April 5
We have now entered the 13th week of the 2021 Regular Session. The plan is to continue the session until April 30, when members will take an extended recess and return to address redistricting in the fall.
On Monday, House members passed several bills, including the following:
HB1740-This bill states that grooming a minor for future sex trafficking is a Class B felony. It also states that traveling for the purpose of an unlawful sex act with a minor is a Class B felony.
HB1689-This bill will create an Arkansas Legislative Study on Mental and Behavioral Health.
HB1646-This bill adds an unborn child to the definition of a person in the Arkansas Criminal Code.
HB1611-This bill allows public schools and open-enrollment charter schools to use existing funding to provide feminine hygiene products to students at no charge.
HB1390-This bill states all acts, laws, orders, rules, and regulations of the United States Government that infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Arkansas Constitution, Article 2, § 5, are invalid in this state unless the act, law, order, rule, or regulation is ratified and approved by the General Assembly through the normal legislative process.
HB1280-This bill states that if a governing body calls for an executive session to consider specified economic development projects, the governing body may invite its attorney to attend and participate in the executive session. The House will convene on Tuesday at 1 pm.
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April 6
The House voted 72-25 to override the Governor’s veto of HB1570 on Tuesday. HB1570 prohibits healthcare professionals from providing gender transition procedures to any individual under 18 years of age.
Tuesday, the House also passed the following:
HB1388-This bill states that in an adoption proceeding concerning a minor who is not in the custody of the Department of Human Services, a prospective adoptive parent may voluntarily enter into a written agreement with a birth parent concerning post-adoption exchange of information, communication, or other contact between the birth parent and the minor.
HB1728-This bill states the use of campaign funds to pay a candidate’s childcare expenses shall not be considered a taking of campaign funds as personal income if the campaign funds are used to pay for childcare for time the candidate is engaging in campaign activity and the childcare expenses would not exist in the absence of the campaign.
SB160-This bill states that in the 2022-2023 school year, Holocaust education shall be taught in all public schools in a manner that generates an understanding of the causes, course, and effects of the Holocaust. The bill states the lesson must also develops dialogue with students on the ramifications of bullying, bigotry, stereotyping, and discrimination.
SB394-This bill states that a public school district or open-enrollment charter school shall conduct a comprehensive school safety audit every 3 years to assess the safety, security, accessibility, and emergency preparedness of district buildings and grounds in collaboration with local law enforcement, fire, and emergency management officials.
SB27-This bill requires the Arkansas Department of Health to ensure that the Suicide Prevention Hotline employs individuals who have experience working with veterans or are veterans.
SB524-This bill states that by August 1, 2022, each public school district and open-enrollment public charter school in the state shall prepare a three-year teacher and administrator recruitment and retention plan. The plan should include goals for recruitment and retention of teachers and administrators of minority races and ethnicities who increase diversity among the district staff and, at a minimum, reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the district’s students.
HB1743-This bill amends the Digital Product and Motion Picture Industry Development Act of 2009 to allow production companies a choice of applying for either a rebate or tax credit with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
SB474-This bill creates the offenses of fertility treatment abuse and fertility treatment fraud. The House will convene on Wednesday at 1 pm.
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April 7
More than 600 bills have been signed into law so far this session. Today, the House addressed proposals for education, taxes, and energy.
The following bills passed the House:
SB593-This bill temporarily changes the current deadline for filing and paying state income tax to May 17. This aligns with the recent extension issued for filing federal income tax.
HB1794-This bill creates the Licensed Practical Nurse Pathway Pilot Program. It states that the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with the Division of Higher Education, shall establish and implement a program in which high school students may enroll in undergraduate courses required to obtain a diploma or certificate of completion as a licensed practical nurse by the date on which the public school student graduates or within a reasonable frame of time after the public school student graduates.
HB1701-This bill states that a teacher of a K-12 science class at a public school or open-enrollment public charter school may teach creationism as a theory of how the earth came to exist.
HB1704-This bill states that a municipality or county shall not restrict, tax, prohibit, or otherwise regulate the use or sale of auxiliary containers. Auxiliary containers include bags, cups, containers, bottles, or other packaging.SB584-This bill establishes procedures and funding requirements for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. It would require lottery proceeds beginning July 1 to be placed in a fund. That fund would then be used to pay scholarships for the 2022-2023 school year in advance. The bill outlines priorities for scholarships should the proceeds not be sufficient for the scholarships requested.
HB1557-This bill requires electric utilities to have an emergency plan in place during certain weather events and to notify local governments of certain emergency measures.
The House will convene at 1:00 pm Thursday.
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April 8
On Thursday, the House HB1865 which requires all law enforcement officers in the state to complete annual training related to a law enforcement officer’s duty to intervene if the law enforcement officer observes the use of excessive force by another law enforcement officer.
The House also passed the following:
HB1811-This bill would require towing companies to post information about vehicles in their possession on a website sponsored and managed by the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board.
HB1749-This bill states that an employee of a public school shall not be required to use a pronoun, title, or other words to identify a public school student as male or female that is inconsistent with the public school student’s biological sex.
HB1748-This bill states a referendum election to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday may be called by a city or county if the governing body adopts a resolution by a two-thirds majority vote.SB550-This bill limits the cost of in-state calls from Division of Correction inmates to an amount no more than the per-minute cost of an interstate inmate telephone call as determined by the Federal Communications Commission as of January 1, 2021.
SB479-This bill states that a restaurant with a valid alcoholic beverage permit from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) may expand its outdoor dining availability with approval from the local government zoning authority of the municipality or county in which it is located without obtaining prior approval from the ABC. This bill also allows restaurants to remit sales taxes in quarterly payments rather than monthly for the next year.
The House will convene on Monday at 1 pm.
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April 9
By the end of the 13th week of the 2021 Regular Session, more than 600 bills were signed into law.
This week, the House voted in favor of a bill temporarily changing the deadline for filing and paying state income tax. SB593 extends the deadline this year to May 17, aligning the date with the recent extension issued for filing federal income tax.
The also House voted in favor of the following bills addressing law enforcement, mental health, alcohol sales, and education: Law Enforcement HB1865-This bill requires all law enforcement officers in the state to complete annual training related to a law enforcement officer’s duty to intervene if the law enforcement officer observes the use of excessive force by another law enforcement officer.
HB1680-This bill states law enforcement agencies must assist a law enforcement officer involved in a critical incident in obtaining services that may help the officer recover from psychological effects.
Mental Health HB1689-This bill will create an Arkansas Legislative Study on Mental and Behavioral Health.
SB27-This bill requires the Arkansas Department of Health to ensure that the Suicide Prevention Hotline employs individuals who have experience working with veterans or are veterans.
Alcohol Sales/Service Industry HB1748-This bill states that a referendum election to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday may be called by a city or county if the governing body adopts a resolution by a two-thirds majority vote.
SB479-This bill states that a restaurant with a valid alcoholic beverage permit from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) may expand its outdoor dining availability with approval from the municipality or county’s local government zoning authority, which it is located without obtaining prior approval from the ABC. This bill also allows restaurants to remit sales taxes in quarterly payments rather than monthly for the next year.
Education:SB160-This bill states that in the 2022-2023 school year, Holocaust education shall be taught in all public schools in a manner that generates an understanding of the causes, course, and effects of the Holocaust.
SB524-This bill states that by August 1, 2022, each public school district and open-enrollment public charter school in the state shall prepare a three-year teacher and administrator recruitment and retention plan. The plan should include goals for recruitment and retention of teachers and administrators of minority races and ethnicities who increase diversity among the district staff and, at a minimum, reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the district’s students.
SB394-This bill states that a public school district or open-enrollment charter school shall conduct a comprehensive school safety audit every three years to assess the safety, security, accessibility, and emergency preparedness of district buildings and grounds in collaboration with local law enforcement, fire, and emergency management officials.
HB1794-This bill creates the Licensed Practical Nurse Pathway Pilot Program. It states that the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with the Division of Higher Education, shall establish and implement a program in which high school students may enroll in undergraduate courses required to obtain a diploma or certificate of completion as a licensed practical nurse by the date on which the public school student graduates or within a reasonable frame of time after the public school student graduates.
HB1701-This bill states that a teacher of a K-12 science class at a public school or open-enrollment public charter school may teach creationism as a theory.
The House convenes again on Monday at 1 pm.
