Arkansas House modernizes outdoor lighting law, repeals older shielded-lighting statute

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas House passed two bills on April 14 that change how the state regulates outdoor lighting, including a repeal of the older Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act and a new modernization measure intended to set practical standards for LED street lights.

Representative Steven Meeks, sponsor of the measures, told colleagues the existing law was passed in the 1990s and has become outdated and vague as municipalities and utilities shift to light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures. "The problem is is when that bill was passed, even though it had great goals, it was overly simplistic," Meeks said. The modernization bill (House Bill 19 56) and a companion repeal (House Bill 19 55) passed the chamber after debate and public comment.

Meeks said the package updates the technical standards the state expects for new street-light installations and adds protections tied to health and safety research. Key provisions in the modernization bill require that new street fixtures be shielded (a practice he said is already widespread as LEDs replace older fixtures), that installations follow standards published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and that municipalities and electric cooperatives be removed from the statutory requirements so local boards can set local policy. Meeks said the proposal also caps color temperature in residential areas at 3,000 Kelvin while allowing a national 4,000-Kelvin standard for major thoroughfares.

Supporters described the bill as limited and practical. "These fixtures are coming regardless," Meeks said, arguing LED conversions already underway remove some past cost objections. He told members Entergy, the state's major investor-owned utility, had been involved in discussions and was neutral on the change. Meeks also said Entergy had told committee members the cost difference between 4,000K and 3,000K fixtures is negligible. Representative Chad Lademan, who spoke in favor on the floor, said the color of lighting affects humans and animals and praised Meeks' long work on the issue.

Several members asked whether electric cooperatives and municipalities would be forced to comply. Meeks and other proponents said the modernization bill explicitly exempts municipal utilities and co-ops from the new statewide statutory mandates and returns local control to locally elected utility boards; the bill therefore will primarily affect investor-owned Entergy. Meeks said he had worked directly with Entergy legislative staff, and during floor debate he referenced John Bethel, Entergy's legislative liaison, as having participated in discussions and shared technical information with committee members.

Other features: the modernization measure creates a mechanism allowing Entergy to bill for new fixture costs as they are installed and recover them later in the next rate case; it also directs installations to meet spacing and illumination metrics established by the Illuminating Engineering Society standards so courts and agencies have an objective guideline to resolve disputes.

Opponents raised questions about local control and implementation costs for smaller communities. Meeks said he removed co-ops from the mandate after repeated requests and that the bill's primary cost consideration (LED conversion) was already forced by technology changes, so the measure should not impose new large outlays on municipalities.

Votes, implementation and timing House Bill 19 56 (modernization) passed the House by a roll call of 66 yeas, 14 nays and 12 present. House Bill 19 55 (repeal of the older Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act) passed later the same day by a vote of 79 yeas, 11 nays and 3 present. Both bills were transmitted to the Senate after passage in the House.

Why it matters Proponents said the rewrite aligns law with current LED technology and national lighting standards, provides courts and localities objective technical benchmarks, and addresses research concerns about blue-rich light and public health by capping residential color temperature at 3,000K. Critics said the bill could reduce uniform protections and shift responsibility to local boards that may not adopt the same limits.

What to watch next If the Senate approves the measures and they become law, local utility boards and Entergy will be the main entities implementing the technical standards and fixture-change procedures. The bills leave municipalities and electric cooperatives outside the statewide behavioral mandate, so local decisions will govern most municipal street-light policies.

Representative Steven Meeks said the package completes a multiyear effort: "Help me finish something that I started 14 years ago."