Arkansas Legislature – Page 64

Arkansas Legislators Can Begin Pre-Filing Bills Today

Nov 15, 2024Jerry CoxLegislatureArkansas Legislature

The Arkansas Legislature will convene on January 13, and pre-filing for bills begins today.

Family Council plans to review every piece of legislation filed at the capitol, and we will alert our friends about any important measures.

We are preparing to defend good laws and defeat bad laws in the coming months. Here are a few good things that we would like to see lawmakers do in 2025:

Pass a tax credit and a budget appropriation for pregnancy help organizations.
Stop abortionists in other states from delivering abortion drugs to women in Arkansas.
Ensure homeschoolers are able to access and use public funding for education under Arkansas’ LEARNS Act.
Protect parental rights, religious liberty, and rights of conscience in Arkansas.
Reform the state’s petition process to prevent wealthy, out-of-state interests from placing misleading measures on the state ballot.
Promote restrictions on predatory gambling like sports betting.
Prevent assisted suicide and other policies that result in a disregard for the lives of the elderly and disabled.
Oppose efforts to weaken Arkansas’ pro-life laws.
Oppose efforts by the marijuana industry to expand sales.
Oppose legislation that would expand public drinking in entertainment districts in Arkansas.
Stop any “tort reform” measures that would put a price tag on human life or make it harder to hold nursing homes accountable when their negligence injures or kills another person.
Defeat “hate crimes” legislation in Arkansas.
Stop any effort to weaken Arkansas’ good transparency laws.

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

Lawmakers to Discuss Rules for Pregnancy Resource Center Grant Funding

Nov 14, 2024Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

A legislative subcommittee will meet this afternoon to discuss new rules governing grants to pregnancy help organizations in Arkansas.

Act 125 of 2024 by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn), which passed in April, provides $2 million in state grant funding for pregnancy help organizations.

The $2 million will be distributed via grants to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

Act 125 contains language preventing public funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates — such as Planned Parenthood’s facilities in Little Rock and Rogers.

Governor Sanders signed Act 125 into law on April 30, but the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration has not promulgated rules explaining how pro-life charities apply for grants and receive funding — until recently.

The Arkansas Legislative Council’s Administrative Rules subcommittee will meet today at 2:00 P.M. to review and vote on the proposed rules for the grant program. If approved, the rules will go to the entire ALC committee for a final vote — which would pave the way for pregnancy resource centers to begin receiving funding.

Since the supreme court overturned Roe in 2022, state legislatures around the country have increased funding for pregnancy help organizations.

Now that abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, we need to support women and families and eliminate the demand for abortion. Act 125’s grant funding does that. It provides women in Arkansas with actual, pro-life support — meaning they are less likely to order illegal abortion drugs by mail or travel out of state for abortion.

Family Council is grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Sanders for supporting pro-life charities in Arkansas. We look forward to continuing this important, pro-life work in our state.

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

State Legislators Pass Resolution Against Abortion Amendment

Jun 19, 2024Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Abortion Amendment, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Wednesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed a resolution opposing the abortion amendment currently vying for the ballot.

Lawmakers convened in Little Rock on Monday for a special legislative session.

Arkansans for Limited Government has until July 5 to collect 90,704 valid signatures from registered voters to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot.

H.R. 1003 by Rep. Ryan Rose (R — Van Buren) says:

WHEREAS, prior to the United States Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, Arkansas had enacted laws protecting women and unborn children from abortion; and

WHEREAS, from January 22, 1973, to June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade prevented Arkansas from protecting women and unborn children from abortion; and

WHEREAS, on June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision; and

WHEREAS, that same day the State of Arkansas certified that Act 180 of 2019, the Arkansas Human Life Protection Act, prohibiting abortion except to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency is in effect; and

WHEREAS, an effort is now underway to enact the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024; and

WHEREAS, the ballot title of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 states that the amendment prevents the State of Arkansas from prohibiting, penalizing, delaying, or restricting abortion during the first twenty (20) weeks since the first day of the pregnant female’s last menstrual period; and

WHEREAS, the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 would legalize abortion on demand during approximately the first five (5) months of pregnancy in Arkansas, thereby depriving unborn children of their fundamental right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and

WHEREAS, the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 proposes various exceptions that would permit an abortion up until birth in many instances; and

WHEREAS, the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 nullifies all laws and amendments that conflict with it, thereby jeopardizing measures such as parental-consent laws that historically have enjoyed bipartisan support; and

WHEREAS, the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 also would jeopardize the constitutionality of public health and safety requirements the State of Arkansas might deem appropriate and necessary for abortion procedures and for those who perform abortions,

NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

THAT the House of Representatives oppose the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024, and encourage all registered voters to vote against it.

Below is a list of co-sponsors who supported the resolution.

Rep. Achor
Rep. Andrews
Rep. Beaty Jr.
Rep. Bentley
Rep. Breaux
Rep. K. Brown
Rep. M. Brown
Rep. Burkes
Rep. Cavenaugh
Rep. Cooper
Rep. Crawford
Rep. Duke
Rep. Eaves
Rep. Evans
Rep. C. Fite
Rep. Furman
Rep. Gonzales
Rep. Gramlich
Rep. Haak
Rep. Hawk
Rep. G. Hodges
Rep. Hollowell
Rep. Long
Rep. Lundstrum
Rep. J. Mayberry
Rep. McClure
Rep. McCollum
Rep. McGrew
Rep. B. McKenzie
Rep. McNair
Rep. S. Meeks
Rep. Milligan
Rep. J. Moore
Rep. K. Moore
Rep. Painter
Rep. Pilkington
Rep. Puryear
Rep. Ray
Rep. R. Scott Richardson
Rep. Steimel
Rep. Tosh
Rep. Underwood
Rep. Unger
Rep. Vaught
Rep. Watson
Rep. Wing
Rep. Wooten

The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would write abortion into the state constitution, allowing thousands of elective abortions in Arkansas every year.

The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it automatically nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment. That jeopardizes even the most basic restrictions on abortion.

The measure contains sweeping health exceptions that would permit abortion through all nine months of pregnancy in many cases.

The amendment also would pave the way for publicly funded abortion in Arkansas by changing Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution that currently prohibits taxpayer funded abortion in the state.

To date, multiple organizations have come out against the amendment, including: