News

The 2nd week of the 2022 Fiscal Session is now underway.The House approved an amendment to HB1034, an appropriation for the Department of Corrections.The amendment adds $4.5 million to be used for employees overtime pay.The House also approved an amendment to HB1067, an appropriation for the Division of Career and Technical Education. The amendment adds […]

The 93rd General Assembly is now entering the second week of the 2022 Fiscal Session. The session began with an address by Governor Asa Hutchinson in which he outlined his budget priorities for the next fiscal year. In addition to increases in funding for education and healthcare, the Governor is requesting funding for the Crime […]

The State of Arkansas will observe George Washington’s Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day as an official state holiday on Monday, February 21, 2022.   State Capitol offices and state buildings will be closed.  The State Capitol will be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. A legal holiday by authority of […]

The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced HB1100. This bill creates a State Employee Health Benefit Advisory Commission and a Public School Employee Health Benefit Advisory Commission. The commissions will review financial information and potential viability of funding as well as provide recommendations to the State Board of Finance.The House Education Committee advanced […]

The House voted in favor of eight resolutions this afternoon which will allow non-appropriation bills to be introduced during this Fiscal Session. Amendment 86 states that if the General Assembly is to take up any bills outside the scope of the budget during a Fiscal Session, they must first approve a resolution describing the bill […]

The 2022 Fiscal Session is now underway. In a Joint Session of the 93rd General Assembly, Governor Hutchinson outlined his budget priorities for the 2023 Fiscal year. In addition to increases in funding for education and healthcare, the Governor is requesting funding for the victims of crime through the Crime Victims Reparations Program, funding for […]

House Convenes for 2022 Fiscal Session at 12:00 PM in the Arkansas House Chamber WATCH HERE The House will convene at noon and take a brief recess after reading bills across the desk.  We will reconvene for a Joint Session in the House Chamber to hear an address from the Governor at 12:30. We’ve posted […]

On Monday, the 93rd General Assembly will convene at the State Capitol to address the budget for Fiscal Year 2023. Fiscal Sessions began after Arkansas voters approved what would become Amendment 86 in 2008. This will be the 7th Fiscal Session held in state history. Governor Asa Hutchinson is expected to address the General Assembly […]

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Arkansans.In 2020, there were 8,621 deaths due to heart disease in our state. Arkansas ranked 4th among all states for the highest heart disease mortality in 2020.In most cases, heart disease is preventable. February is American Heart Month, a time when we can all focus on […]

From July 2020 to July 2021, there were 1,619 reports of newborns born in Arkansas with an illegal substance present in their system. This is a 20% increase from the year before. The House and Senate Committees for Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs reviewed the number of Garrett’s law reports early this […]

Members continued to review agency budget proposals in preparation for the 2022 Fiscal Session.This week, the hearings focused on requests for public safety and for the Department of Human Services. The Governor is requesting a $7.4 million increase in the budget for Arkansas State Police. If approved, this money would be used to help raise […]

The State Capitol Offices and all State Buildings will be closed on Monday, January 17, 2022, for the observed birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A legal holiday by authority of Act 304 of 2001 and amended by Act 561 of 2017. Official State Holiday Bulletin