On Wednesday the Arkansas Senate passed H.B. 1977 by Rep. Joshua Bryant and Sen. Bob Ballinger, and the Arkansas House passed S.B. 739 by Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Joshua Bryant.
The two bills are virtually identical.
Both of them require employers to provide certain exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Under these measures, if an employer mandates COVID-19 vaccines, employees who decline to receive the vaccine could instead provide a negative COVID test to their employer on a regular basis or provide proof of natural immunity from a healthcare provider.
Both bills have passed in the entire Arkansas Legislature. The next step is for one or both of them to go to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
On Tuesday the House Public Health Committee and the Arkansas House of Representatives considered different pieces of legislation addressing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
On Tuesday morning, the House Public Health Committee failed to pass S.B. 732 by Sen. Blake Johnson.
S.B. 732 prohibits coercing another person into receiving a COVID-19 vaccine if the person has a religious, philosophical, or medical objection to the vaccine. The bill is similar to current Arkansas law regarding immunization mandates and exemptions for students.
The bill previously passed the Arkansas Senate, but failed to pass the House Public Health Committee on Tuesday. You Can Read S.B. 732 Here.
The House Public Health Committee passed S.B. 739 by Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Joshua Bryant.
S.B. 739 requires employers to provide certain exemptions for employees who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. You Can Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 739 previously passed the Arkansas Senate. It now goes to the entire House of Representatives for consideration.
On Tuesday, the Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1977 by Rep. Joshua Bryant and Sen. Bob Ballinger.
H.B. 1977 passed the House Public Health Committee last week. The bill is virtually identical to S.B. 739.
Above: Sen. Blake Johnson discusses S.B. 732 in the Arkansas Senate.
The third was S.B. 732 by Sen. Blake Johnson.
S.B. 732 prohibits coercing another person into receiving a COVID-19 vaccine if the person has a religious, philosophical, or medical objection to the vaccine. The bill is similar to current Arkansas law regarding immunization mandates and exemptions for students. You Can Read The Bill Here. You Can See How Your Senator Voted Here.
These bills now go to the House Public Health Committee for consideration.
