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Votes at a glance: Arkansas House passes wide range of bills on March 20, 2025
Summary
The Arkansas House of Representatives considered and voted on dozens of bills March 20, 2025, approving a mix of policy, technical and funding measures and rejecting one high-profile election measure. Key roll-call tallies are listed below.
Votes at a glance: Arkansas House passes wide range of bills on March 20, 2025
The Arkansas House of Representatives on March 20, 2025, debated and recorded final outcomes for a large number of bills spanning taxation, infrastructure, health care, election law and state governance. Most measures passed on voice or recorded roll-call votes; one prominent election measure failed.
Why it matters: The package includes bills that clarify veterans' tax exemptions, expand Medicaid dental coverage for people with complex needs, create a state-funded water infrastructure grant program, and change election timing and transparency rules. Several agency, technical and uniform-code bills also cleared the House, affecting state regulatory and administrative operations.
Summary of recorded actions and vote tallies (as recorded on the House floor transcript):
- House Bill 17-45 (work authorization for certain commercial drivers): Passed — 93 yeas, 1 nay, 1 present. (Transcript: Representative Hock explained the bill.) - House Bill 17-57 (rail property/penalty changes): Passed — 90 yeas, 6 nays. - House Bill 16-91 (exemption clarification for motor vehicles used exclusively by charities): Passed — 96 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 12-41 (Medicaid reimbursement for high-complexity dental and anesthesia care): Passed — 85 yeas, 1 nay, 4 present. - House Bill 16-79 (organ procurement / donor consent reporting and bedside revocation): Passed — 88 yeas, 3 nays, 2 present. - House Bill 15-25 (agricultural impact remediation agreements for renewable energy sites): Passed — 87 yeas, 0 nays, 8 present. - House Bill 16-81 (state water infrastructure program; emergency clause): Passed — 96 yeas, 0 nays; emergency clause also approved. - House Bill 17-41, 17-42, 17-43, 17-44 (Department of Agriculture technical/cleanup bills): Passed — recorded tallies ranged from unanimous to near-unanimous (95–93 yeas with 0–1 nays as recorded on the floor). - House Bill 15-62 (termination of oral farm lease notice): Passed — 95 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 17-72 (vegetable garden protection): Passed — 90 yeas, 0 nays, 3 present. - House Bill 13-20 (crisis stabilization units and insurer payment): Passed — 96 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 13-21 (step therapy limits for certain ventilators): Passed — 94 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 18-14 (technical correction to public utility code): Passed — 95 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 17-36, 17-46 (UCC updates / bar package): Passed — 95 yeas, 0 nays each. - House Bill 17-37 (Transmitting Utility Act — fiber optic): Passed — 92 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 15-19 (shared hiring/contracting authority for Dept. of Commerce): Passed — 95 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 17-94 (real estate continuing education exemptions): Passed — 90 yeas, 0 nays, 2 present. - House Bill 14-67 (money services act / Bitcoin kiosk language): Passed — 94 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 15-57 (State Technology duties / governance): Passed — 92 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 18-02 (talent recruitment grant program): Passed — 72 yeas, 7 nays, 11 present. - House Bill 16-95 (clarify municipal lien foreclosure process re: neglected properties): Passed — 78 yeas, 5 nays, 9 present. - House Bill 17-85 (county depository board membership technical change): Passed — 95 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 17-60 (jurisdiction re: assessment adjustment petitions for disabled/65+): Passed — 92 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 17-89 (restrict local government funding for certain ID cards): Passed — 70 yeas, 17 nays. - House Bill 17-07 (candidate reports filed via Secretary of State portal / emergency clause): Passed (bill and emergency clause approved; recorded by voice; numerical tally not specified in transcript). - House Bill 14-22 (Only Citizens Vote Act / driver ID orientation and data-sharing): Failed — 53 yeas, 25 nays, 8 present. - House Bill 15-49 (Cybersecurity Act of 2025 / central incident coordination): Passed — 92 yeas, 0 nays. - House Bill 18-03 (placement of monument honoring Maurice 'Footsie' Britt on Capitol grounds): Passed — 95 yeas, 0 nays, 1 present. - House Bill 17-74 (Arkansas Fair Housing Commission membership): Passed — 89 yeas, 1 nay. - House Bill 12-43 (campaign finance transparency adjustments): Passed — 91 yeas, 0 nays. - Senate Bill 4-24 (municipal improvement district transparency): Passed — 94 yeas, 0 nays, 1 present. - Senate Bill 3-53 (standardize primary/election dates and fiscal session timing): Passed — 89 yeas, 0 nays, 3 present. - Senate Bill 4-09 (Farmer Protection Act — financial services nondiscrimination): Passed — 82 yeas, 10 nays. - Senate Bill 2-93 (move polling-site requirements): Passed — 90 yeas, 2 nays. - Senate Bill 2-99 (long-term care absentee voting witness requirement): Passed — 87 yeas, 0 nays, 1 present.
Notes on transcript coverage and missing tallies: Where the public transcript did not include a numerical roll call for a particular final action, the entry above records the outcome as stated on the floor and marks numerical tallies as “not specified” when the transcript does not supply them. Several short resolutions recognizing groups or individuals were adopted by voice vote earlier in the session; those are not recited here individually but were recorded in the official journal.
What to watch next: Several bills passed with emergency clauses or funding implications (HB16-81 water program, HB12-41 Medicaid dental up to specified limits) that will trigger implementation steps requiring agency rules or intergovernmental coordination.
Ending: The House adjourned to Monday, March 31, 2025; committees and agencies will handle follow-up implementation and any required rulemaking or appropriation procedures.
