Social media photo ID bill passes Arkansas committee

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A bill pushed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to regulate children on social media passed an Arkansas legislative committee Tuesday.

The Social Media Safety Act would require Arkansans to show a photo ID before setting up a new account. If the bill becomes law, minors would also need express consent from their parents to set up a social media account.

Republican Sen. Tyler Dees explained it like this. “The process would be a third-party verifier that the social media site would contract with. They would verify the age and then they would dump that data. At that point, they would be able to give consent for a new profile to be created.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-03-29/social-media-photo-id-bill-passes-arkansas-committee

Jacob Kauffman/KUAR

A bill to regulate when children can set up social media accounts made it out of a Senate committee Tuesday.

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/

Bill regulating drag shows advances from Arkansas Senate committee

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Members of a Senate committee on Thursday unanimously voted to advance a bill that would regulate some drag shows.

The City, County & Local Affairs Committee of the Arkansas Senate heard debate on Senate Bill 43. If passed, the legislation could force any performance involving cross dressing to be classified as an adult-oriented business if the performance appeals to “prurient interests.”

Much of the debate Thursday centered around the word “prurient.” Lawmakers insist the bill’s language would mean a performance would have to be sexual for it to violate the law. Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, told the senators that the word “prurient” could be interpreted by courts to mean a wide variety of artistic performances.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-01-19/bill-regulating-drag-shows-advances-from-arkansas-senate-committee

Rural Emergency Hospital bill expected to help financial crisis for some

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

Rep. Lee Johnson, R- Greenwood, filed a bill aimed at helping rural hospitals in financial distress. HB 1127, the Rural Emergency Hospital Act, would grant the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) the authority to license hospitals as “rural emergency hospitals.”

In an interview with Talk Business & Politics, Johnson explained this type of licensure can help hospitals in rural areas with their finances.

“It [Rural Emergency Act] provides a pathway for rural hospitals in Arkansas to take advantage of a new designation that was created by CMS [Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services] at a federal level. This new designation would allow qualifying rural hospitals to get reimbursed at a higher rate for outpatient services and procedures,” he said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/01/rural-emergency-hospital-bill-expected-to-help-financial-crisis-for-some/

Bill Replacing 'Confederate Flag Day' with 'Arkansas Day' Fails Senate Committee

By SARAH KELLOGG

A bill that would have replaced the state’s existing Confederate Flag Day with a newly-created Arkansas Day failed in a Senate committee Monday.

House Bill 1916 fell one vote short of the needed five in the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee to advance to the full Senate. Members voted 4-3 for it, with one member not voting. 

The bill, which passed in the House over a week ago with a vote of 80-7, would have replaced Arkansas’ Confederate Flag Day, which occurs the Saturday before Easter Sunday each year, with Arkansas Day.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/bill-replacing-confederate-flag-day-arkansas-day-fails-senate-committee

Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, (left) and Rep. Austin McCollum, R-Bentonville, present House 1916 to the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.

CREDIT ARKANSAS SENATE

Bill Prohibiting 'Vaccine Passports' in Arkansas Advances To Senate

By SARAH KELLOGG

A bill that would prohibit Arkansas from implementing any form of requirement for a "vaccine passport" has passed its first legislative hurdle.

The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee, by a voice vote Wednesday, advanced Senate Bill 615 to the full Senate.

Under the legislation, the state, a state agency or entity, a political subdivision of the state, as well as any state or local official would not be able to require an individual to produce documentation that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. 

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/bill-prohibiting-vaccine-passports-arkansas-advances-senate

Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, presents Senate Bill 615 to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee

CREDIT ARKANSAS SENATE

Bill Expanding Scholarship Eligibility Rushed Through Legislature To Meet Deadline

By ANTOINETTE GRAJEDA

The winter weather postponed the Arkansas Legislature last week, which has complicated things for a time-sensitive bill aimed at expanding eligibility for certain Arkansas scholarships to students with legal status. This would include DACA recipients and Marshallese migrants legally residing in the state under a Compact of Free Association.

https://www.kuaf.com/post/bill-expanding-scholarship-eligibility-rushed-through-legislature-meet-deadline

Bentonville West senior Ananya Vangoor, a Bentonville West senior, speaks to the House Education Committee Feb. 25, 2021. She is one student who would benefit from the passage of SB287.

Bill Seeks To Ban Transgender Girls, Women From Arkansas School Sports Teams

By DANIEL BREEN

Arkansas lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make it illegal for schools to allow transgender girls and women to play on sports teams corresponding to their gender identity.

The legislation, called the Gender Integrity Reinforcement Legislation for Sports (GIRLS) Act, is sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, and Rep. DeAnn Vaught, R-Horatio. State Attorney General Leslie Rutledge introduced the bill at a news conference Monday.

"We don't want common sense to be overshadowed by so-called political correctness, and this bill would ensure the integrity of girls and women in sports," Rutledge said. "This legislation will create a space for women’s sports and will provide opportunities for women to demonstrate their skills, strength and athletic abilities against other females of the same biological stature."

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/bill-seeks-ban-transgender-girls-women-arkansas-school-sports-teams

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge speaks alongside state lawmakers Monday at the Arkansas State Capitol.

CREDIT DANIEL BREEN / KUAR NEWS