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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
