SESSION SNAPSHOT: Arkansas lawmakers approve higher ed, energy bills ahead of spring break

by Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate
March 21, 2025

Arkansas lawmakers spent long hours at the state Capitol during the tenth week of the legislative session as they worked to clear agendas ahead of their weeklong spring break. 

On Monday, legislators sent Arkansas ACCESS, two identical higher education overhaul bills, to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who signed them into law Tuesday.

The General Assembly also advanced the governor’s new state employee pay plan and approved legislation that sponsors said will help mitigate a sharp increase in energy bills for Arkansans as the state generates new power to meet expected demand. Sanders signed the latter into law Thursday. 

The governor this week also unveiled legislation that would impose harsher penalties on undocumented immigrants who commit crimes in the state. An amended version of Senate Bill 426 will be considered after legislators return to Little Rock on Mar. 31 and make a final push to conclude their business by Apr. 16. 

1) Stumbling blocks

Some legislation faced challenges this week. A bill mandating citizen-led ballot measures be written at an 8th-grade or lower reading level cleared the House of Representatives Wednesday, but it took three tries to garner enough votes to support an emergency clause that will allow the law to go into effect immediately upon the governor’s signature. 

The House on Thursday rejected legislation that would have placed restrictions on noncitizens attempting to vote or register to vote, just one day after the bill narrowly passed out of committee. Noncitizen voting is already illegal on the federal level.

Another bill that would create a civil liability for adults who assist transgender minors’ transitions didn’t make it out of the starting blocks after the attorney general’s office said it couldn’t defend House Bill 1668 because it wasn’t legally sound. Lead sponsor Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, said she would amend her bill.  

2) Prison funding 

State lawmakers approved a $750 million appropriation bill Thursday for the construction of a 3,000-bed prison in western Arkansas. 

Funds won’t be disbursed until formal requests are approved by the Legislature, but that didn’t stop members of the Joint Budget Committee from venting about plans to place the prison in rural Franklin County in an effort to alleviate overcrowding in county jails. 

Several lawmakers who’ve been critical of the project argued that local residents don’t want the prison in their community, costs will be higher than estimated and staffing the facility will be difficult. 

The debate is expected to continue throughout the project, which one of Sanders’ advisers said could take until 2029 to complete. 

3) Library board

After a subcommittee on Tuesday rejected his proposed ban on the Arkansas State Library funding public libraries affiliated with the Arkansas Library Association, Jonesboro Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan filed legislation Thursday to abolish the State Library and its board. 

Sullivan has vowed to eliminate the State Library Board, which refused last month and again last week to disavow the ALA. Sullivan has repeatedly criticized a portion of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights that states access to libraries should not be restricted based on a person’s age. 

Far-right conservatives who object to the availability of certain content have said this is proof the ALA is forcing content about sexual activity and LGBTQ+ topics onto children.

4) New Bills

Lawmakers filed more than 180 bills by Friday afternoon, including:

SB520 by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, would prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion offices, officers, policies or practices in local government. 

HB1836 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, would require all public entities to post video recordings of public meetings, and require that all public meetings be recorded in video format. 

HB1866 by Rep. Keith Brooks, R-Little Rock, would require each public school to install an audio recording device in each locker room and dressing room on a public school campus.  

HB1881 by Rep. Denise Ennett, D-Little Rock, would add menstrual discharge collection devices to the list of items exempt from sales and use tax during the state’s sales tax holiday. A proposed ballot measure to create a sales tax exemption for these items failed to qualify for the 2024 general election. 

Meeting schedules, agendas and livestreams are available on the Arkansas Legislature’s website.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

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