Fifteen Good Laws Take Effect Today

Legislation, ,
From Left: Family Council Staff Attorney Stephanie Nichols, Rep. Robin Lundstrum, and First Liberty Attorney Stephanie Taub discuss H.B. 1615 with members of the House Judiciary Committee. H.B. 1615 is now officially Act 677 of 2025.

On Tuesday, fifteen good laws that Family Council supported officially take effect.

The Arkansas Legislature finished passing legislation on April 18 and formally adjourned the 2025 session on May 5. With a few exceptions, most of the new laws passed this year officially take effect 90 days after adjournment.

This year, Family Council was pleased to work with our friends in the Arkansas Legislature and our statewide network of families and churches to support passage of many good laws — including the following fifteen that take effect Tuesday:

  1. Act 677 / H.B. 1615 (Religious Liberty): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) ensures that religious organizations and religious individuals are not penalized for living out their deeply held religious convictions. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  2. Act 400 / S.B. 223 (Religious Liberty): This good law by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties at school. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  3. Act 970 / S.B. 444 (Conscience Protections): This good law by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Lee Johnson (R — Greenwood) strengthens the healthcare workers’ rights of conscience law Arkansas passed in 2021. Among other things, this law adds whistleblower protections for healthcare workers, and it helps protect all medical professionals from having their rights of conscience violated. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  4. Act 387 / H.B. 1610 (Pro-Life): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R — Texarkana) clarifies Arkansas’ law that prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency. The bill clarifies the definition of “medical emergency,” strengthens legal protections for doctors who treat pregnant women, closes possible loopholes in the current abortion law, and makes it clear that abortion remains illegal in Arkansas except to save the mother’s life. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  5. Act 485 / H.B. 1551 (Pro-Life): This good law by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) clarifies that it is a crime to secretly give a pregnant woman abortion-inducing drugs without her knowledge or consent. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  6. Act 915 / S.B. 450 (Pro-Life): This good law by Sen. Breanne Davis (R — Russellville) and Rep. Kendra Moore (R — Lincoln) makes it possible for public school students to see a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video as part of human fetal growth and development education courses and learn important facts about how unborn children develop in the womb. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  7. Act 973 / S.B. 591 (Pro-Life): This good law by Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) and Rep. Karilyn Brown (R — Sherwood) prohibits abortions performed due to the unborn baby’s race if Arkansas’ pro-life laws are ever amended or struck down. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  8. Act 859 / H.B. 1142 (Bioethics): This good law by Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) and Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) promotes ethical fertility treatments such as restorative reproductive medicine in Arkansas. The law also protects healthcare providers who have conscientious objections to unethical in vitro fertilization (IVF) and similar procedures. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  9. Act 154 / H.B. 1222 (Ballot Initiatives): This good law by Rep. David Ray (R — Maumelle) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) clarifies Arkansas’ laws concerning initiatives and referenda. The bill says the Arkansas Attorney General cannot approve a measure’s sponsors to begin collecting signatures to place a measure on the ballot if the measure conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or federal law. The bill also prevents sponsors from asking the attorney general to certify conflicting measures. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  10. Act 453 / H.B. 1574 (Ballot Initiatives): This good law by Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R — Horatio) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) requires petition canvassers for ballot measures to be Arkansas residents who actually live in the state. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  11. Act 271 / H.B. 1452 (Marijuana): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Tyler Dees (R — Siloam Springs) prohibits marijuana use in public and on Arkansas’ highways. See How Your Representative Voted. See How Your Senator Voted. Read The Bill Here.
  12. Act 934 / S.B. 533 (Drugs): This good law by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) prohibits dangerous drugs like THC made from industrial hemp. See How Your Representative Voted. See How Your Senator Voted. Read The Bill Here.
  13. Act 827 / H.B. 1529 (Pornography): This good law by Rep. Stephen Meeks (R — Greenbrier) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) prohibits people from using artificial intelligence to create and distribute “deepfake” pornographic images depicting another individual without that individual’s consent. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  14. Act 728 / S.B. 547 (Home School): This good law by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R — Jonesboro) and Rep. Stephen Meeks (R — Greenbrier) eliminates the provision in state law that requires home schoolers to live within 25 miles of a private school in order to participate in interscholastic activities at that school. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  15. Act 955 / S.B. 486 (Privacy): This good law by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) protects physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings and in state and local jails. The law also applies to changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in shelters for victims of domestic violence. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

You can learn more about those new laws by downloading our 2025 General Assembly Report here.

You can also read our May edition of the Arkansas Citizen for a brief recap of the session’s highlights.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

Heavy Marijuana Use Raises Oral Cancer Risk 300%+

Marijuana

A new study shows heavy marijuana use is strongly linked to a 325% increased risk in oral cancer.

Heavy marijuana use is associated with memory problems, birth defects, and cancer. Powerful marijuana products and cannabis use disorder are causing such serious health problems that some people have needed treatment in a hospital or emergency room. Researchers writing in Preventive Medicine Reports now say those people may be at greater risk of developing oral cancers.

Researchers collected data and analyzed clinical records from the University of California Health Data Warehouse from 2012 to 2024. The study found that cannabis use disorder — that is, heavy marijuana use or the inability to stop using marijuana despite the negative consequences — was linked to “a more than threefold increase in oral cancer risk over five years.”

Studies like this one should serve as an important warning to Arkansans. In the past five years, there have been multiple efforts to legalize marijuana by writing it into the state constitution or by letting companies manufacture and sell dangerous drugs made from hemp. Fortunately, voters and lawmakers have rejected these bad proposals.

The truth is marijuana is harmful — whether it is marketed as “medical” marijuana or “recreational” marijuana.

Marijuana has been tied to a number of deadly heart problems — including heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. In fact, researchers now say marijuana use doubles a person’s risk of death from heart disease.

Marijuana use during pregnancy has been shown time and time again to hurt unborn children and newborns.

Experts have found heavy marijuana use is linked to paranoia, memory loss, schizophrenia, and other serious problems.

Nationwide, marijuana products are sending kids to the emergency room.

And instead of decreasing crime, marijuana legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels and increased the flow of illegal drugs across America.

The tax revenue that states receive from marijuana sales does not justify the damage that marijuana causes.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE