TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME — GREETINGS:                  

EO 24-07:​ EXECUTIVE ORDER TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY AND AUTHORIZE FUNDS FOR SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING ON OR ABOUT MAY 24, 2024, AND CONTINUING

WHEREAS:​ On or about May 24, 2024, and continuing, severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes began in Arkansas, causing danger, hardship, and suffering which now warrants this executive action; 

WHEREAS:​ Adverse circumstances have been brought to bear upon citizens and public properties within the State of Arkansas and certain political subdivisions require supplemental assistance from the state to recover from these losses; 

WHEREAS:​ The damage resulting from these storms includes numerous downed power lines, which have created the need for commercial vehicles to haul heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, and other transmission and distribution equipment to line crews working to restore power to the citizens of Arkansas;

WHEREAS: ​To ensure the safe and efficient restoration of power throughout the state, it is important to maintain a safe distance from these downed power lines, line crews, and related equipment; 

WHEREAS:​ Motor carriers and drivers operating commercial vehicles in response to a regional emergency declared by the Governor under 49 CFR §390.23 are temporarily exempt from federal regulations governing maximum drive time; and

WHEREAS:​ Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §12-75-114(e)(1), the Governor is authorized to suspend any regulatory statutes or rules that in any way prevent, hinder, or delay actions necessary in coping with an emergency.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, and pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-75-101, et seq., do hereby declare a state of emergency and direct the sum of $250,000.00 to be obligated from the Governor’s Disaster Response and Recovery Fund to be used at the discretion of the Director of the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management to defray both program and administrative costs.

FURTHERMORE, pursuant to 49 CFR §390.23, I hereby declare that a regional emergency exists in the State of Arkansas as applied to: (1) commercial vehicles hauling heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, and other transmission and distribution equipment to line crews for the purpose of restoring power to the citizens of the state; and (2) emergency response vehicles such as, but not limited to, utility vehicles, bucket trucks, and electric utility supply trucks actively responding to the storms and related damage. These emergency response vehicles are authorized to bypass all Arkansas Department of Transportation weigh station facilities through June 9, 2024. This authorization does not include vehicles that require permits to operate on Arkansas’ roadways. This authorization does not relieve size and weight restrictions. This declaration only applies to weigh stations and to vehicles traveling in convoy.  

FURTHERMORE,  I hereby invoke the emergency executive powers vested in me under Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-75-101 et seq., as amended, and suspend all provisions of regulating statutes prescribing procedures for the conduct of the Office of State Procurement, the Arkansas Building Authority, the Office of Personnel Management, and all other state departments and agencies to render maximum assistance to the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment and the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, through the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, relative to any potential impediment to the rapid and orderly rendering of assistance to affected political subdivisions.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 26th day of May, in the year of our Lord 2024.