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Votes at a glance: Key House floor actions and outcomes, April 2025
Summary
The Arkansas House considered and passed scores of bills on April 2025. This roundup lists major bills acted on, their outcomes and vote tallies where recorded. For bills requiring more debate or implementation work, the notes indicate next steps.
The Arkansas House of Representatives conducted an extensive floor session on April 2025. Below is a concise list of principal bills that received recorded floor votes, the outcome and any immediate implementation notes drawn from floor debate and clerk announcements.
- House Bill 16‑15 (religious nondiscrimination): Passed 66‑17‑7. Sponsor: Representative Lundstrom. Notes: Requires written recusal for officials objecting to particular licensing acts; to Senate.
- House Bill 10‑77 (veteran notification for incarcerated veterans): Passed 96‑0‑0. Sponsor: Representative Hudson. Notes: Establishes notification to VA via VRSS; no fiscal cost reported.
- House Bill 15‑72 (technical feasibility study on new nuclear energy generation; emergency clause): Passed 96‑1‑0. Sponsor: Representative Lademan. Notes: Creates a study framework for SMRs/micro reactors.
- House Bill 10‑45 (crop residue burn reporting & liability protection): Failed 33‑40‑14. Sponsor: Representative Kavanaugh. Notes: Extensive debate on app, liability and public safety; sponsor to continue stakeholder work.
- House Bill 11‑50 (prohibit PBMs from holding pharmacy permits): Passed 89‑4‑4. Sponsor: Representative Moore. Notes: Designed to protect independent pharmacies; opponents raised TRICARE/network concerns.
- House Bill 10‑55 (Alzheimer’s treatment coverage under state and school plans): Passed 74‑10‑5. Sponsor: Representative Mayberry. Notes: Coverage limited to clinically eligible early‑stage patients; oversight and benefit review processes discussed.
- House Bill 13‑36 (State Police retirement changes / fee increase to $25 for accident reports to fund benefits): Passed 88‑0‑7. Sponsor: Representative Warren. Notes: Additional actuarial cost discussed; fee to be paid by third‑party requesters.
- House Bill 16‑57 (Arkansas wood energy products tax credit update / Green Bay Packaging expansion): Passed 83‑2‑10. Sponsor: Representative Beck. Notes: Supporters cited large private investment; bill updates dates and numbers in tax credit.
- House Bill 17‑68 (solid‑waste landfill host‑fee voting requirement): Passed 81‑8‑4. Sponsor: Representative Lundstrom. Notes: Prohibits automatic “evergreen” leases; requires public vote.
- House Bill 17‑80 (retention/disposal of property held for felony investigations): Passed 96‑0‑0. Sponsor: Representative Gazzaway. Notes: Clarifies statutory authority for disposal upon prosecutorial/court order.
- House Bill 18‑75 (extension of ignition interlock device mandatory period): Passed 98‑0‑0. Sponsor: Representative Tash. Notes: Extends interlock duration to encourage behavioral change; not a new criminal penalty.
- House Bill 18‑47 (statewide self‑exclusion list for casinos): Passed 94‑2‑0. Sponsor: Representative McElinden. Notes: Commission will maintain confidentiality and may participate in multi‑state lists.
- House Bill 18‑27 (Hunting Heritage Protection Act amendments; add leased lands, reporting): Passed 97‑0‑0. Sponsor: Representative Wardlaw. Notes: Adds leased lands to protections and requires twice‑yearly reporting to Game and Fish subcommittee.
- House Bill 14‑16 (allow volunteer municipal fire departments to levy dues in unincorporated county areas): Passed 71‑2‑14. Sponsor: Representative Johnson. Notes: Mechanism mirrors existing rural fire district process; quorum court decision required.
- House Bill 19‑28 (poultry litter / nutrient application liability protections when complying with NRCS plans): Passed 93‑2‑2. Sponsor: Representative Brown. Notes: Protects farmers complying with nutrient plans from third‑party federal court suits; remedies via state agency enforcement.
- House Bill 16‑80 (prohibit prohibited foreign parties from holding agricultural land near critical infrastructure): Passed 87‑4‑2. Sponsor: Representative Vaught. Notes: Narrows divestment period, expands definitions.
- House Bill 18‑96 (Junk Fee Elimination Act / abolish Information Network of Arkansas; transfer duties to DIS): Passed 81‑6‑0. Sponsor: Representative McKenzie. Notes: Effective 01/01/2026; intended to reduce transaction fees on public services.
- Senate Bill 64 (batch university appropriation item): Failed on House floor 73‑17‑3 (did not meet required threshold). Notes: Clerk recorded failure; item to be revisited in subsequent process.
This list is not exhaustive; the House took dozens of votes including many appropriation and technical bills, several of which were processed as batches with emergency clauses. For complete vote records consult the official House journal and the recorded roll calls filed by the House clerk.
Why it matters: The session moved a mix of policy changes, technical fixes and high‑profile reforms (pharmacy regulation, veterans' notification, energy study, and social policy measures). Several measures will require administrative guidance or interagency work if enacted by the Senate and signed by the governor.
Next steps: Bills that passed the House will be transmitted to the Senate for concurrence; sponsors and affected agencies should prepare guidance for implementation where the bills direct administrative action.
