Judiciary committee advances several bills, kills paraphernalia reform after debate

The Arkansas House Judiciary Committee considered a wide slate of bills in a marathon session and issued votes on multiple measures.

Key committee actions at a glance

- House Bill 19-67 (unlawful distribution of intimate images): Passed as amended. Sponsor Representative Carolyn Brown told the committee the bill expands the crime beyond current law under Arkansas Code §5‑26‑314 to cover nonconsensual distribution of intimate images by people who are not current or former dating partners. The committee adopted an amendment clarifying the bill does not apply to telecommunications or information service providers for content provided by another person, and the chair announced the amendment and bill passed.

- House Bill 19-75 (Child Content Creation Protection Act): Passed as amended. Representative Gramlett said the bill aims to protect minors monetized on social media platforms by requiring recordkeeping, trust deposits of earnings for a minor, notice and takedown paths, and civil remedies if creators fail recordkeeping or monetization rules. Members asked about notice mechanics and triggers; the sponsor said thresholds in the bill target monetized content rather than incidental viral posts.

- Senate Bill 446 (private use of license plate readers): Passed. Sponsor Representative Jimmy Gazzaway said the measure lets private landowners, leaseholders or commercial businesses use license‑plate readers for narrow purposes — public safety, asset protection, and monitoring ingress/egress — with restrictions on sale of data, a 60‑day retention limit, and disclosure to law enforcement only by subpoena.

- House Bill 19-47 (drug paraphernalia: reclassification): Failed. Representative Clowney proposed changing the statutory progression so personal possession of paraphernalia would generally remain a misdemeanor for the first three offenses, matching the DWI progression; delivery and manufacture remained felonies. Prosecuting attorneys opposed the change, arguing evidence collection and lab testing make paraphernalia prosecutions distinct and that the change could reduce opportunities to direct serious offenders into circuit‑level drug‑court resources. After testimony from prosecutors, public‑safety officials and people with lived experience, the committee voted the bill down.

- House Bill 19-26 (driver's-license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees): Passed. Representative Unger said the bill would restrict suspension, revocation, or nonrenewal of driver’s licenses solely for unpaid fines and fees in certain circumstances and requires courts to determine ability to pay before requesting suspension; sponsor framed it as a step to reduce collateral consequences that worsen recidivism.

- House Bill 19-84 (designation for high‑risk sex offenders on state ID): Passed. Representative Ashley Hudson said the measure would allow a brief designation on state licenses to alert law enforcement that an ID holder is a level‑3 or level‑4 sex offender; she cited practices in other states and said the bill contemplates a narrow, least‑restrictive designation method.

- House Bill 19-79 (warrantless searches for persons under suspended imposition of sentence): Passed. Representative Jimmy Gazzaway said statutory language was needed to authorize warrantless searches for people on suspended imposition of sentence (a set of court-ordered conditions similar to unsupervised probation) because existing law authorizes searches for probationers and parolees but did not explicitly include this category.

- House Bill 19-80 (critical infrastructure: add electric vehicle charging stations): Passed. Representative Gazzaway proposed adding electric vehicle charging stations to the statutory definition of critical infrastructure to permit enhanced criminal penalties for intentional damage; members asked whether fuel stations might be covered under existing language.

Other procedural notes

- Representative Carolyn Brown withdrew House Bill 16-63 (an alimony bar tied to felony domestic‑abuse convictions) after committee concerns that the draft created an absolute bar in many situations; the chair allowed the sponsor to pull the bill to work with attorneys on a narrower approach.

Why this matters: Committee action advances measures that span crime‑prevention tech, child protection and commerce on social platforms, civil remedies tied to medical care, and court‑process reforms. The failed paraphernalia bill drew sharp disagreement between prosecutors (concerned about evidence and public‑safety implications) and advocates pushing for fewer collateral consequences for people with substance‑use disorders.

What’s next: Bills passed out of committee will move toward additional House consideration or floor scheduling; the transcript shows sponsors planning follow‑up drafting and stakeholders seeking meetings on precise language.