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Committee adopts amendment and passes expanded ban on nonconsensual sharing of intimate images
Summary
HB 19‑67 was amended to avoid conflict with related legislation, expanded the definition of unlawful distribution of intimate images beyond dating or family relationships and the committee passed the measure; sponsor said the attorney general supports the bill.
The committee adopted an amendment and passed House Bill 19‑67, a measure that expands Arkansas’s criminal definition for distributing intimate images without consent. Representative Carolyn Brown introduced the bill and the committee adopted an amendment developed with the attorney general’s office to avoid conflict with recently enacted legislation and to limit the bill’s scope in one subsection.
Brown said current Arkansas law (cited in testimony as Arkansas Code § 5‑26‑314) limits the offense to current or former intimate partners. The amendment removes the requirement that the offender be a current or former partner or family member and expands the intent element: distribution done to cause physical, mental, economic or reputational harm, or in exchange for something of value, can be a felony. Brown told the committee the attorney general’s office reviewed HB 19‑67 and supports it.
Three witnesses who identified themselves with Arkansas Voices and victim‑advocate organizations attended to support the bill; the sponsor closed without further questions. The committee voted to adopt the amendment and then to pass the bill as amended.
The transcript shows the amendment was adopted by voice vote and committee later voted to do pass as amended. No floor schedule was recorded in the transcript.
