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Daily Legislative Update: Friday, March 21, 2025

Date
Category Daily Legislative Update
Photo by Will Newton/Arkansas House of Representatives
Friday, March 21, 2025 – Day 67

LEGISLATIVE SCHEDULE

The General Assembly is adjourned until Monday, March 31. As a result, the State Chamber/AIA will not be publishing our Daily Legislative Update next week. Updates will resume when the legislature reconvenes.

 

CALLS TO ACTION

Ask state Senators to OPPOSE SB 284, 285 and 288 during the legislative recess.

These bills affect all employers, not just businesses. Colleges, K-12 schools, state, county, city governments and non-profits will all be faced with increased costs.

SB 284, 288 and SB 285 await consideration on the Senate floor.   

SB 284 and 288 would increase physician and specialist changes from one time to annual. After an amendment on March 19, SB 285 would increase the maximum weekly benefit from $903 to $1923, the fifth highest in the nation.

Why Do These Bills Matter?

  • Workers’ Compensation is one of Arkansas’ most competitive business cost elements. It is a key measure of our overall economic standing compared to other states.
  • The cost of doing business is one of the top five factors influencing investment location decisions.
  • These bills will undermine recent years’ improvements in operating costs through tax reductions.
  • In short, these bills will undermine all of the State’s efforts to attract business and industry and create and maintain jobs.
  • Any one of these bills alone will increase the cost of doing business; passing more than one of these bills will make that exponentially worse
  • Employers are already on edge because of concerns with the economy. Common sense dictates that we do not impose additional costs on them during this uncertainty.

For more details, see the “Call to Action Bills” section below.

 

AT THE CAPITOL: A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Yesterday at the Capitol
SB 390, which we support, creates an apprenticeship program. It passed the Senate yesterday 33-0 and has been assigned to the House Education Committee.

SB 7 sought to grant legislators the ability to request sales and use tax reports. We opposed this bill due to concerns about confidentiality and business privacy. It failed yesterday in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.

HB 1656, which we opposed, sought to make changes to existing royalty contracts. It failed to receive a second in the Senate Agriculture and Economic Development Committee yesterday.

SB 352 moves the primary election date to early March permanently and shifts the start of the Fiscal Session to early April. It passed the House yesterday 89-0.

 

Pending Bills We Support
Our tax package includes these four bills because the Tax Foundation has identified these measures as critical to improving Arkansas’ tax competitiveness ranking. All but HB 1750 have been presented, but no votes have been taken on bills with revenue impacts.

  • HB 1500 – Repeals the throwback rule
  • HB 1501 – Aligns Arkansas’ income tax law with federal standards for expensing depreciable business assets
  • HB 1538 – Extends the net operating loss carryforward period
  • HB 1750 – Repeals the franchise tax

Other tax-related bills we support that are pending in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee:

  • HB 1435 – Provides income tax credits for childcare
  • HB 1469 – Establishes the Broadband Expansion and Efficiency Act
  • HB 1807 – Amends the sales tax exemption for aircraft held for resale and used for rental or charter and clarifies eligibility for the exemption.
  • HB 1444 – Seeks to amend the sales and use tax exemption for data centers.
  • SB 465 – Provides for a sales and use tax refund for speculative development projects and requires concurrent financial incentive agreements under the Consolidated Incentive Act of 2003.

 

Other bills we support that are pending on committee or floor agendas:

  • SB 361 – Creates the Industrial Development Authorities Expansion Act. It is pending in the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee.
  • HB 1706 – Prohibits the use of ranked-choice voting in Arkansas elections. It is pending in the House State Agencies Committee.
  • HB 1797 – Seeks to amend the law concerning the Arkansas Development Finance Authority. It is pending in the House State Agencies Committee.
  • SB 322 – Allows third parties to review plans and perform site inspections. It is pending in the House City, County and Local Committee.
  • SB 403 – Seeks to create a complete count committee for the 2030 census. It is pending on the House floor.
  • HB 1446 – Expands the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship Program. It is pending in the House Education Committee.
  • HB 1571 – Amends the Arkansas Adult Diploma Program Act. It is pending on the House floor.
  • HB 1731 – Strengthens child labor laws by reinstating employment certificate requirements.

 

Bills we oppose:

  • SB 5 – Establishes a criminal offense for prescription drug harm or homicide
  • SB 6 – Introduces a criminal offense for vaccine harm.
  • Senate Judiciary Committee
  • HB 1150– Restricts healthcare payors and pharmacy benefits managers from obtaining specific pharmacy permits, which could limit market competition. House Insurance and Commerce Committee
  • HB 1442 – Seeks to place additional restrictions on pharmacy contracting, potentially increasing costs for businesses and consumers. House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
  • SB 258 – Known as the Arkansas Digital Responsibility, Safety, and Trust Act, seeks to address technology privacy and artificial intelligence (AI). Senate Transportation, Technology, and Legislative Affairs Committee
  • SB 418 – Seeks to amend the Workers’ Compensation Law to require workers’ compensation insurers to spend at least 85% of premiums on healthcare and wage claims.
  • SB 456 and HB 1754 – Seek to limit/eliminate local zoning authorities.
  • SB 456 – Senate floor
  • HB 1754 – House Judiciary Committee

 

Recent Bills of Interest

HB 1800 – Rep. Mindy McAlindon and Sen. Matt McKee
Amends campaign finance disclosure laws, requiring agents of a foreign principal to disclose their activities. The sponsor had the bill returned to the House State Agencies Committees to adopt an amendment.

HB 1852 – Rep. Jeremiah Moore and Sen. Matt Stone
Establishes a right to repair for certain agricultural equipment. Awaits consideration in the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee.

SB 528 – Sen. Ben Gilmore and Rep. Howard Beaty
Defines the powers of the Office of Skills Development and the Career Education and Workforce Development Board regarding secondary technical centers. Awaits consideration in the Senate Education Committee. 

SB 529 – Sen. Blake Johnson and Rep. Frances Cavenaugh
Amends the Independent Tax Appeals Commission Act. Awaits consideration in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.

 

Constitutional Amendments
When the General Assembly reconvenes the State Agencies Committees will need to narrow down their choices for constitutional amendments referrals to the 2026 General Election Ballot. The State Chamber/AIA supports SJR 15 and HJR 1014, which are companion bills aimed at improving the state’s legal and regulatory framework.

 

NEWLY TRACKED BILLS
We added 13 bills to our tracking list today. 

HB 1867 – Rep. Brit McKenzie
Establishes the No Government Trespassing Act, prohibiting game wardens from trespassing on private land. House State Agencies Committee

HB 1868 – Rep. Lee Johnson and Sen. Kim Hammer
Requires insurers to pay a fair and reasonable service fee directly to fire departments for firefighting services based on time spent on the scene. House Insurance and Commerce Committee

HB 1873 – Rep. Brit McKenzie
Requires notification to newly elected General Assembly members regarding their remaining years of service eligibility under the Arkansas Constitution. House State Agencies Committee

HB 1876 – Rep. Scott Richardson
Addresses ownership rights of model training and content generated by generative AI tools. House Communications and Information Technology Committee

HB 1883 – Rep. Wayne Long
Creates the Arkansas Fourth Amendment Protection Act to regulate the collection of electronic data and metadata. House State Agencies Committee

HB 1884 – Rep. Wayne Long
Amends laws concerning the marking and counting of paper ballots. House State Agencies Committee

HB 1888 – Rep. Tracy Steele
Amends the Division of Workforce Services Law to provide individuals access to their employment records. House Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee

SB 531 – Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Justin Gonzales
Allows municipalities to contract with property owners outside their boundaries for municipal services. Senate City, County, and Local Affairs Committee

SB 535 – Sen. Bart Hester and Rep. Brian Evans
Creates a sales and use tax exemption for the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and its foundation. Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee

SB 537 – Sen. Ben Gilmore
Establishes the Earning Safe Reentry Through Work Act, allowing individuals on probation, parole, or post-release supervision to earn time credits through employment. Senate Judiciary Committee

SB 541 – Sen. Greg Leding and Rep. Richard Womack
Amends laws related to towing, storage, and the release of vehicles, implements, or machinery. Senate Transportation, Technology, and Legislative Affairs Committee

SB 544 – Sen. Mark Johnson and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway
Amends the Arkansas Pharmacy Benefits Manager Licensure Act. Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee

SB 552 – Sen. Kim Hammer and Rep. Les Eaves
Clarifies the definition of “principal office” under the Arkansas Business Corporation Act of 1987 and the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee

 

CALL-TO-ACTION BILLS

SB 284, 285, 288 – Sen. John Payton

Specifically, these bills will:

  • SB 284 and 288: Allow an annual change of physician instead of a one-time change. SB 284 addresses personal physicians, while SB 288 addresses specialty physicians. While employers must cover all job-related injuries, they can direct care. Annual changes could encourage “doctor shopping,” disrupt treatment plans, increase medical costs, prolong claims, delay recovery, and effectively provide lifetime medical benefits.
  • SB 285: Dramatically raise the maximum benefit amount by over 255%, setting an annual cap of $120,000—the highest in the nation. (Annualized, our current weekly benefit maximum is $46,956.) Arkansas’ current weekly maximum of $903 would jump to $2,307.69, one of the highest in the country. This increase would create a financial strain on employers and Arkansas would be misaligned with neighboring states.
  • The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), a nationally recognized group with expertise in these matters, has done an initial evaluation of SB 285. It will cost the workers’ compensation system $12 million to $16 million annually.

Our cap already exceeds that of Mississippi and Louisiana; this will widen the gap dramatically, making Arkansas less competitive for industry and business investment.