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Close to 500 bills have been signed into law so far during the 2021 Regular Session.There are still several hundred bills making their way through the legislative process.The House passed several bills this week regarding education and economic development, including the following: Economic DevelopmentHB1788-This bill would allow a municipal improvement district to enter a partnership […]

Close to 500 bills have been signed into law so far this session. As we work to address the remainder of the bills this session, you may notice some changes to committee schedules.You can find the updated schedules at www.arkleg.state.ar.us. On Wednesday, the House passed several bills, including the following: HB1765-This bill states that by […]

By a vote of 64-34 and 1 member voting present, the House passed SB410 on Tuesday. This bill establishes the framework for a new Medicaid expansion program called ARHOME which stands for Arkansas Health & Opportunity for Me.ARHOME would replace the current Arkansas Works program. It would continue to offer low-income families private insurance, with […]

The public health emergency will continue in Arkansas for another 60 days. The Governor made the request for the extension to the Arkansas Legislative Council this morning. This afternoon, the House passed several bills, including the following: HB1237-This bill states that at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, a public school district board of […]

The 11th week of the session was an abbreviated one as the General Assembly took a recess for Spring Break. Before members left the Capitol, the House Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee advanced a new version of the Medicaid expansion program. SB 410 establishes the framework for a new program called ARHOME which stands […]

The General Assembly will be in recess for the remainder of this week. Before adjourning for the week, the House passed several bills, including the following: HB1766-This bill increases the monthly state contribution to state and public school life and health insurance from $450 to $550 per employee. HB1499-This bill addresses services and response time […]

The House approved a resolution that will provide for an extended recess of the 2021 Regular Session. It would allow the General Assembly to recess on April 30 and return when census data becomes available to complete congressional redistricting. Currently, census data is expected to be released in September. The House also voted in favor […]

In the 10th week of the 2021 Regular Session, the House passed several bills focusing on improved education.Once enacted, these bills would increase funding for our public schools, raise teacher salaries, and require every high school student to complete a computer science course. HB1677 raises the foundation funding amount for public schools from the current […]

On Thursday, the House passed a bill requiring students entering the ninth grade class of 2022-2023 to earn one credit in a computer science course before the student graduates. SB107 states that beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, a public school district shall employ a computer science teacher at each high school. The House passed […]

On Wednesday, the House voted to raise teacher salaries and increase public school funding. HB1614 seeks to raise the average salary of public school teachers by the Teacher Salary Equalization Fund. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, the statewide target average annual salary will be $51,822. The current average is $49,822. HB1677 raises the […]

More than 370 bills have been signed into law so far during the 2021 Regular Session.The House passed the following bills Tuesday afternoon: HB1451-This bill allows a public school district to adopt a bilingual program or a dual-immersion program approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. HB1594-This bill allows the Division of Elementary […]

House members began the 10th week of the 2021 Regular Session on Monday.The House passed more than 30 bills Monday afternoon, including the following: HB1470-This bill prohibits a juvenile who has been placed in a juvenile detention facility from beingplaced in solitary confinement if the juvenile is pregnant, has had a baby in the previous […]