It was a nice break from the winter weather up at the state Capitol, and the lawmakers forged ahead with their various agendas. The highly contested “Baby Olivia” bill once again failed to get enough votes to get through committee on the Senate side, yet the bill’s sponsors aren’t giving up the fight. A bill that’s been on our legislative agenda for years has been filed; if it passes, we’d see an end to harmful fees and fines levied on children in the juvenile justice system. And a couple of bills that restrict direct democracy have been signed into law by the governor, while several others continue to progress through the legislature.
Below you will find an overview of bills on AACF’s legislative agenda and that AACF generally either supports or opposes. We are monitoring more bills, listed and frequently updated on our website.
Bills on AACF’s Legislative Agenda
Through conversations with partners, advocates and young Arkansans, and through our own policy research, AACF has identified a series of policies that will improve the well-being of Arkansans. The following bills are in support of our 2025 legislative agenda.
Health
Now Law: SB213 is now Act 140 | Sen. Missy Irvin and Rep. Aaron Pilkington |Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
The Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act changes multiple policies relating to pregnancy and postpartum care. It fast-tracks Medicaid coverage for pregnant women (presumptive eligibility), unbundles Medicaid coverage for pregnant women, and authorizes Medicaid reimbursement for prenatal and postpartum home visitation care by doulas and community health workers. It also provides coverage for blood pressure monitors and remote ultrasounds. It was signed into law on Tuesday.
Juvenile Justice
New: SB340 | Sen. Alan Clark | Senate Judiciary Committee
This bill would eliminate fees and fines in the juvenile court system, while still requiring young people to make restitution to victims in delinquency cases.
Bills AACF Also Supports
The following bills are not formally on AACF’s legislative agenda, but AACF recognizes they could have a positive impact on Arkansas’s children and families.
Child Welfare
Now Law: HB1292 is now Act 139 | Rep. Mary Bentley and Sen. Kim Hammer | House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative & Military Affairs
This new law clarifies residency requirements for adoptions in Arkansas. It also creates a new exception to the adoption residency requirements that allows the Director of the Division of Children and Family Services to waive the residency requirement for a minor in foster care who is 16 or older under certain conditions. It was signed into law on Tuesday.
Scheduled: HB1434 | Rep. Ashley Hudson and Sen. Missy Irvin | House Judiciary Committee
This bill proposes amendments to child custody law, specifically addressing cases involving domestic abuse or coercive control. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption against awarding custody or unsupervised visitation to a parent or guardian found to have committed abuse or coercive control, requiring them to prove that their involvement will not endanger the child. It is scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee at 10am on Tuesday, March 4.
Now Law: HB1437 is now Act 158 | Rep. Matt Duffield and Sen. Alan Clark | House Judiciary Committee
This new law prohibits Level 3 and Level 4 registered sex offenders to be within 100 feet of a water park or public park. It was signed into law on Tuesday.
Education, K-12
Scheduled: HB1542 |Rep. Jim Wooten | House Education Committee
This bill would require private schools that receive state funding to participate in the statewide student assessment system, which is administered by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education currently for public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools. The bill would also require private schools to admit any student who applies and intends to use state funding to pay to attend, as long as the school has capacity. It is on the agenda for the House Education Committee at 10am on Tuesday, March 4.
Now Law: SB206 is now Act 195 | Sen. Steve Crowell and Rep. Rebecca Burkes | Senate Education Committee
This new law triples the amount of literacy tutoring grants provided to public schools on behalf of eligible students. The previous amount was $500 per student, and this law increases it to $1,500 per student. It passed the full House on Monday and was signed into law on Thursday.
Progressed: HB1255 | Rep. Jeremy Wooldridge and Sen. Breanne Davis | House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
This bill would amend Medicaid’s coverage of continuous glucose monitors, allowing beneficiaries to obtain these devices either through a pharmacy with a prescription or via a verified provider with a written order. It passed the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on Wednesday.
Bills AACF Opposes
The following are bills we believe would be harmful to our state, our state’s children and their families, and our state’s most vulnerable individuals.
Child Welfare
New: SB312 | Sen. Matt Stone and Rep. Howard M. Beaty, Jr. | Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
This bill would allow psychiatric residential treatment facilities, which provide mental health treatment for children and young adults, to expand across the state by exempting them from the current prohibition against creating new facilities or expanding existing bed capacity of residential care facilities. Read about the bill here: Arkansas Times.
Democracy and Voting Rights
Read news coverage about several of these bills here: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Advocate and Arkansas Times.
Now Law: SB207 is now Act 218 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Kendon Underwood | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
This new law requires that canvassers collecting signatures for a ballot measure inform individuals before signing that petition fraud is a criminal offense. It passed the full House on Monday, the full Senate with amendments on Wednesday and was signed into law on Thursday. Read news coverage here: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Progressed and Scheduled: SB208 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Kendon Underwood | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
This bill would require that canvassers request and review a photo ID before allowing a voter to sign a ballot measure petition. It passed the House Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs on Monday and the full House on Tuesday. It went back to the Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs to have amendments from the House concurred and passed on Thursday. It is scheduled to be heard by the full Senate at 1:30pm on Monday, March 3.
Progressed and Scheduled: SB209 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Kendon Underwood | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
This bill would disqualify all signatures collected by a canvasser, including legitimate signatures, if a canvasser is found to have violated Arkansas law or the Arkansas Constitution while collecting signatures for a petition. On Tuesday the Senate voted to adopt the bill’s emergency clause (meaning the law would go into effect as soon as it’s signed). It is scheduled to be heard by the House Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs 15 minutes upon the adjournment of the House on Monday, March 3.
Progressed and Scheduled: SB210 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Kendon Underwood | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
This bill would require canvassers to read the ballot title of a measure out loud to a voter or observe a voter read the ballot title before allowing them to sign a ballot measure petition. On Tuesday the Senate voted to adopt the bill’s emergency clause (meaning the law would go into effect as soon as it’s signed). It is scheduled to be heard by the House Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs 15 minutes upon the adjournment of the House on Monday, March 3.
Progressed and Scheduled: SB211 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Kendon Underwood | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
This bill would require canvassers to file an affidavit with the Secretary of State’s office before the signatures they collected could be counted and would prevent them from collecting additional signatures after a campaign had submitted signatures to the Secretary of State’s office until the Secretary of State’s office determined the campaign met certain requirements. It passed the House on Monday with amendments and again passed the Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs on Thursday. It is on the agenda of the full Senate for Monday, March 3 at 1:30pm.
Stalled in Committee: SB212 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Kendon Underwood | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
This bill would create a “Document Validity Division” — a law enforcement agency of the Secretary of State that would be tasked with reviewing documents, subpoenaing witnesses, collecting evidence, and more related to elections generally and ballot measures specifically. It failed to get enough votes to pass out of committee on Thursday. Read news coverage here: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Advocate and Arkansas Times.
New: SB299 | Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Alyssa Brown | Senate Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
If this bill passes, it will become more difficult for children whose parents do not speak English as their primary language to translate for and assist them at the polls because of the creation of a requirement for assistors to show I.D.
Now Law: HB1222 is now Act 154 | Rep. David Ray and Sen. Kim Hammer | House Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs
This new law allows the Arkansas Attorney General to reject a proposed ballot measure based on whether he or she determines the proposed measure would violate the United States Constitution or federal law. Historically, the AG has only provided opinions and guidance on the topic.
Education, K-12
Stalled and Scheduled: HB1180 | Rep. Mary Bentley and Sen. Clint Penzo | House Education Committee
This bill would require public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools to teach, beginning in 6th grade, human growth and development as it relates to pregnancy and fetal development inside the womb, to include a three-minute-minimum, high-definition ultrasound video and the “Meet Baby Olivia” animated video, developed by Live Action or similar video. The bill failed again to get enough votes to get out of committee on Wednesday and is again scheduled to be heard by the Senate Education Committee at 10am on Monday, March 3. AACF Education Policy Director Nicole Carey testified in committee on Wednesday; you can read her testimony on our website. Find news coverage on the bill here: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Arkansas Advocate.
Family Economic Security
Scheduled: HB1506 | Rep. Wade Andrews and Sen. Matt McKee | House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
This bill would prohibit all public employers in the state from deducting labor organization dues, fees, or contributions from a public employee’s compensation. Public safety employees, including fire, police, and emergency medical care, would be excluded from the prohibition. It is on the agenda of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee at 10am on Tuesday, March 4.
Tax and Budget
Scheduled: HB1500 | Rep. Howard M. Beaty, Jr. and Sen. Ben Gilmore | House Committee on Revenue & Taxation
During the 2023 regular session, the legislature approved legislation to eliminate the “throwback rule” by 2030. This bill would repeal the rule effective immediately (for the 2025 tax year). The throwback rule prevents corporations from paying their fair share by claiming large amounts of out-of-state sales. As these sales go completely untaxed, state revenue from corporate tax is reduced. It is on the agenda of the House Committee on Revenue & Taxation at 10am on Tuesday, March 4.
Also Worth Noting
New and Scheduled: SB307 | Sen. Jonathan Dismang and Rep. Les D. Eaves | Senate Committee on Insurance and Commerce
This bill would retool the ability of public utilities in Arkansas to finance strategic investments by allowing the utilities to recover costs during the period of construction instead of after, as the current law mandates. It would reduce the oversight of the Public Service Commission in the process and would change the energy rate increase rules without protections for lower income residents. It passed the Senate Committee on Insurance and Commerce on Thursday and is scheduled to be heard by the full Senate at 1:30pm on Monday, March 3. Find news coverage here: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Advocate, Arkansas Times and Talk Business & Politics.
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