Bill Filed to Strengthen State Law On Abortion Facilities

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On Wednesday Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro), Rep. Joe Cloud (R – Russellville), and Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale) filed S.B. 388 amending Arkansas law concerning abortion facilities.

The bill requires any facility that performs abortions to be licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health as an abortion facility, and it prohibits abortions in hospitals except in cases of medical emergency.

Under current law, a facility does not have to be licensed as an abortion facility unless it performs ten or more abortions in any given month.

That means a clinic could perform up to nine abortions per month — or 108 abortions per year — without being licensed and inspected as an abortion facility.

Arkansas currently has two licensed abortion facilities — both of which are in Little Rock — but it’s possible some abortions are taking place at unlicensed facilities around the state.

S.B. 388 will help ensure that every clinic that performs abortions follows all of Arkansas’ laws concerning abortion facilities. This has the potential to save many women and unborn children from abortion.

Read The Bill Here.

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Pro-Abortion Group Lobbying Arkansas Senators

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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

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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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