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The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee began hearing proposed constitutional amendments this afternoon. You can watch the presentations at www.arkansashouse.org.Meanwhile, the House took up several public health and education bills this afternoon.Members passed the following bills:HB1258-This bill authorizes full independent practice authority for certified nurse practitioners who meet certain requirements. Currently, nurse practitioners […]

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), approximately 2,145 women serve in the 50 state legislatures in 2020.  Women make up 29% of all state legislators nationwide. This represents a significant increase from the 2018 session’s ratio of 25.3 % and the most women elected at one time. The Arkansas House of Representatives […]

As we wind down the 8th week of the 2021 Regular Session, more than 270 bills have been signed into law. Next week, the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee will begin hearing proposals for constitutional amendments. According to Joint Rules, the House and Senate can each recommend one amendment but it must be […]

The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee will begin reviewing proposed constitutional amendments next week. The committee will begin meeting on Monday mornings to hear bills and on Monday afternoons to hear proposed amendments. The committee will meet again on Wednesday afternoons to proposed amendments and possibly more bills. Members will not be voting […]

On Wednesday, there were close to 30 additional bills filed and more than 20 bills advancing from committees. On the House floor members passed the following: SB6-This bill would ban abortions except those performed to protect the life and health of the mother. HB1213-This bill amends code in regards to qualification process for a person […]

More than 1,000 bills have been filed since the session began and more than 200 have been signed into law. Tuesday marked the 51st day for the 2021 Regular Session. This afternoon, the House passed the following: HB1061-This bill creates the No Patient Left Alone Act. This bill states that it is in the interest […]

The House entered the 8th week of the Regular Session on Monday.Members passed the following bills on the House floor: HB1464-This bill adds a provision to the Arkansas Code that allows parents to challenge instructional material, events or activities in public schools. HB1389-This bill creates the Arkansas Foresters for the Future Scholarship Program. This scholarship […]

In the 7th week of the 2021 Regular Session, the House passed bills addressing taxes, medical care, scholarships, the duty to retreat, and more. The following tax measures were advanced by the House: ·      HB1023-This bill excludes certain school fundraisers from the sales tax laws regulation special events. ·      HB1374-This bill […]

The House has now wrapped up the 7th week of the 2021 Regular Session. The House passed the following bills on Thursday afternoon: HB1224-This bill establishes the State Crime Laboratory Student Loan Forgiveness Program. If law, this would allow pathologists to enter a probationary period with the State Crime Lab. After that probationary period, the […]

Today is the 45th day of the 2021 Regular Session. More than 560 bills have been filed in the House, and more than 390 have been filed in the Senate.Several of those bills passed the House on Wednesday, including the following: SB24-This bill, commonly known as the Stand Your Ground bill, removes the duty to […]

Since the filing period began, there have been more than 540 bills filed in the House. In the Senate, 380 have been filed.More than 120 bills so far have been signed into law.This afternoon, the House advanced several more, including the following: HB1353-This bill states that a medical marijuana cultivation facility or dispensary shall not […]

After an extended recess due to the winter weather, House members are back at the Capitol. On Monday, the House passed SB236, which exempts unemployment benefits paid in 2020 and 2021 from state income tax. Last year, due to the pandemic, more than 280,000 Arkansans received unemployment benefits. Currently, state income taxes are not withheld. […]