIA CHAMBERS OF LITTLE ROCK FOR HER REMARKABLE GIFTS AND INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENTS THAT BRING RENOWN TO HER AND TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS.

HR1086 McAlindon TO CONGRATULATE BENTONVILLE EDUCATOR BONNIE POLLOCK FOR RECEIVING A MILKEN EDUCATOR AWARD AND ITS ACCOMPANYING PRIZE OF $25,000.

HR1087 Vaught TO RECOGNIZE THE DE QUEEN HIGH SCHOOL LADY LEOPARDS BASKETBALL TEAM AS THE CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONS.

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vaught

0:15
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HR1088 L. Johnson TO RECOGNIZE MARCH 19, 2025, AS ROOTED DAY IN ARKANSAS.

Documents

TitleTypePagesSource
Agenda — HOUSE MANAGEMENT, Mar 19, 2025 Agenda 1 Official source ↗

Speakers

Representative DeAnn Vaught Chair Unverified
33 segments
Representative Steven Walker Unverified
3 segments
Speaker 9
1 segment
Speaker 11
2 segments
Speaker 12
1 segment
Speaker 15
1 segment
Representative Joy Springer Unverified
4 segments
Representative R. Scott Richardson Unverified
3 segments
Chair Unverified
1 segment
Speaker 36
1 segment
Representative Roger D. Lynch Unverified
26 segments
Representative Lane Jean Unverified
5 segments
Representative Trey Steimel Unverified
12 segments
Simon Mayhan Unverified
5 segments
Representative Kendra Moore Unverified
4 segments
Speaker 66
1 segment
Speaker 75
1 segment
Representative Frances Cavenaugh Unverified
4 segments
Speaker 96
3 segments
Speaker 102
6 segments
Speaker 103
2 segments
Speaker 106
1 segment
Russell Thomas Unverified
22 segments
Speaker 109
14 segments
Representative Marcus E. Richmond Unverified
5 segments
Speaker 127
1 segment
Speaker 131
1 segment
Speaker 134
2 segments
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd Unverified
7 segments
Speaker 125
1 segment