Several Bills Filed Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Arkansas

Current Events, Legislature, ,
File photo from March 2021.

The Arkansas Legislature convened in extended session on Wednesday morning.

Among other measures, lawmakers have filed several pieces of legislation addressing COVID-19 vaccination mandates in Arkansas.

Here is a snapshot of some of the legislation that is currently in play:

  • S.B. 719 by Sen. Bob Ballinger and Rep. Joshua Bryant prohibits employers from requiring employees to disclose their vaccination status. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 730 by Sen. Trent Garner authorizes unemployment benefits for any employee terminated due to a refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 731 by Sen. Bob Ballinger prohibits employers from requiring employees to disclose their vaccination status. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 732 by Sen. Blake Johnson prohibits coercing another person into receiving a COVID-19 vaccine if the person has a religious, philosophical, or medical objection to the vaccine. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 736 by Sen. Bob Ballinger and Rep. Joshua Bryant requires employers to provide certain exemptions for employees who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 737 by Sen. Alan Clark prohibits private employers and places of public accommodation from mandating COVID-19 vaccines or discriminating against those who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 738 by Sen. Alan Clark prohibits private employers and places of public accommodation from mandating COVID-19 vaccines or discriminating against those who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 739 by Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Joshua Bryant requires employers to provide certain exemptions for employees who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. Read The Bill Here.
  • S.B. 740 by Sen. Alan Clark prohibits private employers and places of public accommodation from mandating COVID-19 vaccines or discriminating against those who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. Read The Bill Here.
  • H.B. 1972 by Rep. Joshua Bryant and Sen. Bob Ballinger requires employers to provide certain exemptions for employees who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. Read The Bill Here.
  • H.B. 1973 by Rep. Joshua Bryant and Sen. Bob Ballinger requires employers to provide certain exemptions for employees who decline to utilize a COVID-19 vaccine. Read The Bill Here.

On Wednesday afternoon the Senate Public Health Committee voted to “batch” S.B. 719, S.B. 731, S.B. 732, S.B. 736, S.B. 737, S.B. 738, S.B. 739, and S.B. 740 — meaning that they will go directly to the Arkansas Senate for consideration on Thursday.

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Governor Hutchinson Issues Statement on Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students

Prayer

The following is a press release from Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Asa Hutchinson issued the following statement ahead of the first “Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students” on September 29.

“On this Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students, I ask all Arkansans to pray, meditate, or otherwise reflect on success, health, and safety for our students, teachers, school administrators, and school districts. Prayer has been important in our nation’s history for times of strife and conflict to days of drought and days of plenty. Prayer remains important in this time as well.”

“A Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students” to be observed annually on the last Wednesday of September was created by Act 902 of 2021. Governor Hutchinson’s proclamation for this day can be viewed HERE.

CONTACT: Press Shop (press@governor.arkansas.gov)

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Circuit Court Won’t Decide Arkansas’ Abortion Ban Until After SCOTUS Rules on Mississippi Law

Abortion, , ,

Earlier this month the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals quietly announced it would wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case before considering the lawsuit over Arkansas’ new law that generally prevents abortion.

Act 309 of 2021 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits abortion in Arkansas, except in cases when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. If enforced, this good law would save thousands of unborn children from abortion every year.

Act 309 was slated to take effect on July 28. However, the ACLU filed a lawsuit over Act 309, and U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker blocked the law just days before it was set to take effect.

In August, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge appealed Judge Baker’s decision to the Eighth Circuit.

However, earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.

That case deals with a law Mississippi passed in 2018 generally prohibiting abortion after the fifteenth week of pregnancy. Last May the ACLU dubbed Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health the “case that could decimate the constitutional right to abortion.”

In light of the fact that the court’s ruling on Mississippi’s pro-life law could affect pro-life legislation everywhere — including Arkansas — the Eighth Circuit has opted not to do anything with Arkansas’ Act 309 until the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision.

Regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court decides in Mississippi’s case, Arkansas has an opportunity to see decades of bad abortion rulings overturned or reinterpreted in a pro-life way.

Arkansas and other states have passed a record-setting number of pro-life laws this year.

Most of those laws have gone unchallenged, and they are saving the lives of unborn children in Arkansas right now.

Slowly but surely we are winning the fight against abortion.

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