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Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Four takeaways from the final full week of the Arkansas 95th General Assembly
Video: Review for April 10 at the Arkansas capitol LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A flurry of activity in what is expected to be the last full week of the 95th General Assembly as legislators worked to get their bills across the finish line prior to adjournment next Wednesday. This week's activity included the passage of a bill affecting Pharmacy Benefit Managers and pharmacies, the suspension of funding allocation for a new prison, the signing of 55 new laws on Thursday and an expected change to the way gas royalties are paid. Arkansas high school sports eligibility law aimed at limiting transfers PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS After being hotly debated in the Senate, passed and was sent on to the governor's office to be signed into law following a 26-9 vote. The bill would mandate that Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) could not own a pharmacy. Bill supporters cited a 2024 study by the Federal Trade Commission that stated PBMs were inflating drug costs and harming non-chain pharmacies. The bill's opponents included CVS Pharmacies, a PBM, which lobbied to have it voted down. CVS said in a statement that its 23 pharmacies in the state would close if this bill became law. Shortly after the bill's passage, a CVS spokesperson issued a statement calling for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to veto the legislation. Unvaccinated child contracts first Arkansas measles case since 2018 PRISON ALLOCATION A bill for a 3,000-bed prison in rural Franklin County has been removed by consideration in the Senate. The bill was parked after facing five defeats in the Senate as opponents cited a lack of planning in the site selection and ancillary construction costs for supporting infrastructure. The afternoon after Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester (R-Cave City) said he did not plan on reintroducing the bill, Attorney General Tim Griffin spoke about the need for a new prison in the state to defeat county jail overcrowding due to state inmates being held in them. NEW LAWS Gov. Sanders signed on Thursday. The bills included those impacting the Freedom of Information Act, asking for federal money to support nuclear waste research and protecting religious freedom for faith-based adoption and foster agencies. With this latest round of signatures, the governor has signed 552 bills into law since the start of the 95th General Assembly. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs 55 bills into law on Thursday GAS ROYALTIES is being returned to the House on Monday after passing the Senate with an amendment on Thursday. If the bill becomes law, it will clarify the current law that allows well operators to charge leaseholders for handling and transporting a well's output. Arkansas has approximately 40,000 gas leaseholders. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Arkansas Capitol roundup: Prison punt and education moves
Arkansas lawmakers logged late-night hours Wednesday as they rushed to finish work ahead of the General Assembly recess on April 16. The big picture: After failing to garner the required three-fourths majority for passage during five sessions on the Senate floor, the $750 million appropriations bill for a proposed Franklin County prison may not be voted on again this session. Sen. Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs), president pro tempore, told Axios Thursday the bill won't be presented until it's clear there are 27 votes in favor. The bill received as few as 18 and as many as 21 votes. State of play: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed 28 bills into law on Tuesday and another 55 on Thursday, including: Act 474, which authorizes the state Education Department to revise an accountability system for public schools. Act 478, requiring the State Board of Education to embed "the Founding Fathers and their religious and moral beliefs and how their religious and moral beliefs influenced the founding documents of the United States" into social studies taught in grades 6-12. Act 485, which makes it a felony for a person to commit a criminal abortion by means of fraud without the pregnant person's knowledge or consent. We're also tracking these bills filed in the past week: HB1984 would create a designation for registered sex offenders for inclusion on the person's driver's license or ID card. HB1999 would require the Department of Education to send each student who submits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SB622 would reverse the prohibition on tire retailers charging fees other than rim-removal fees when removing a tire from its rim. What's next: The General Assembly still must approve the $6.49 billion 2026 and 2027 general revenue budget proposed by Sanders in November.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harsher punishments for crimes by undocumented immigrants will be reheard in Arkansas committee
Criminal defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig (left) speaks against the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester (right), R-Cave Springs, before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, March 31, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) An Arkansas Senate committee approved a bill Monday that would impose harsher penalties on undocumented migrants who commit 'serious felony' crimes 'involving violence' in the state. But Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, primary sponsor of Senate Bill 426, or the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, will be considered a second time by the Senate Judiciary Committee after the Cave Springs Republican amended it later on Monday to change the schedule of penalties outlined in the bill. Under the version of SB 426 that passed committee Monday, undocumented migrants with initial charges of Class Y felonies — the most serious — would have faced two to 10 extra years of prison time. Felony charges under the lower four classes would have been upgraded one class. Some felonies also are unclassified. The amended bill would create the following penalties for people 'illegally or unlawfully in the United States' at the time of an offense: A person convicted of a Class D felony, or an unclassified felony with no more than six years of prison time, would get up to four years added to the sentence A person convicted of a Class A, B or C felony, or an unclassified felony with a prison sentence between six and 30 years, would get up to 10 years added to the sentence A person convicted of a Class Y felony, or an unclassified felony with a prison sentence of longer than 30 years or life, would get up to 20 years added to the sentence. SB426-S2 SB 426 includes a list of violent felonies that would precipitate enhanced penalties, including first-degree and second-degree murder, rape, arson, terroristic acts and threatening, first-degree battery and aggravated assault, among other things. The bill would also mandate that Arkansas law enforcement agencies participate in a federal program that deputizes them to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the apprehension and deportation of undocumented migrants held in local jails and state prisons. The 287(g) program, specifically the Warrant Service Officer Program, authorizes participating agencies to serve administrative warrants under federal immigration law. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas opposes the bill because it 'would divert local resources from public safety to federal law enforcement' and 'prevents cities and counties from determining what is best' for their residents, policy director Sarah Everett told the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'We don't feel that bills like this really do anything to help public safety,' said Everett, one of two people to speak against the bill. 'I don't think most people are doing a whole lot of math when they're thinking about committing a crime. What we really need to be focusing on is preventing crime in the first place.' The sheriff's offices in Craighead and Benton counties already have 287(g) cooperation agreements, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements webpage. U.S. House Republicans have been vocally supportive of the program. Local law enforcement officers would not be required to participate in the program until after they have someone arrested and in custody, Hester said in response to questions from the committee. 'We do not want to make this a place where violent criminals come,' Hester said. 'We do not want to be a place where we're seeing all these gangs start to move to.' President Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court last week to allow the deportations of Venezuelans accused of gang ties to continue. Cracking down on illegal immigration, including with 'mass deportations,' was a primary talking point of Trump's reelection campaign last year. Even sanctuary policies can't stop ICE arrests Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was Trump's press secretary during part of his first term, held a press conference earlier this month expressing support for the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act, which she previously named as a policy priority during her State of the State address. The bill would also expand the state's ban on sanctuary cities, which signify a lack of cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and prohibit all local governments from adopting such policies, even in unincorporated areas. The state would withhold discretionary grants or other funds from any 'local government that adopts or enacts a sanctuary policy' until the policy is repealed. Similarly, Trump signed an executive order Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House, saying the federal government must withhold funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. Sanctuary policies are largely symbolic and do not enable local officials to prevent ICE arrests, Stateline reported in February. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB 426 with no audible dissent. The committee's sole Democrat, Sen. Clarke Tucker of Little Rock, was absent during the discussion and vote. Increasing the length of criminals' incarceration does not prevent crime, Everett said, and she questioned how much SB 426 would cost taxpayers since incarceration itself costs money. The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on a $750 million appropriation to begin construction of a new 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County that has generated frustration from lawmakers and Arkansans. The Sanders administration has said the prison is needed to address overcrowding in county jails. Everett said SB 426 will have 'unintended consequences.' Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, said 'not controlling the border' between the U.S. and Mexico also has 'unintended consequences.' No members of the public spoke for the bill. Besides Everett, the other opponent of SB 426 was criminal defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig, who said the bill lacks a strong enough definition of what makes an immigrant 'illegal.' The Trump administration has recently been canceling the visas and green cards of legal immigrants, Rosenzweig noted, and he said SB 426 could be improved by requiring authorities to provide notice to individuals whose legal status was revoked. 'You can be lawful one day and unlawful the next, depending on what some ICE agent or some Cabinet official or someone in between said,' Rosenzweig said. He also noted that everyone on U.S. soil, not just U.S. citizens, is subject to due process and a jury trial if they face criminal charges. Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, said he disagreed with Rosenzweig's suggestion to add a notification requirement to SB 426. 'It's their job [as immigrants] to know whether they're here legally or not,' Johnson said. The Senate Judiciary Committee's next meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas GOP lawmakers seek to force local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE
Houston-based immigration officials greet each other after December arrests involving the smuggling of immigrants on a tractor trailer. A revived 'task force' cooperation program will let state and local law enforcement coordinate with the Trump administration on immigration arrests during routine police work. (Courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) A top Republican in the Arkansas Senate has introduced a bill that would require state prison system officials and county sheriffs across Arkansas to work more closely with federal immigration authorities just as the Trump administration looks to ramp up its promised mass deportation efforts. Senate Bill 426, the 'Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act,' is sponsored by Sen. Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) and Rep. Fran Cavenaugh (R-Walnut Ridge). Hester is the Senate president pro tempore. SB 426 requires any sheriff who's in charge of a county jail to apply to participate in the Warrant Service Officer Program, which is run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Participating sheriffs are essentially deputized to act as ICE agents for purposes of serving warrants on people held in their jails, according to the immigration agency's website. In other words, the program would make it easier for a sheriff to hand over an unauthorized immigrant to ICE if that person were already held in the county jail. (Here's more on the Warrant Service Officer Program in a 2019 announcement by ICE and a recent fact sheet.) SB 426 would also require the state Division of Correction to apply to participate in the program. The bill would also enhance criminal penalties for unauthorized immigrants convicted of certain 'serious felonies involving violence,' such as murder, battery or aggravated assault. And it would build on an existing state-level ban on so-called 'sanctuary cities' to forbid such policies in counties and unincorporated areas. The 'Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act' was one of the pieces of legislation promised by Gov. Sarah Sanders in her address at the start of the 2025 session. The bill would 'slap enhanced penalties on violent illegal immigrants and remove them from our state,' she said at the time. To be clear, though, those are two different things. The enhanced penalties under the bill would take place within the state criminal justice system; they would apply to people convicted of violent crimes who also happen to be unauthorized immigrants. The 'removals' referenced by Sanders, which would presumably be expedited under the ICE program, could apply to an unauthorized immigrant held in jail for any crime, violent or not. A person who was arrested for public intoxication or shoplifting, for example, could still be handed over to ICE. Would enhanced penalties based on immigration status even be legal here? It's possible, Little Rock attorney Jeff Rosenzweig said. 'It is saber rattling, but it has a good chance of getting upheld by the courts,' he said. SB 426 isn't the only bill in the state Legislature that aims to further Trump's immigration crackdown. House Bill 1789, sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Burkes (R-Lowell), would ban cities and counties from issuing ID cards to any person who 'does not provide proof of lawful presence in the United States.' Little Rock is one such city with a municipal ID program that provides an alternative to driver's licenses or state-issued IDs. Then there's House Bill 1655 byRep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford). The bill would establish two new felony offenses under state criminal law, 'human smuggling' and 'harboring illegal aliens.' If passed, anyone who 'knowingly conceals, harbors, or shields from detection' any person who is in the U.S. unlawfully could be convicted of a Class D felony.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arkansas lawmakers seek to eliminate state grocery tax with new legislation
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announces legislation to eliminate the state's grocery tax during a press conference at the Arkansas Capitol on March 4, 2025. (Screenshot from livestream) Arkansas' governor on Tuesday announced legislation to repeal the state grocery tax and expand liability protections for food banks and their donors. Access to food has become a challenge in recent years for many Americans due to inflation and the rising cost of groceries. Cave Springs Republicans Sen. Bart Hester and Rep. Kendon Underwood are sponsoring the Grocery Tax Relief Act. The bill will eliminate the state grocery tax, but have no impact on county and municipal grocery taxes, according to a press release. Arkansas joins other states like Missouri that are considering eliminating taxes on groceries, and Illinois, which last year approved legislation to end its grocery tax at the start of 2026. Of the ten states that tax groceries, Arkansas has the lowest rate at 0.125%, according to an AARP report. Arkansas governor lays out legislative priorities in State of the State The Grocery Tax Relief Act follows through on the promise Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders made during January's State of the State address to eliminate the state's grocery tax. Both pieces of legislation announced Tuesday will address the cost and availability of food in Arkansas, Sanders said during a press conference. 'For too many families the grocery bill went up while their paychecks stayed the same, and for those families at the bottom of the income ladder, that means missed meals and empty dinner tables,' she said. '…we're getting rid of Arkansas' most regressive tax and giving a helping hand to Arkansans who need it the most.' If approved by lawmakers, the Grocery Tax Relief Act would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, which Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson said would give merchants time to reprogram their systems. Officials project the law would have an estimated annual impact of $10.9 million beginning in fiscal year 2027, the first full year the act would be in effect. The loss in revenue from the elimination of the tax would impact the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Heritage Commission and Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission, which were designated 0.125% of the state's general sales tax when voters approved Amendment 75 to the state Constitution in 1996. Because Amendment 75 references a section of Arkansas code, state officials said they will be able to remove certain foods as taxable items from the code instead of requiring voters to pass another constitutional amendment to eliminate the state's grocery tax. According to DFA spokesman Scott Hardin, the annual loss of revenue from the eliminated grocery tax would affect the following programs: Constitutional Officers Fund – $110,000 State Central Services – $220,000 Game Protection Fund (Game & Fish) – $4.77 million Parks & Tourism Fund – $4.77 million Department of Heritage Fund – $950,000 Keep Arkansas Beautiful Fund – $110,000 State organizations were made aware of the effects of the grocery tax bill on their budgets and will be able to manage the change in revenue, Sanders said. 'These agencies have very healthy, strong budgets, [I'm] very confident in their ability to continue to do what we've been doing, which is breaking tourism records,' she said. Outdoor recreation is a $7.3 billion industry for Arkansas that supports more than 68,000 jobs and generates nearly $2 billion in tax revenue, according to a new Heartland Forward report. The Good Neighbor Act is sponsored by Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, and Rep. Chad Puryear, R-Hindsville. The bill expands liability protections to food banks and their donors, including hotels, restaurants, farmers, hospitals, schools and religious organizations, according to a press release. New report ranks Arkansas' food insecurity rate worst in the U.S. At a rate of nearly 19%, Arkansas has the highest prevalence of food insecurity in the nation, according to a 2024 U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Arkansas has taken steps to address food insecurity for its residents, including opting into the new federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program, which provides $120 in food benefits for children who qualify for the federal free or reduced-price meal program. About 260,000 Arkansans benefited during the inaugural year of the program, which will again be available to families this summer. State lawmakers also passed a 2023 bill to cover the co-payment for low-income students who qualify for reduced-price meals, and approved a new law last month that will provide free school breakfast to all students, regardless of their eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. Act 123 of 2025 will use tax revenue from the state's medical marijuana program to fund the Summer EBT program and the free lunch and breakfast initiatives. Neither the Grocery Tax Relief Act nor the Good Neighbor Act had been filed as of mid-afternoon Tuesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
