Recapping Week Eight at the Arkansas Legislature

Legislation, Legislature
Above: The Family Council team discusses legislation in the cafeteria at the Arkansas Capitol Building.

Lawmakers are wrapping up week eight of the 2023 legislative session.

Below is a brief recap of some of what happened this week:

Good Bills Passed So Far

H.C.R. 1005 (Religious Freedom): This good measure by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) declares January 16, 2023, “Religious Freedom Day” in Arkansas. Read The Measure Here.

H.R. 1021 (Home Schooling): This good resolution by Reps. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance), Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs), Wayne Long (R – Bradford), and Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) recognizes the fact that home schooling provides educational flexibility and benefits to more than 30,000 students in Arkansas. Read The Resolution Here.

H.R. 1010 (Pro-Life): This good resolution by Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) recognizes the vital role of pregnancy help organizations in Arkansas. Read The Resolution Here.

Act 68 / H.B. 1098 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) permits Safe Haven Baby Boxes at volunteer fire stations in Arkansas. See How Your Representative Voted. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

Act 131 / S.B. 43 (Decency): This good bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits adult performances on public property or in view of children. It also prohibits public funding of adult performances. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

Above: Sen. Tyler Dees sits with a stack of “pink slips” containing messages from voters thanking him for sponsoring S.B. 66, the bill to help protect children from Internet pornography.

Good Bills Filed So Far

S.B. 199 (Protecting Children): This good bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) lets a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure sue the healthcare provider who performed procedure if the child suffers any physical, psychological, or emotional injury as a result. See How your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 270 (Sexual Indecency): This good bill by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) and Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) clarifies that an adult commits sexual indecency if the adult enters or remains in a changing area where a child of the opposite sex is present. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1156 (Privacy): This bill by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) addresses privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 66 (Pornography): This good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) requires pornographic websites to use a government-issued ID or a commercially available age verification method to protect children from pornography. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 284 (Alcohol): This good bill by Sen. Jane English (R – North Little Rock) would prevent retail liquor stores, microbrewery restaurants, and small breweries from delivering alcohol to private residences in the county where the store is located. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 81 (Obscenity): This good bill by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Russellville) and Rep. Justin Gonzales (R – Okolona) prohibits giving or sending a child harmful sexual material that contains nudity or sexual activity. The bill also eliminates exemptions for libraries and schools in the state’s obscenity statute, and it creates a civil cause of action Arkansans can use if the state, a city, or a county distributes obscene material. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1305 (Child Welfare): This good bill by Rep. Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs) protects child welfare by amending the “mature minor” doctrine in Arkansas law to clarify minors may consent to medical treatment for sexual assault; sexual, domestic, or physical abuse; or alcohol or substance abuse. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1428 (Education): This good bill by Rep. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) ensures that public, private, and home schooled students have equal access to college and career readiness assessments offered at public schools in Arkansas, and that students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations when taking these exams. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1006 (Abortion): This good bill by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville) would require an employer that covers abortions or travel expenses related to abortions to also provide 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to employees in Arkansas. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1398 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Rep. Les Eaves (R – Searcy) raises the state income tax credit for stillborn children from $500 to $1,500. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 261 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) and Rep. Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs) lets a person claim an unborn child as a dependent for income tax credit purposes. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 307 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) authorizes a monument on the Arkansas Capitol Grounds commemorating the unborn children whose lives were lost in abortion. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 286 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Sen. Scott Flippo (R – Bull Shoals) and Rep. Lane Jean (R – Magnolia) authorizes $1 million in state-funded grants for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1459 (Human Trafficking): This good bill by Rep. Charlene Fite (R – Van Buren) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) strengthens Arkansas’ laws and penalties concerning human trafficking. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 282 (Human Trafficking): This good bill by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) makes it easier for victims of human trafficking to sue their traffickers and those who profited from the trafficking. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1468 (LGBT): This good bill by Rep. Wayne Long (R – Bradford) says that a teacher or faculty member who declines to use a student’s or co-worker’s preferred pronouns could not be held civilly, criminally, or administratively liable. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1141 (Sexual Assault): This good bill by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Elm Springs) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R – Springdale) clarifies the definitions for “consent” and “forcible compulsion” in Arkansas’ laws regarding sexual offenses, and it helps strengthen Arkansas law to better address date rape. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 294 (Education): This omnibus education bill by Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville) and Rep. Keith Brooks (R – Little Rock) titled “The LEARNS Act” deals with critical race theory, teacher salaries, public school employment, early childhood care, and protecting elementary school children from inappropriate sexual material at school, and it provides a framework for implementing a voluntary school choice program that would make it possible for students to receive a publicly-funded education at a public or private school or at home. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

Bad Bills Passed So Far

Act 34 / H.B. 1024 (Public Drinking): This bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) would let cities and towns that do not collect advertising and promotion taxes on hotels and restaurants establish entertainment districts where public drinking is legal. This would let communities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts even if the community does not cater toward hospitality and tourism. That has the potential to expand public drinking in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here. See How Your State Senator and State Representative Voted Here.

Act 162 / S.B. 138 (Abortion): This bad bill by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Rebecca Burkes (R – Lowell) repeals abortion facility licensing requirements in state law. Arkansas’ abortion facility licensing requirement is tied to other provisions related to abortion in state code. Repealing the licensing requirement could have unintended consequences for those good laws if abortion were once again made legal by a state or federal court decision or law. See How your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1162 (Alcohol): This bad bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Justin Boyd (R – Fort Smith) would expand alcohol sales via microbreweries. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

Bad Bills Filed So Far

H.J.R. 1008 (Abortion): This bad amendment by Rep. Deborah Ferguson (D – West Memphis) would amend the Arkansas Constitution to recognize a fundamental right to abortion. Read The Amendment Here.

H.B. 1301 (Abortion): This bad bill by Rep. Nicole Clowney (D – Fayetteville) would legalize abortion in cases of “fetal abnormality incompatible with life.” The bill does not define what is or is not a “fetal abnormality.” It is not clear how a federal judge might interpret this language. Unborn children should not be aborted simply because a doctor thinks they may be at risk for a fetal abnormality. Family Council strongly opposes this bill — and any other bill that would weaken our state’s pro-life laws. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1174 (Fetal Homicide and Wrongful Death): This bill by Rep. Richard Womack (R – Arkadelphia) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) changes Arkansas’ fetal homicide law and wrongful death statute. Among other things, the bill makes it possible to prosecute or sue a woman for the death of her unborn child. It is unclear how a court might interpret and enforce this bill in light of Arkansas’ laws prohibiting abortion. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1204 (Nonpublic School Testing): This bill by Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe) requires nonpublic schools that receive any form of state funding to assess their students with a standardized test. Read The Bill Here.

S.J.R. 13 (Marijuana): This proposed constitutional amendment by Sen. Joshua Bryant (R – Rogers) would “legalize marijuana for the purposes of craft or home growing and adult use by Arkansas residents of a certain age.” Read The Amendment Here.

H.B. 1349 (Gambling): This bad bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Jim Dotson (R – Bentonville) legalizes paid “esports tournaments” in Arkansas, which could expand a form of gambling in the state. The bill says that casinos in Arkansas can conduct wagering on esports tournaments. See How your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1498 (Alcohol): This bad bill by Rep. Matt Brown (R – Conway) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) would expand alcohol at microbrewery-restaurant private clubs and let municipalities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts outside microbrewery-restaurant private clubs. Read The Bill Here.

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Legislators in Kansas, Mississippi, Kentucky File Measures Similar to S.B. 66 Protecting Children from Pornography

Legislature,

Legislators in other states have filed bills similar to a measure in Arkansas that would protect children from pornography online.

S.B. 66 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) requires pornographic websites to implement an age verification process to protect children from pornography.

The bill passed with nearly unanimous support in the Arkansas Senate earlier this month, but it failed in the House Rules Committee on Wednesday when none of the committee members who were at the committee meeting made a motion to pass the bill.

Family Council has identified legislation filed in Kansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi this year that is nearly identical to S.B. 66.

These good bills require pornographic websites to verify that users are 18 or older. Websites that fail to do so could be held liable under the law.

All of these bills are modeled after a law that Louisiana passed last year. That good law has caused the world’s largest porn site to start verifying that users from Louisiana are over the age of 18.

Arkansas has an opportunity to be a leader this year by passing legislation that will help protect children from pornography online. S.B. 66 is a good bill that will do exactly that.

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

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Recapping Week Four at the Arkansas Legislature

Legislation, Legislature
Above: Rep. Bentley presents H.B. 1156 in the Arkansas House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The Arkansas Legislature just wrapped up its fourth week of the 2023 session.

Here’s a quick rundown of what happened this week — and a look at legislation we are tracking:

  • The Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee passed S.B. 66 that will help protect children in Arkansas from Internet pornography.
  • The Senate City, County, and Local Affairs Committee passed a bill that could expand public drinking in “entertainment districts” in Arkansas.
  • The Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1156 protecting the privacy of public school students in school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, and similar facilities.
  • The Arkansas Senate passed H.B. 1024 that could expand public drinking in Arkansas.
  • The Arkansas Senate passed S.B. 66 that will help protect children in Arkansas from Internet pornography.
  • The House City, County, and Local Affairs Committee passed an amended version of S.B. 43 to protect children from adult performances.

Good Bills Passed So Far

H.C.R. 1005 (Religious Freedom): This good measure by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) declares January 16, 2023, “Religious Freedom Day” in Arkansas. Read The Measure Here.

Good Bills Filed So Far

S.B. 43 (Decency): This good bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits adult performances on public property or in view of children. It also prohibits public funding of adult performances. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1156 (Privacy): This bill by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) addresses privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 66 (Pornography): This good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) requires pornographic websites to use a government-issued ID or a commercially available age verification method to protect children from pornography. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 81 (Obscenity): This good bill by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Russellville) and Rep. Justin Gonzales (R – Okolona) prohibits giving or sending a child harmful sexual material that contains nudity or sexual activity. The bill also eliminates exemptions for libraries and schools in the state’s obscenity statute, and it creates a civil cause of action Arkansans can use if the state, a city, or a county distributes obscene material. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1098 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) permits Safe Haven Baby Boxes at volunteer fire stations in Arkansas. See How Your Representative Voted. Read The Bill Here.

H.R. 1010 (Pro-Life): This good resolution by Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) recognizes the vital role of pregnancy help organizations in Arkansas. Read The Resolution Here.

H.B. 1006 (Abortion): This good bill by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville) would require an employer that covers abortions or travel expenses related to abortions to also provide 16 weeks of paid maternity leave to employees in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1148 (Family): This good bill by Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R – Horatio) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) provides an income tax credit of up to $1,000 for money spent on diapers, baby formula, baby wipes, and prepackaged baby food. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1305 (Child Welfare): This good bill by Rep. Delia Haak (R – Siloam Springs) protects child welfare by amending the “mature minor” doctrine in Arkansas law to clarify minors may consent to medical treatment for sexual assault; sexual, domestic, or physical abuse; or alcohol or substance abuse. Read The Bill Here.

Bad Bills Passed So Far

H.B. 1024 (Public Drinking): This bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) would let cities and towns that do not collect advertising and promotion taxes on hotels and restaurants establish entertainment districts where public drinking is legal. This would let communities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts even if the community does not cater toward hospitality and tourism. That has the potential to expand public drinking in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here. See How Your State Senator and State Representative Voted Here.

Bad Bills Filed So Far

H.B. 1301 (Abortion): This bad bill by Rep. Nicole Clowney (D – Fayetteville) would legalize abortion in cases of “fetal abnormality incompatible with life.” The bill does not define what is or is not a “fetal abnormality.” It is not clear how a federal judge might interpret this language. Unborn children should not be aborted simply because a doctor thinks they may be at risk for a fetal abnormality. Family Council strongly opposes this bill — and any other bill that would weaken our state’s pro-life laws. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1174 (Fetal Homicide and Wrongful Death): This bill by Rep. Richard Womack (R – Arkadelphia) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) changes Arkansas’ fetal homicide law and wrongful death statute. Among other things, the bill makes it possible to prosecute or sue a woman for the death of her unborn child. It is unclear how a court might interpret and enforce this bill in light of Arkansas’ laws prohibiting abortion. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1204 (Nonpublic School Testing): This bill by Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe) requires nonpublic schools that receive any form of state funding to assess their students with a standardized test. Read The Bill Here.

Other Legislation to Watch

S.B. 4 (National Security): This bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) restricts access to TikTok on computers, tablets, phones, and other devices owned by the State of Arkansas. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1255 (National Security): This bill by Rep. Wade Andrews (R – Camden) and Sen. Steve Crowell (R – Magnolia) prohibits corporations and governmental entities from China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia from purchasing property in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here.

H.J.R. 1001 (Salaries for Elected Offices): This proposed constitutional amendment by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Ben Gilmore (R – Crossett) would let the General Assembly set salaries for various elected offices in the state. Read The Measure Here.

S.B. 113 (Contraception): This bill by Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville) and Rep. Deann Vaught (R – Horatio) requires Medicaid to reimburse healthcare providers for long-acting, reversible contraception immediately and during postpartum. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1161 (Student Maternity and Paternity Leave): This bill by Rep. Ashley Hudson (R – Little Rock) provides prenatal and postnatal leave for public school students. Read The Bill Here.

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