Arkansas governor vetoes two more bills from 2025 legislative session

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders vetoed two bills from the 2025 legislative session on Tuesday and returned them to their respective chambers.

Both bills had emergency clauses, meaning they would have gone into effect immediately upon Sanders’ signature.

House Bill 1961 would have created limited reasons for medical providers to “temporarily withhold a patient’s medical records from being released directly to the patient or any individual authorized by the patient” for up to 30 days.

Arkansas governor vetoes two more bills from 2025 legislative session

Karen E. Segrave/Arkansas Advocate

Sarah Huckabee Sanders addresses the crowd outside the State Capitol on Jan. 10, 2023, after she was sworn in as Arkansas’ 47th governor.

Lawsuit challenges new Arkansas direct democracy laws

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

A lawsuit has been filed challenging new restrictions on Arkansas’ direct democracy process.

The League of Women Voters of Arkansas filed suit Monday seeking to block a slate of new laws putting restrictions on the petition process. The lawsuit comes less than a week after the informal adjournment of the 2025 General Session of the Arkansas Legislature.

“For decades, Arkansans of all political persuasions have utilized the ballot initiative process to pass popular reforms in our state. Now, the legislature wants to kill the process. It’s not only anti-voter but is also completely illegal,” Bonnie Miller, president of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, said in a statement. “We urge the court to strike down these laws and reaffirm Arkansans’ right to direct democracy.”

Lawsuit challenges new Arkansas direct democracy laws

Arkansas lawmakers approve $182.5 million state budget increase

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

The Arkansas General Assembly on Wednesday approved legislation to increase the state’s general revenue budget to $6.49 billion for fiscal year 2026, a nearly 3% increase from the previous year.

As is typical, state lawmakers approved the Revenue Stabilization Act on the final day of the legislative session through two identical bills — Senate Bill 637 and House Bill 2003.

The RSA is nearly identical to the budget Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposed in November. The largest portion of the $182.5 million increase to the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is an additional $90 million for the state’s Educational Freedom Account program.

Arkansas lawmakers approve $182.5 million state budget increase

Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate

Rep. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia, addresses the Arkansas House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

Arkansas bans pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in state

KUAR | By Andrew DeMillo / The Associated Press, Kim Chandler / The Associated Press

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation Wednesday prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from owning or operating pharmacies, becoming the first state to enact such a restriction.

The measure comes as other states are considering restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers, which run prescription drug coverage for big clients that include health insurers and employers that provide coverage.

Supporters of the restrictions have said pharmacy benefit managers are forcing independent pharmacies, especially in rural areas, out of business.

Arkansas bans pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in state

Bill regulating transgender Arkansans’ bathroom use heads to House despite public pushback

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

The Arkansas House will consider a bill denounced by advocates for transgender Arkansans on Wednesday, the final day of the 2025 legislative session.

Senate Bill 486 would allow Arkansans to sue for damages if they encounter someone in a bathroom, changing room, shelter or correctional facility who does not align with the “designated sex” of the restroom. The bill narrowly passed the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Tuesday after 15 people spoke against it and no member of the public spoke for it.

“The intention here is to make it so that trans people cannot exist in public,” said Maricella Garcia, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families’ race equity director. “If you cannot use the restroom, you cannot go out in public.”

Bill regulating transgender Arkansans’ bathroom use heads to House despite public pushback

Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate

Family Council attorney Stephanie Nichols (left) and Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, present Senate Bill 486 to the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Monday, April 14, 2025.

Full-scale disaster drill tests LR airport's emergency preparedness

KUAR | By Nathan Treece

A simulated disaster at Little Rock’s Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport on Tuesday tested the effectiveness of emergency responders and administrators.

The scenario: a flock of ducks are sucked into an engine during takeoff, and the plane is forced to make an emergency landing – except, the landing gear doesn’t deploy, leading to a crash.

The airport’s public information officer Shane Carter says the simulation tests the coordination of multiple agencies.

Full-scale disaster drill tests LR airport's emergency preparedness

Nathan Treece/Little Rock Public Radio

Emergency responders test their skills during a simulated disaster at the Clinton National Airport in Little Rock on April 15, 2025.

Bill requiring Ten Commandments display in Arkansas public buildings becomes law

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

All public schools in Arkansas will be required to display a copy of the Ten Commandments under a new state law.

Senate Bill 433, now Act 573, requires a Ten Commandments display in all state and local government buildings, including in every public school and college classroom. The bill became law on Monday, five days after it received final legislative approval.

Speaking in a committee meeting earlier this month, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Alyssa Brown, R-Heber Springs, said it’s an effort to educate students on how the United States was founded and framed its Constitution.

Bill requiring Ten Commandments display in Arkansas public buildings becomes law

Wikimedia Commons

Bill banning DEI in Arkansas local government sent to governor’s desk

KUAR | By Ainsley Platt / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Legislation banning diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices at the local level passed the Arkansas House of Representatives Monday, sending the bill to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 520 is one of several bills targeting culture war issues that have been taken up during the 2025 legislative session. The bill, if it becomes law, would prohibit DEI “offices, officers, policies, or practices in local government.”

Under the proposed law, local governments would be prohibited from implementing hiring and employment policies that take into account diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI offices, or programs, policies, practices or applicant statements that promote DEI.

Bill banning DEI in Arkansas local government sent to governor’s desk

Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate

State Rep. Alyssa Brown speaks in favor of bill that would prohibit DEI in local government on April 14, 2025.

Anti-Trump protest held at Arkansas Capitol

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Activists gathered on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol Saturday as part of a nationwide push against the Trump administration's policies.

Protestors crowded under the blazing sun to sing protest songs and cry out in chants against the Trump administration. The protest was part of the 50501, a recently-formed group hosting similar rallies across the nation.

Twice the group was led in a chorus of “This Land is Your Land.” The lyrics have often been interpreted as a protest song, and were initially written by Arlo Guthrie as a sarcastic response to Irving Berlin's patriotic anthem “God Bless America.”

Anti-Trump protest held at Arkansas Capitol

Nathan Treece/Little Rock Public Radio

Protesters crowd the Arkansas State Capitol steps Saturday opposing new polices enacted by President Donald Trump.

Bill limiting care for trans minors moves through Arkansas Legislature

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

In the current legislative session, the first bill about transgender kids Republican Rep. Mary Bentley tried to pass didn't live a day past the committee.

She pulled it after hearing testimony from Arkansas Assistant Attorney General Justin Brasher. He said, Rep. Bentley, we agree with you, but if the state gets sued, the AG'S office isn't going to bat over this one.

“We have facial constitutional concerns with this bill,” he said.

The problem with the initial draft of the bill, also called the Vulnerable Youth Protection Act, is that it was too broad. Draft one could have encompassed speech protected in the Constitution: the right to cut your hair the way you want to, the right to wear what you want, the right to be called the name of your choice.

Bill limiting care for trans minors moves through Arkansas Legislature

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

The Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock.

Serial storms in Arkansas ramp up residents’ anxiety, create flooding and danger

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Willadean Hergott of Jonesboro clutched a stuffed toy monkey while sitting in the Craighead County safe room in Jonesboro Friday evening and waited for the next round of storms.

“I don’t like tornadoes. I don’t like seeing what happened in Lake City,” she said, referring to a twister that smashed the western edge of the Craighead County town Wednesday evening with winds of 150 mph.

“You never know anymore where one will come up,” she said.

Hergott sat in a chair inside the shelter, which has a capacity for 600 people. She said she had the monkey for her grandchildren who would show up shortly.

Serial storms in Arkansas ramp up residents’ anxiety, create flooding and danger

National Weather Service Little Rock

The past several days of heavy rains engorged streams and rivers across Arkansas. This National Weather Service map forecasts flood stage at various points along major rivers

Bill to abolish Arkansas State Library and its board advances despite librarians’ opposition

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

After more than two hours of debate, an Arkansas Senate committee advanced a proposal on Tuesday to abolish the Arkansas State Library and its board, which disburses state funding to local public libraries.

Senate Bill 536 would transfer the agency’s and board’s powers, authorities, funds, contracts and employees to the Arkansas Department of Education. The State Library is already under the department’s umbrella but operates independently.

The bill would delete all mentions of the State Library from existing state statute and make “prohibit[ing] access to age-inappropriate materials to a person who is sixteen (16) years old or younger” a condition for public libraries to receive state funds from the education department.

Bill to abolish Arkansas State Library and its board advances despite librarians’ opposition

Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate

Five Arkansans spoke against Senate Bill 536 before the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. From left: Misty Hawkins, regional director of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library System; Allie Gosselink, director of the Calhoun County Library; Debbie Hall, grants manager for the Arkansas State Library; John McGraw,executive director of the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library; and Clare Graham, Mid-Arkansas Regional Library System director.

Bill limiting complexity of ballot titles advances in Arkansas Legislature

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

Arkansas Lawmakers have advanced another bill changing the state’s direct democracy process.

Members of a Senate committee on Thursday advanced House Bill 1713, which requires all titles of citizen-led ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments to be written at or below an eighth-grade reading level. The bill’s Senate co-sponsor, Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Little Rock, said it’s an effort to make the process more accessible to voters.

“People have points to argue, but if they’re clear that if you believe this way you’re for it and if you believe the opposite then you’re against it, that’s the way the process is supposed to work. We’re not trying to confuse people,” he said.

Bill limiting complexity of ballot titles advances in Arkansas Legislature

Arkansas AG rejects proposed ballot measure to amend state’s direct democracy process

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas’ attorney general on Tuesday rejected a proposed ballot measure that aims to amend the state’s initiative and referendum process.

Attorney General Tim Griffin cited ambiguities as his reason for rejecting the proposed ballot title and language, which Little Rock attorney David Couch submitted on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas on March 11.

State law requires the attorney general to approve or reject a proposed ballot measure along with its ballot title and popular name within 10 business days of receiving the original draft. Tuesday was the deadline for Griffin to do so.

Arkansas AG rejects proposed ballot measure to amend state’s direct democracy process

Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate

Petitioners gather signatures for a ballot initiative to expand abortion access in Arkansas during the Voices and Votes rally on Jan. 28, 2024 in Fayetteville.

Letter carriers' union: 'U.S. mail is not for sale'

KUAR | By Nathan Treece

Members of the Little Rock branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers gathered at the Arkansas State Capitol Sunday to protest a proposal from the Trump administration to move the U.S. Postal Service under the Department of Commerce.

It was part of a national day of action organized by the American Postal Worker's Union. NALC Local Branch President Chad Dollar spoke at the rally.

"The United State Postal Service employs 640,000, with over 200,000 being letter carriers. The postal service is the largest company to hire veterans, with over 73,000 hired," said Dollar. "The service we provide is a universal service. That means no one pays more, no one pays less. We just provide the service to the American people. We deliver nearly 160 million deliveries each and every day.”

Letter carriers' union: 'U.S. mail is not for sale'

Nathan Treece/Little Rock Public Radio

Local members of the National Association of Letter Carriers gather at the Arkansas State Capitol on March 23, 2025, to rally against attempts to privatize or dismantle the United States Postal Service.

New bill would dissolve Arkansas State Library and its board, set new library funding criteria

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas Sen. Dan Sullivan filed legislation Thursday to abolish not only the State Library Board, but the State Library as well.

Senate Bill 536 would carry out Sullivan’s promise to dismantle the library board by transferring the agency’s and board’s powers, authorities, funds, contracts and employees to the Arkansas Department of Education. The Arkansas State Library is already under the department’s umbrella but operates independently, and the board consists of seven members appointed by the governor who disburse funds to public libraries on a quarterly basis.

In February, Sullivan introduced Senate Bill 184, which would have abolished the State Library Board but not the State Library. The bill also would have dissolved the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, which oversees Arkansas PBS and is also under the education department but operates independently.

New bill would dissolve Arkansas State Library and its board, set new library funding criteria

Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, in the Senate chamber on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.

'Social transition' bill pulled amid First Amendment concerns

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A bill that would open up liability to Arkansans who assist in someone's "social transition" was pulled following debate in committee.

The bill to create “The Vulnerable Youth Protection Act” would give broad litigation rights to people seeking to sue those who provide minors with gender-affirming care. A person could seek up to $10 million in punitive damages for 15 years against anyone who assists in social transitioning. The bill would expand previous legislation making it easier to sue doctors who participate in the medical transition of a minor.

The bill met pushback in a meeting of the House Judiciary committee Tuesday over its definition of “social transitioning” as “changes in clothing, pronouns, hairstyle, and name,” meaning a person could possibly sue their barber or person who calls them by a nickname.

'Social transition' bill pulled amid First Amendment concerns

Michael Hibblen/Little Rock Public Radio

Steps leading up to the Arkansas Senate chamber in the state Capitol.

High winds fuel rare wildfire outbreak across Arkansas

KUAR | By Daniel Breen,

Maggie Ryan

Dry conditions and abnormally high winds sparked a number of wildfires across Arkansas Wednesday.

Much of Arkansas remains under extreme fire danger, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. As of 5:19 p.m., Arkansas State Police said fire crews were responding to 54 wildfires across the state. No injuries had been reported as of early Wednesday evening.

Pulaski County/X

Flames engulf the historic St. Joseph Center in North Little Rock on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

In a news conference, Little Rock Fire Chief Delphone Hubbard said the department received its first call of a grass fire at 1:18 p.m. Wednesday.

Hubbard said 14 locations across Little Rock had been affected by fires, including four businesses. Of the 10 residential properties affected, four sustained damage to the primary residence; Hubbard said all four are located on Chaucer Lane in southwest Little Rock. He added only one firefighter responding to Wednesday's blazes received medical attention for dehydration, and that resources were never a concern for fire crews.

High winds fuel rare wildfire outbreak across Arkansas

Pulaski County/X

Fire crews respond to a blaze near the St. Joseph's Center in North Little Rock on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

Congressional delegation a no-show at packed Little Rock rally

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A rally denouncing Arkansas’ Congressional delegation, all of whom are Republicans, drew a crowd of Arkansans to downtown Little Rock Tuesday night. Shouts of “do your job” rang out in First United Methodist Church as speakers called on Rep. French Hill and Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman to respond to their demands in a town hall.

The three members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation that were invited to attend the event, but did not appear. Instead, speakers took turns speaking on recent cuts to government services led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Jones hosted the event.

Congressional delegation a no-show at packed Little Rock rally

Josie Lenora/Little Rock Public Radio

Attendees gather at First United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Paragould, Cave City recovering after weekend tornadoes

KUAR | By KASU Newsroom

Officials in northern Arkansas are assessing damage and continuing recovery efforts after severe storms and tornadoes moved through the region over the weekend.

Paragould Mayor Josh Agee announced that the storm destroyed seven of the city's 16 outdoor warning sirens. In a video statement posted to Facebook, Agee said the city had purchased and installed three new sirens last fall and is aware of the current issues.

"We have crews out looking at those, inspecting them, making an inventory of the parts they need," Agee said. "We're going to try our best to get those replaced. Bear with us for that."

Paragould, Cave City recovering after weekend tornadoes

Arkansas Department Of Parks, Heritage And Tourism

The welcome sign for Cave City, Ark. The town was hit by an EF3 tornado on Friday, March 14, 2025, killing three people.