Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Senate session roundup: key votes and next steps (March 25, 2025)
Loading...
Summary
The Arkansas Senate handled dozens of bills across health, environment, finance and child welfare on March 25; this roundup lists floor outcomes and brief context for measures that received recorded votes.
The Arkansas State Senate conducted an extended floor session on March 25, considering a wide range of legislation. Below are the recorded roll-call outcomes for bills acted on that had final votes on the floor that day, with brief context where debate occurred.
Votes at a glance
- SB9 — Make Arkansas Healthy Again Act (ban potassium bromate and propylparaben). Vote: 28 yea, 4 nay, 2 present. Outcome: passed; transmitted to the House. Sponsor: Senator Davis. Effective date in bill: Jan. 1, 2028.
- SB238 (Senate bill 2 38) — Amend the Used Tire Recycling and Accountability Act (broaden fee base; adjust fees). Vote: 22 yea, 7 nay. Outcome: passed; transmitted to House. Sponsor: Senator Payton. Floor debate addressed fee mechanics, DEQ reimbursement and abatement estimates.
- SB325 — Juvenile-code and child-maltreatment registry reforms. Vote: 27 yea, 3 nay, 1 not voting, 3 present. Outcome: passed; transmitted to House. Sponsor: Senator Clark.
- SB326 — Companion juvenile-code bill (FINS filing, neglect definitions, placement rules). Vote: 30 yea, 3 nay, 1 present. Outcome: passed; transmitted to House. Sponsor: Senator Clark.
- SB348 (SB 3 48) — Increase Medicaid diagnostic lab reimbursement cap for pain-management monitoring. Vote: 32 yea, 0 nay, 2 present. Outcome: passed; emergency clause adopted.
- SB410 (SB 4 10) — Post-employment disclosure for former state employees and officials (post-reporting/SFI expansion). Final recorded vote: 17 yea, 8 nay, 7 not voting, 2 present → failed. Sponsor: Senator King. Senate later moved to expunge that vote.
- SB463 (SB 4 63) — Require Public Service Commission approval or denial of settlements that close generation or transmission assets. Vote: 34 yea, 0 nay. Outcome: passed; transmitted to House. Sponsor: Senator McKee.
- HB1669 — "Keep Kids First" (protect foster/adopt placements consistent with sincerely held religious beliefs). Final recorded vote failed on the floor after heated debate; recorded tally was 15 yea, 10 nay (the Senate later voted to expunge that tally). Outcome: failed on the floor during the session; sponsors indicated continued interest in the subject.
- Multiple additional bills and resolutions were adopted or transmitted to the House in bulk during the morning and calendar calls (including resolutions honoring school sports teams and confirmations of enrolled bills delivered to the governor). See the committee messages and engrossment reports on the Senate calendar for a complete list.
What’s next
Passed bills will be transmitted to the House for consideration, and implementing agencies (for example, DFA, DEQ, DHS and Medicaid) will need to draft administrative guidance or rules for operational items referenced on the floor. For failed or contentious measures (notably HB 16 69 and SB 4 10), sponsors indicated plans for additional work or future filings.
Ending: This roundup captures roll-call outcomes and immediate floor-level next steps. For agency-specific implementation, reporters and stakeholders should consult DFA, DEQ, DHS and the Senate clerk’s office for copies of enrolled bills and fiscal notes.
