LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Monday, April 21st, 2025, the Governor signed into law:
HCR1004 – To congratulate game warden Austin Powell on receiving the Monty Carmikle officer of the year award and the 2024 Robert M. Brantly law enforcement officer of the year award.
HJR1018 – The citizens-only voting amendment.
SCR5 – To continue to encourage the pursuit of national cancer institute designation by the Winthrop P. Rockefeller cancer institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
SJR11 – A constitutional amendment to amend Arkansas Constitution, article 2, § 5, to protect the right to keep and bear arms.
SJR15 – A constitutional amendment concerning economic development in the state of Arkansas; and authorizing the general assembly to provide for the creation of economic development districts to promote economic development.
SB611 – To amend the social media safety act.
SB612 – To create a private right of action against a social media platform that causes harm; and to impose a civil penalty on a social media platform that knowingly and willfully contributes to a minor’s suicide or suicide attempt.
SB90 – To require members of the public to be afforded the opportunity to present public comment at each meeting of a school district board of directors.
SB640 – To reconstitute the state library board.
HB1017 – To amend the law regarding paid maternity leave for public school employees; and to require the division of elementary and secondary education to pay for incurred costs for approved paid maternity leave.
HB1719 – To amend the days included in the total number of maternity leave days approved by a school that offers maternity leave.
HB1728 – To require reporting on the number of students receiving accommodations for a disability at institutions of higher education.
HB1766 – To create the Arkansas respond, innovate, succeed, and empower (rise) act.
HB1866 – To create Eli’s law; and to require each public school to install an audio recording device in each locker room and dressing room on the public school campus.
HB1312 – To amend public school funding amounts under the Public School Funding Act of 2003.HB1484 – To limit the number of credits a student may obtain in a course credit recovery program.HB1903 – To amend provisions of the Arkansas code to provide school districts with flexibility regarding alternative learning environments.HB1933 – To amend the law concerning a school district board of directors; and to create a recall election and petition for removal for a member of a school district board of directors.HB1945 – To amend the Arkansas opportunity public school choice act; to amend the public school choice act of 2015; and to allow a student to transfer to another public school within his or her resident district.HB1966 – To authorize an incorporated town or a city of the second class to petition the state board of education for the establishment of a local public
elementary school or satellite school under certain conditions.SB450 – To require the Department of Education to include a human fetal growth and development discussion in the relevant standards during the Arkansas academic standards revision cycle.HB1642 – To amend the measures considered when calculating a school rating; and to ensure a student is not counted as a dropout for purposes of calculating a school-level graduation rate if the student passes a GED test.HB1646 – To require certain materials to be stored in locked compartments within a designated area.HB1812 – To amend the Arkansas educational support and accountability act; to create an exception to attendance requirements for a student who takes a GED test; and to amend the score requirements for the GED test.SB619 – Concerning the formation of an isolated school district.SB625 – To amend provisions of the Arkansas code concerning the Arkansas children’s educational freedom account program; and to declare an emergency.
SB290 – To prohibit a moratorium on the issuance of permits in watersheds and other bodies of water.
HB1606 – To allow a local government to authorize the operation of a utility task vehicle on a designated public street or highway within the local government’s jurisdiction subject to certain requirements.
HB1525 – To amend the law concerning real property; and to address agricultural impact remediation agreements.
HB1683 – To prohibit the procurement by a governmental entity of an electric vehicle or a component of an electric vehicle that was manufactured in whole or in part using forced labor.
HB1701 – To amend the law concerning sewer collection and sewer treatment providers and related services.
HB1845 – To allow the electronic administration of documents related to the ownership of motor vehicles; to authorize electronic lien, titling, and registration systems; and to authorize the creation of a secure digital title system.
HB1876 – Regarding the ownership of model training and content generated by a generative artificial intelligence tool.
HB1913 – To amend the law concerning driver’s licenses; and to amend the law concerning the qualifications for an intermediate driver’s license.
HB1951 – To set forth authorized domain extensions for higher education and government websites.
HB1988 – To amend the law concerning the distribution of auto auction fees for salvage-titled or parts-only titled vehicles; and to amend the purpose for which auto auction fees may be used.
SB397 – To protect confidential personal information of rail employees in reports involving railroad fatalities.
HB2001 – To create the Arkansas towing and recovery reform and efficiency act of 2025; to amend the law concerning the Arkansas towing and recovery board; and to declare an emergency.
SB400 – To amend the fair-funding program.
SB533 – To provide for the regulation of consumable hemp products by the Arkansas tobacco control board; and to amend the Arkansas law to allow regulation and purchase of consumable hemp products.
SB546 – To amend the law concerning the trust fund contribution fee for water permits related to nonmunicipal domestic sewage treatment works.
SB565 – To allow procurement certifications to be combined; to amend the law concerning the representation in state contracts regarding contingent fees; and to amend the cooperative purchasing reporting deadline.
HB1352 – To amend various laws concerning actions related to certain foreign entities.
HB1365 – To remove racial and gender quotas and qualifications of membership for certain boards, committees, councils, and commissions.
HB1524 – To amend the law concerning the bidding procedure for the construction of buildings and facilities.
HB1562 – Concerning the termination of an oral lease of farmlands; and to amend the law concerning notice of termination.
HB1604 – To amend the law concerning prohibited contracts by state agencies; and to prohibit the use of public funds by state agencies to purchase promotional items made in China.
HB1656 – To amend the law regarding oil and gas production and conservation.
SB596 – To amend the law regarding energy; to establish a state energy policy; to regulate retirement of dispatchable electric generation facilities; and to declare an emergency.
HB1682 – To create the good neighbor act; and to clarify food donation liability and immunity.
HB1797 – To amend the law concerning the Arkansas development finance authority; and to declare an emergency.
SB437 – To create the Arkansas wind energy development act.
HB1846 – To create the Arkansas 2036 commission.
HB1952 – To assist the administration of the state athletic commission; to provide funding to the state athletic commission to continue its mission to promote a robust, healthy, and safe combative sports industry.
HB1974 – To prohibit state entities from employing unauthorized aliens; to establish the e-verify requirement act; and to require state entities to use e-
verify to confirm employment eligibility.
SB443 – To amend the duties of the state board of appraisers, abstracters, and home inspectors; to amend the law regarding licensure of abstracters; to amend the law regarding licensure of home inspectors; and to declare an emergency.
SB489 – To amend Arkansas law concerning the placement of a monument on the state capitol grounds in recognition of the desegregation of the Charleston and Fayetteville school districts in 1954.
HB1523 – Concerning missing persons alerts; to codify the Arkansas amber alert system; to codify the Arkansas silver alert system; and to create the missing endangered adult advisory system.
HB1717 – To create the Arkansas children and teens’ online privacy protection act.
HB1842 – To amend the law regarding the office of criminal detention facilities review coordinator; and to place the office within the Arkansas commission on law enforcement standards and training within the department of public safety.
HB1843 – Concerning records and photographs kept by the state crime laboratory.
SB486 – Concerning safety and privacy in certain entities; and concerning the designation of multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters in certain entities based on an individual’s sex.
SB491 – To require a vendor that contracts with the employee benefits division to submit data for verification by an independent audit; to impose a civil penalty on a vendor that provides inaccurate data; and to declare an emergency.
SB483 – To repeal certain reporting requirements for the state insurance department and the state securities department; and to revise certain reporting requirements for the state insurance department.
SB519 – To amend the standard nonforfeiture law for life insurance; and to regulate the payment of interest on deferred payment of any cash surrender value according to the terms of the policy.
HB1131 – To authorize an advanced practice registered nurse to delegate certain tasks to medical assistants and other unlicensed staff.
HB1186 – To create the pain relief parity act; and to require pain relief parity in the Arkansas Medicaid program.
HB1801 – To authorize an outsourcing facility of legend drugs and controlled substances that compounds a product to sell the compounded product to certain entities.
HB1943 – To amend the Medicaid provider-led organized care act; to improve the enrollment and selection process in risk-based provider organizations;
and to empower beneficiaries with information.
HB1963 – To clarify that an advanced practice registered nurse who prescribes a stimulant may substitute a therapeutically equivalent medication.
SB632 – To amend the food, drug, and cosmetic act; and to require warning labels for hair relaxers that contain certain chemicals.
HB1252 – To establish the certified community-based doula certification act; and to certify birth and postpartum doulas in this state to improve maternal and infant outcomes.
HB1471 – To amend the expiration date of all licenses of the board of examiners in speech-language pathology and audiology.
HB1840 – To amend the Medicaid provider-led organized care act to ensure that sedation dentistry is covered by risk-based provider organizations.
SB121 – To amend the automatic occupational licensure for out-of-state licensure act; to apply the automatic occupational licensure for out-of-state licensure act to physician assistants.
SB217 – To require the department of human services to request a waiver to exclude candy and soft drinks from eligible foods under the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
SB444 – To amend the medical ethics and diversity act.
SB601 – To create a pathway for a graduate of a foreign medical school to be licensed in this state if he or she is offered full-time employment as a physician from a healthcare provider.
