On Wednesday, the House passed HB1097. This bill amends the Revenue Stabilization Act (RSA) by outlining state spending for the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year.

The RSA includes a 1.76% increase in state spending. The largest increases can be found in Educational Freedom Accounts, the Public School Fund, and Arkansas State Police. 

The House also passed SB77 which outlines a temporary pay plan for state employees. The plan would raise employee salaries by up to 3%. It would also set the minimum salary for state employees at $32,405 a year, raise the maximum salary range for pay grades by 10%, and offer special compensation under specific circumstances.

In addition, the House passed two bills addressing regulations of the digital mining industry. SB78 requires that digital asset mining businesses apply specified noise-reduction techniques. SB79 states that a digital asset mining business shall not operate in Arkansas without a valid permit from the Oil and Gas Commission. Both SB78 and SB79 state that a prohibited foreign party shall not purchase or acquire any interest in a digital mining business in the state.

The House will reconvene on Thursday at 9 a.m.