Arkansas House Passes H.B. 1211 Declaring Religion is Essential

Legislation, Legislature, Religious Freedom,

On Thursday afternoon the Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1211 declaring religion is essential.

This good bill by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) recognizes that religion and religious organizations are essential in Arkansas.

Public officials have the authority to protect health and public safety, but the the free exercise of religion is never suspended.

H.B. 1211 ensures our government never closes churches during a disaster or other emergency.

H.B. 1211 protects churches from being singled out during an emergency. It prevents the government from penalizing a church that meets during an emergency. And it requires churches to comply with the same basic health and safety standards as everyone else.

Churches and charities support their communities during an emergency. They need to be free to serve people without worrying that the government might punish them. H.B. 1211 provides that protection.

H.B. 1211 passed with 75 votes; 10 representatives voted against it. The bill now goes to the Arkansas Senate.

Voted For The Bill

  • Barker
  • Beatty Jr.
  • Beck
  • Bentley
  • Berry
  • M. Berry
  • Boyd
  • Breaux
  • Brooks
  • Brown
  • Bryant
  • Carr
  • Cavenaugh
  • Christiansen
  • Cloud
  • Coleman
  • C. Cooper
  • Cozart
  • Crawford
  • Dalby
  • M. Davis
  • Deffenbaugh
  • Dotson
  • Eaves
  • Eubanks
  • Evans
  • C. Fite
  • Fortner
  • Furman
  • Gazaway
  • Gonzales
  • M. Gray
  • Haak
  • Hawks
  • Hillman
  • Hollowell
  • Hudson
  • Jean
  • Jett
  • L. Johnson
  • Ladyman
  • Lowery
  • Lundstrum
  • Lynch
  • Maddox
  • Magie
  • J. Mayberry
  • McClure
  • McCollum
  • M. McElroy
  • McGrew
  • McKenzie
  • McNair
  • S. Meeks
  • Miller
  • Milligan
  • Payton
  • Penzo
  • Pilkington
  • Ray
  • Richmond
  • Rye
  • Slape
  • B. Smith
  • S. Smith
  • Speaks
  • Tollett
  • Underwood
  • Vaught
  • Wardlaw
  • Warren
  • Watson
  • Wing
  • Womack
  • Wooten

Voted Against The Bill

  • Clowney
  • A. Collins
  • Ennett
  • Fielding
  • D. Garner
  • Godfrey
  • M. Hodges
  • McCullough
  • Springer
  • D. Whitaker

Voted “Present” On the Bill

  • F. Allen
  • V. Flowers
  • Love
  • Nicks
  • Richardson
  • Scott

Did Not Vote

  • Bragg
  • K. Ferguson
  • D. Ferguson
  • L. Fite
  • Holcomb
  • Murdock
  • Perry
  • Tosh
  • Shepherd

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Pro-Abortion Group Lobbying Arkansas Senators

Abortion, Arkansas Capitol, , , , ,

On Thursday morning the group Arkansas Abortion Support Network posted a photo of post cards addressed to Arkansas senators on the Senate Public Health Committee.

The post cards ask the senators to oppose S.B. 6, the Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act.

Arkansas Abortion Support Network provides abortion facility escorts and abortion funding. The group has previously made statements opposing S.B. 6.

S.B. 6 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) is a good, pro-life bill that prohibits abortion in Arkansas except when the mother’s life is in jeopardy.

It sets the stage for federal courts to overturn bad decisions like Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Arkansans are overwhelmingly pro-life.

Recent public opinion polling shows 23% of Arkansans believe abortion ought to be completely illegal, and 59% believe abortion ought to be legal only under certain circumstances.

S.B. 6 is an opportunity for Arkansas to be a real leader in the effort to end abortion in America.

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Legislature Proposes $7.5M for Marijuana Expenses in 2021-2022

Legislation, Marijuana, ,

Earlier this month the Joint Budget Committee at the state legislature proposed two measures appropriating a total of $7,500,000 to pay for expenses from medical marijuana in Arkansas.

H.B. 1072 budgets $2.5 million for the Medical Marijuana Commission Fund to cover refunds, reimbursements, and contingency expenses.

H.B. 1106 budgets $5 million for the various state agencies responsible for implementing and regulating medical marijuana in Arkansas.

As we have written before, medical marijuana has cost Arkansas taxpayers millions of dollars.

Since May of 2019, the State of Arkansas has garnered approximately $21 million in marijuana tax revenue.

Of that money, only about $13 million has gone to the state to pay for the medical marijuana program’s expenses.

However, the state already has spent over $32 million on medical marijuana.

In Fiscal Year 2018 the Arkansas Legislature appropriated $5 million for the implementation of “medical” marijuana.

In Fiscal Year 2019 they appropriated another $5 million.

In Fiscal Year 2020 they passed two measures appropriating approximately $11.6 million total for the program.

And last year the legislature passed two measures budgeting more than $10.6 million for medical marijuana in 2021.

In other words, despite high marijuana sales, Arkansas taxpayers are still millions of dollars in the hole when it comes to medical marijuana.

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