Download DOC LITTLE ROCK – The Senate passed legislation to prohibit discrimination and preferential treatment in state government, public schools and state-supported institutions of higher education. The written intent of Senate Bill 3 is “to prohibit discrimination by public entities on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.” The bill allows people […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC The Arkansas Senate quickly approved legislation to protect the rights of more than 500 victims of child sex abuse who have already won civil cases and are waiting for their settlements to become official. Senators unanimously approved Senate Bill 13 on the same day that attorneys for a former pediatrician, and convicted child […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC January 17, 2025 LITTLE ROCK – The 2025 legislative session got off to a fast start. By the end of the session’s third day more than 200 bills had been introduced. In November the governor presented a balanced budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee has already begun […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC LITTLE ROCK – The timing could not have been better for the good news Arkansas just received. A $17 million federal grant to improve maternal health care was formally announced a few days before the beginning of the 2025 legislative session. Improving maternal health care is high on the legislature’s list of priorities […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC Anyone who commits a violent felony in 2025 will learn that Arkansas law has become much tougher on serious criminals. They will serve longer prison sentences, and many serious offenders will not be eligible for early release. If they are eligible, they will have to work harder to earn it. If they satisfy […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC The legislature’s list of accomplishments in 2024 was highlighted by a $438 reduction in income taxes for Arkansas families and businesses. Individual income taxes for about 1.1 million Arkansas taxpayers will go down because the legislature lowered the top rate from 4.4 percent to 3.9 percent. The legislature also lowered corporate income taxes […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC LITTLE ROCK – The financial health of the state Teacher Retirement System has been steadily improving over the past decade. For example, using very conservative criteria, retirement systems are generally considered healthy if their “funded ratio” is above 80 percent. Ten years ago it was below 80 percent but at the end of […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas won a long and hard-fought legal battle against large pharmaceutical manufacturers when the United States Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling in the state’s favor. The decision means that Act 1103 of 2021 is constitutional and remains in effect. “This is a big win for Arkansas’s drug […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC LITTLE ROCK – The state Department of Correction has been in the news recently because of its efforts to build additional prison space, in order to improve public safety. Much less public attention has been paid to the Department’s agency that supervises parolees and people on probation, even though Arkansas has many more […]
Weekly UpdatesDownload DOC LITTLE ROCK – The state Senate held its traditional organizational meeting to name its leaders and choose committee assignments. Senator Bart Hester of Cave Springs (Benton County) had previously been elected President Pro Tempore of the Senate for the 95th General Assembly. On January 13, the first day of the 2025 legislative session, […]
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