Jason Rapert confirmed to the State Library Board

KUAR | By Josie Lenora,

Maggie Ryan

Former Sen. Jason Rapert has joined the state library board. Friday, the Arkansas Senate confirmed his nomination in a vote of 22-10. The vote was held without discussion.

The seven person library board has authority over how money is distributed in the state's libraries.

In November, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Jason Rapert to the State Library Board. He formerly served in the state senate from January 2011 to January 2023. Rapert is also the founder and president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers.

Jason Rapert confirmed to the State Library Board

Michael Hibblen/KUAR News

Former state Sen. Jason Rapert moves toward joining the library board.

Consensus elusive on changes to Arkansas’ FOIA; lengthy Senate hearing ends without a vote (Updated)

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

The struggle continues in the Arkansas Senate to come up with proposed Freedom of Information Act changes that will placate Gov. Sarah Sanders on one side and FOIA advocates on the other.

That struggle included a more than five-hour Senate committee hearing Tuesday (Sept. 12) on a new bill that had minor changes compared with the original proposal that was pulled Monday after public opposition caused some legislators to withdraw support.

Gov. Sarah Sanders wanted a bill that would change FOIA provisions by including the federal exemption that would significantly limit the information available about the deliberations of officials at state agencies, recommendations about policy, and other governance matters. The original bill would also exempt from FOIA any records about “planning or provision of security services provided to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Auditor of State, the Treasurer of State, the Commissioner of State Lands, members of the General Assembly, Justices of the Supreme Court, or Judges of the Court of Appeals.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/09/consensus-elusive-on-changes-to-arkansas-foia-lengthy-senate-hearing-ends-without-a-vote-updated/

Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs and Senate president, presents SB 9 to the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Lawmakers adjourn ‘sine die’ to end 94th General Assembly regular session

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

State lawmakers officially ended the regular session of the 94th Arkansas General Assembly on Monday (May 1).

All told, the legislature passed 889 new laws this session. The hallmark legislation this year centered on education changes, sentencing reform, tax cuts, and a host of culturally divisive issues ranging from transgender rights to book access at public libraries.

The Arkansas State Senate adjourned sine die a little after noon while passing several honorary resolutions and approving a dozen gubernatorial appointments. There was no effort made to override any of the four vetoes Gov. Sanders issued during the legislature’s recess.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/05/lawmakers-adjourn-sine-die-to-end-94th-general-assembly-regular-session/

Arkansas Senate votes for ‘truth in sentencing’ bill, bucking national and international trends

KUAR | By Hunter Field / Arkansas Advocate

The proposed overhaul to Arkansas’ criminal sentencing and parole system moves in the opposite direction of several surrounding states and most of the U.S. and world.

Facing a growing body of research that more incarceration does not lower violent crime rates, policymakers elsewhere have focused on criminal justice measures that reduce the number of offenders in prison.

But the “truth in sentencing” legislation approved by the Arkansas Senate along party lines on Monday aims to increase the time those convicted of the state’s most serious offenses spend behind bars.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-04-04/arkansas-senate-votes-for-truth-in-sentencing-bill-bucking-national-and-international-trends

Lauren Justice For NPR

Lt. Keith Immerfall walks past prison cells at Waupun Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in Waupun, Wis.

Senate sends LEARNS Act to governor, bill signing planned for Wednesday

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

The Arkansas Senate passed Gov. Sarah Sanders’ LEARNS Act Tuesday (March 7), paving the way for her to sign the bill in a Capitol Rotunda ceremony at noon on Wednesday.

Following passage of the bill, Sanders’ office released a statement.

“Today’s final passage of the biggest, boldest, most conservative education reforms in America makes Arkansas a blueprint for the country. Arkansas LEARNS will raise teacher pay, empower parents, and give our students the skills to succeed in life. These changes can’t come soon enough,” she said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/03/senate-sends-learns-act-to-governor-bill-signing-planned-for-wednesday/

Arkansas Senate passes amended net metering after companion bill stalls on House floor

KUAR | By Wesley Brown / Arkansas Advocate

A thrice-amended bill that opponents say would upend the state’s burgeoning solar industry easily passed the Arkansas Senate on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 295, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe), passed on a vote of 24-9 and was immediately sent to the House, where a twin bill awaits on the lower chamber’s floor that will likely face further revisions.

In speaking for SB 295 at the Senate well, Dismang told fellow senators that is not his intent to kill the state’s flourishing rooftop solar industry only three years after the Legislature passed the Solar Access Act of 2019. That law, largely negotiated and authored by former Public Service Commission (PSC) chair Ted Thomas, put the state’s existing 1:1 net metering policy in place.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-03-08/arkansas-senate-passes-amended-net-metering-after-companion-bill-stalls-on-house-floor

Julie McCarthy/NPR

Solar panels are seen on the roof of the Indian Habitat Center, a conference and office complex in the central part of Delhi.

Arkansas lawmakers send sweeping education bill to governor’s desk

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will sign her signature education package into law Wednesday, two weeks after the bill was filed.

The Arkansas Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 294, also called the LEARNS Act, on Tuesday.

“I’m ready to sign it into law tomorrow and end the failed status quo that has governed our education system for far too long,” Sanders said in a statement. “Every kid should have access to a quality education and a path to a good paying job and better life right here in Arkansas.”

The LEARNS Act makes sweeping changes to the state’s education system by addressing a variety of topics, including teacher pay, school safety, career readiness, literacy, a new voucher program and “indoctrination.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-03-08/arkansas-lawmakers-send-sweeping-education-bill-to-governors-desk

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

Sen. Breanne Davis (R-Russellville), gives a thumbs-up after the Senate passes SB 294 on Feb. 23, as Sen. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock) looks on.

Senate panel moves signature threshold bill forward for citizen initiatives

by Ronak Patel (rspatel.personal@gmail.com)

The Senate State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee approved House Bill 1419 on Thursday (March 2) that would require petitioners to get signatures from 50 counties, instead of 15 counties, to get a citizen-led issue on the ballot.

According to the state’s Constitution, voter signatures from at least 15 counties are needed as part of the process to get an issue on the ballot.

Sen. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, a sponsor of the bill, said HB1419 would benefit smaller counties.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/03/senate-panel-moves-signature-threshold-bill-forward-for-citizen-initiatives/

Arkansas Senate approves limits on gender-affirming care for minors

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A bill passed by the Arkansas Senate on Tuesday would open physicians up to litigation if they offer gender-affirming care to children.

Senate Bill 199 would give people who received gender-affirming care as a child, including hormones and puberty blockers, a 15-year window to sue their physician.

Its sponsor, Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, said the law would protect young children from the effects of irreversible surgeries and hormone treatments. However, no gender-affirmation surgeries are performed on minors in the state of Arkansas, and young children are not eligible for gender-affirming medical treatments.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-02-21/arkansas-senate-approves-restrictions-on-gender-affirming-care-for-minors

Michael Hibblen/KUAR News

Lawmakers voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would allow transgender patients to sue their doctors.

Arkansas executive order further delays ARPA funds distribution

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

An executive order from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders prompted the withdrawal Wednesday of more than a dozen requests for federal pandemic relief funds that had been pending for months on a legislative panel’s agenda.

The order issued Tuesday by Sanders abolished the ARPA Steering Committee and the Governor’s Infrastructure Planning Advisory Committee. The steering committee’s job had been to review funding requests under the American Rescue Plan Act and sending approved projects to legislators for consideration.

The governor’s order caused confusion about what action, if any, could be taken on ARPA-related items by the Joint Budget Committee’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review subcommittee during its Wednesday meeting.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-01-26/arkansas-executive-order-further-delays-arpa-funds-distribution

Arkansas Senate

Sen. Jonathan Dismang reviews documents during a January 2022 budget hearing. Dismang wanted to hold off on approving federal pandemic relief requests on Wednesday following an executive order that abolished the ARPA Steering Committee.

Arkansas Senate approves bill limiting drag performances

by Ronak Patel (rspatel.personal@gmail.com)

The Arkansas Senate on Tuesday (Jan. 24) voted 29-6 along party lines to approve SB43, which is a bill intended to regulate drag performances. The bill will be sent to the House for approval before heading to Gov. Sarah Sanders.

SB43 would classify drag performances as “adult-oriented business” and will add additional location restrictions for performances. Following is the list of activities classified as adult-oriented business.
• An adult arcade
• An adult bookstore or video store
• An adult cabaret
• An adult live entertainment establishment
• An adult motion picture theater
• An adult theater
• A massage establishment that offers adult services
• An escort agency
• A nude model studio

The bill states that adult-oriented businesses can not be located on public property. Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, who sponsored the bill, told colleagues he thought about the legislation after hearing criticism and didn’t change his mind.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/01/arkansas-senate-approves-bill-limiting-drag-performances/

Arkansas Senate picks Hester as leader, draws committee assignments

KUAR | By Roby Brock / Talk Business & Politics

The Arkansas State Senate drew committee assignments, revised a rule, punished a member, and officially selected its new leader on Thursday.

Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, who will be a guest on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics, was voted in as Senate President Pro Tempore for the 94th Arkansas General Assembly, which begins in January.

“It feels really good to get a vote of confidence from your colleagues. And now it feels pretty heavy to represent them, and hopefully, the Senate will do a great job these next two years,” Hester told TB&P.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2022-11-11/arkansas-senate-picks-hester-as-leader-draws-committee-assignments

Michael Hibblen/KUAR News

Steps leading up to the Arkansas Senate chamber in the state Capitol.

Arkansas Senate Passes Transgender Youth Medical Care Ban

By DANIEL BREEN

A bill banning gender-affirming medical care for Arkansans under 18 is now one step away from becoming law.

The Senate on Monday passed House Bill 1570, which bans transgender youth from obtaining gender transition care, like puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The bill, called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation, or SAFE, Act, would open physicians up to civil litigation and licensure penalties for providing gender-transition related therapies, including surgery, to minors.

Republican Sen. Alan Clark of Hot Springs, a co-sponsor of the bill, presented it on the Senate floor.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-senate-passes-transgender-youth-medical-care-ban

Advocates for transgender youth, including actress Laverne Cox (top, center), urge Gov. Asa Hutchinson not to approve HB1570 in a news conference held by the ACLU.

CREDIT ACLU / ZOOM

Bills Amending Telemedicine And SNAP Requirements Pass Arkansas Legislature

By SARAH KELLOGG

The Arkansas Legislature has passed bills that would amend telemedicine laws in an attempt to make permanent laws that are currently temporarily in place due to the pandemic.

The Arkansas Senate on Thursday voted 19-11 to pass House Bill 1063. Under the legislation, patients seeking medical care through telehealth would be able to seek care with a physician, without needing a prior face-to-face meeting. Instead an "real-time, interactive audio" meeting, which would include a phone call, would be enough to receive telehealth services. 

Currently, the in-person meeting requirement is suspended due to the public health emergency Gov. Asa Hutchinson implemented last year. 

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/bills-amending-telemedicine-and-snap-requirements-pass-arkansas-legislature

Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, presents House Bill 1063 to the Senate.

CREDIT ARKANSAS SENATE

Arkansas Senate Votes To Approve Medicaid Expansion, Bill Now Goes To House

By SARAH KELLOGG

The Arkansas Senate has passed a bill that would implement a new Medicaid expansion program in place of the current Arkansas Works program.

By a vote of 26-3 with four members voting present, the Arkansas Senate passed Senate Bill 410 on Tuesday. The legislation would create the Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me or ARHOME Act. 

According to Talk Business and Politics, the proposed program, which was introduced in early March, keeps the current private insurance model for purchasing plans like the private option for the Arkansas Works program did.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-senate-votes-approve-medicaid-expansion-bill-now-goes-house

Sen. Missy Irvin, R- Mountain View, presents her bill to the Senate.

CREDIT ARKANSAS SENATE