Finishing the Tenth Week at the Arkansas Legislature
The state legislature is finishing its tenth week of the 2023 session.
Here’s a quick look back at the past few days:
- On Monday Gov. Sarah Sanders signed Act 274 of 2023 to help protect children from medical malpractice in dangerous sex-change procedures.
- Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) filed a good bill that makes important clarifications to the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
- Lawmakers at the Arkansas Legislature filed H.B. 1605, a bad bill that would legalize Delta-8 THC in Arkansas.
- The Arkansas Senate approved a bill protecting physical privacy at public schools.
- On Tuesday the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously passed a bill that would prohibit Delta-8 THC in Arkansas.
- The Arkansas House of Representatives passed legislation to help protect children from pornography online.
- The Arkansas House of Representatives passed S.B. 307 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) authorizing a privately funded pro-life monument on the Arkansas Capitol Grounds.
- On Wednesday the House Rules Committee passed H.B. 1605 by Rep. Jeremiah Moore (R – Clarendon) and Sen. Josh Bryant (R – Rogers) legalizing Delta-8 THC and other drugs made from cannabis.
- The Arkansas Senate passed S.B. 358 that would prohibit Delta-8 THC in Arkansas.
- The Arkansas House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill addressing obscenity and other harmful material in public libraries.
Good Bills Passed So Far
H.C.R. 1005 (Religious Freedom): This good measure by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) declares January 16, 2023, “Religious Freedom Day” in Arkansas. Read The Measure Here.
H.R. 1021 (Home Schooling): This good resolution by Reps. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance), Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs), Wayne Long (R – Bradford), and Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) recognizes the fact that home schooling provides educational flexibility and benefits to more than 30,000 students in Arkansas. Read The Resolution Here.
H.R. 1010 (Pro-Life): This good resolution by Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) recognizes the vital role of pregnancy help organizations in Arkansas. Read The Resolution Here.
Act 68 / H.B. 1098 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) permits Safe Haven Baby Boxes at volunteer fire stations in Arkansas. See How Your Representative Voted. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
Act 131 / S.B. 43 (Decency): This good bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits adult performances on public property or in view of children. It also prohibits public funding of adult performances. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
Act 274 / S.B. 199 (Protecting Children): This good bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) lets a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure sue the healthcare provider who performed procedure if the child suffers any physical, psychological, or emotional injury as a result. See How your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted. Read The Bill Here.
Act 237 / S.B. 294 (Education): This omnibus education bill by Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville) and Rep. Keith Brooks (R – Little Rock) titled “The LEARNS Act” deals with critical race theory, teacher salaries, public school employment, early childhood care, and protecting elementary school children from inappropriate sexual material at school, and it provides a framework for implementing a voluntary school choice program that would make it possible for students to receive a publicly-funded education at a public or private school or at home. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 282 (Human Trafficking): This good bill by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) makes it easier for victims of human trafficking to sue their traffickers and those who profited from the trafficking. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1459 (Human Trafficking): This good bill by Rep. Charlene Fite (R – Van Buren) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) strengthens Arkansas’ laws and penalties concerning human trafficking. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1156 (Privacy): This bill by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) addresses privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 307 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) authorizes a monument on the Arkansas Capitol Grounds commemorating the unborn children whose lives were lost in abortion. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
Good Bills Filed So Far
S.B. 270 (Sexual Indecency): This good bill by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) and Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) clarifies that an adult commits sexual indecency if the adult enters or remains in a changing area where a child of the opposite sex is present. See How Your Senator Voted. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 66 (Pornography): This good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) requires pornographic websites to use a government-issued ID or a commercially available age verification method to protect children from pornography. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 284 (Alcohol): This good bill by Sen. Jane English (R – North Little Rock) would prevent retail liquor stores, microbrewery restaurants, and small breweries from delivering alcohol to private residences in the county where the store is located. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 81 (Obscenity): This good bill by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Russellville) and Rep. Justin Gonzales (R – Okolona) prohibits giving or sending a child harmful sexual material that contains nudity or sexual activity. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1305 (Child Welfare): This good bill by Rep. Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs) protects child welfare by amending the “mature minor” doctrine in Arkansas law to clarify minors may consent to medical treatment for sexual assault; sexual, domestic, or physical abuse; or alcohol or substance abuse. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1428 (Education): This good bill by Rep. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) ensures that public, private, and home schooled students have equal access to college and career readiness assessments offered at public schools in Arkansas, and that students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations when taking these exams. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1006 (Abortion): This good bill by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville) would require an employer that covers abortions or travel expenses related to abortions to also provide 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to employees in Arkansas. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1398 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Rep. Les Eaves (R – Searcy) raises the state income tax credit for stillborn children from $500 to $1,500. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 261 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) and Rep. Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs) lets a person claim an unborn child as a dependent for income tax credit purposes. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 286 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. Scott Flippo (R – Bull Shoals) and Rep. Lane Jean (R – Magnolia) authorizes $1 million in state-funded grants for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 446 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. Josh Bryant (R – Rogers) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R – Cave Springs) expands the law that lets cities, counties, and other political subdivisions of the state pass resolutions affirming that they are Pro-Life. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1468 (LGBT): This good bill by Rep. Wayne Long (R – Bradford) says that a teacher or faculty member who declines to use a student’s or co-worker’s preferred pronouns could not be held civilly, criminally, or administratively liable. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1141 (Sexual Assault): This good bill by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Elm Springs) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R – Springdale) clarifies the definitions for “consent” and “forcible compulsion” in Arkansas’ laws regarding sexual offenses, and it helps strengthen Arkansas law to better address date rape. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 358 (Marijuana): This good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) would prevent Delta-8 THC from being manufactured via industrial hemp, and it would place Delta-8, Delta-9, and Delta-10 THC on the list of controlled substances in state law. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 396 (Social Media): This good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jon Eubanks (R – Paris) requires social media companies to verify users’ ages, and it prohibits them from letting minors access the social media platform without parental consent. Read The Bill Here.
S.B. 384 (Adoption): This good bill by Sen. David Wallace (R – Leachville) requires public schools to provide at least one hour of education regarding adoption awareness to students in grades 9-12. Read The Bill Here.
Bad Bills Passed So Far
Act 34 / H.B. 1024 (Public Drinking): This bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) would let cities and towns that do not collect advertising and promotion taxes on hotels and restaurants establish entertainment districts where public drinking is legal. This would let communities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts even if the community does not cater toward hospitality and tourism. That has the potential to expand public drinking in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here. See How Your State Senator and State Representative Voted Here.
Act 162 / S.B. 138 (Abortion): This bad bill by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Rebecca Burkes (R – Lowell) repeals abortion facility licensing requirements in state law. Arkansas’ abortion facility licensing requirement is tied to other provisions related to abortion in state code. Repealing the licensing requirement could have unintended consequences for those good laws if abortion were once again made legal by a state or federal court decision or law. See How your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
Act 169 / H.B. 1162 (Alcohol): This bad bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Justin Boyd (R – Fort Smith) would expand alcohol sales via microbreweries. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1498 (Alcohol): This bad bill by Rep. Matt Brown (R – Conway) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) would expand alcohol at microbrewery-restaurant private clubs and let municipalities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts outside microbrewery-restaurant private clubs. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
Bad Bills Filed So Far
H.B. 1605 (Marijuana): This bad bill by Rep. Jeremiah Moore (R – Clarendon) and Sen. Josh Bryant (R – Rogers) would legalize Delta-8 THC and other dangerous drugs made from cannabis under the state’s industrial hemp law. Read The Bill Here.
S.J.R. 13 (Marijuana): This proposed constitutional amendment by Sen. Joshua Bryant (R – Rogers) would “legalize marijuana for the purposes of craft or home growing and adult use by Arkansas residents of a certain age.” Read The Amendment Here.
H.B. 1670 (Abortion): This bad bill by Rep. Ashley Hudson (D – Little Rock) would weaken Arkansas’ pro-life laws by creating an exception for abortion in cases of incest. Rape and incest are evil, and any woman who is a victim of rape or incest is a victim in every sense of the word. However, legislation like H.B. 1670 fails to acknowledge that the unborn child is totally innocent. An unborn boy or girl has no control over how he or she was conceived. These are living human beings. It is not right to kill an unborn baby because the baby’s father was a rapist or committed incest. Read The Bill Here.
H.J.R. 1008 (Abortion): This bad amendment by Rep. Deborah Ferguson (D – West Memphis) would amend the Arkansas Constitution to recognize a fundamental right to abortion. Read The Amendment Here.
H.B. 1174 (Fetal Homicide and Wrongful Death): This bill by Rep. Richard Womack (R – Arkadelphia) changes Arkansas’ fetal homicide law and wrongful death statute. Among other things, the bill makes it possible to prosecute or sue a woman for the death of her unborn child. It is unclear how a court might interpret and enforce this bill in light of Arkansas’ laws prohibiting abortion. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1349 (Gambling): This bad bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Jim Dotson (R – Bentonville) legalizes paid “esports tournaments” in Arkansas. The bill has been heavily amended, but it still does not adequately prohibit wagering at casinos on esports tournaments. See How your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1587 (Home Schooling): This bad bill by Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe) requires home schoolers to take a nationally recognized norm-referenced test every year in order to receive an form of public funds. The testing requirements in H.B. 1587 do not seem to be connected to the LEARNS Act that Gov. Sanders recently signed into law. Home schoolers in Arkansas would have to test if they receive any type of public assistance or any type of grant or scholarship paid for with state or federal funds. Read The Bill Here.
Bad Bills Defeated
H.B. 1301 (Abortion): This bad bill by Rep. Nicole Clowney (D – Fayetteville) would legalize abortion in cases of “fetal abnormality incompatible with life.” The bill does not define what is or is not a “fetal abnormality.” It is not clear how a federal judge might interpret this language. Unborn children should not be aborted simply because a doctor thinks they may be at risk for a fetal abnormality. Family Council strongly opposes this bill — and any other bill that would weaken our state’s pro-life laws. Read The Bill Here.
H.B. 1204 (Nonpublic School Testing): This bill by Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe) requires nonpublic schools that receive any form of state funding to assess their students with a standardized test. Read The Bill Here.
