Arkansas House passes broad package of bills, approves measure limiting paid lobbying for certain foreign entities

The Arkansas House passed a broad docket of bills Tuesday, approving measures on topics ranging from insurance and health care to criminal penalties and local government rules. The day's most contested measure, House Bill 16 62, bars paid lobbying on behalf of certain “covered foreign entit[ies],” drawing floor debate over First Amendment limits before passing 78-14-1.

House Bill 16 62 was framed by sponsor Representative McKenzie as a targeted effort to block paid lobbying by entities the measure describes as linked to foreign adversaries. McKenzie said, “This bill makes it clear ... it takes a clear and targeted [approach] to covered foreign entity,” and described penalties that escalate for repeat violations. Opponents, including Representative Collins, warned the restriction risks an overbroad curb on political speech: “The First Amendment does apply to everybody,” Collins said on the floor, calling for a narrower approach.

Why it matters: the lobbying restriction prompted the day's most sustained policy and constitutional argument; opponents said it risks chilling protected speech, while proponents said it is narrowly written and necessary to limit foreign influence.

Other notable actions - Criminal law: House Bill 16 11 clarified the state law on unlawful animal fighting and created the separate offense of unlawful rooster fighting; the bill's sponsor said the measure does not legalize fighting but protects owners who raise gamefowl absent evidence of actual fighting. The House passed the bill 69-13-6. - Health and provider rules: The chamber approved multiple health-care related bills, including measures that (a) expand the Arkansas adult diploma program (House Bill 15 71, passed 90-1-2), (b) require coverage for services delivered in mobile units (House Bill 12 96, passed 96-2-1), and (c) add a statutory “medical audit bill of rights” for providers (House Bill 13 14, passed 98-0-0). - Maternal/child health: House Bill 13 33, requiring coverage for breastfeeding and lactation consultant services, passed 84-7-6 after proponents described improved outcomes for mothers and infants and said some insurers did not cover follow-up lactation visits. - Family law: House Bill 18 48 amended the joint-custody law to define “domestic abuse” in that context, require hearings on requests to restrict unsupervised access, and authorize judges to order safety conditions or intervention programs when appropriate; it passed 96-0-1. - Public safety and sentencing: House Bill 18 44 increased penalties for exiting a moving vehicle to evade law enforcement; the House passed the bill 94-2-1. - Local government/elections: The House passed a Freedom of Information Act update (Senate Bill 2 27) after extensive stakeholder work; sponsors said the package clarifies definitions around public meetings, cybersecurity and recording. The bill passed 87-5-5.

Votes at a glance (selection of bills acted on March 26) - HB 16 62 (prohibit lobbying for a covered foreign entity): passed 78 yea, 14 nay, 1 present — sponsor: Rep. McKenzie — outcome: approved. - HB 16 11 (unlawful rooster fighting; clarify animal-fighting law): passed 69 yea, 13 nay, 6 present — sponsor: Rep. Gonzales — outcome: approved. - HB 15 71 (Arkansas adult diploma program amendments): passed 90 yea, 1 nay, 2 present — sponsor: Rep. Ray — outcome: approved. - HB 12 96 (coverage for services in mobile units): passed 96 yea, 2 nay, 1 present — sponsor: Rep. Johnson — outcome: approved. - HB 13 14 (Arkansas Medical Audit Bill of Rights Act): passed 98 yea, 0 nay, 0 present — sponsor: Rep. Johnson — outcome: approved. - HB 13 33 (lactation consultant coverage): passed 84 yea, 7 nay, 6 present — sponsor: Rep. Hudson — outcome: approved. - HB 12 90 (annual mental wellness exam coverage): passed 81 yea, 12 nay, 5 present — sponsor: Rep. Johnson — outcome: approved. - HB 18 45 (electronic lien, titling and registration; secure digital title system): passed 99 yea, 0 nay, 0 present — sponsor: Rep. Holcomb — outcome: approved. - HB 18 44 (enhanced penalty for exiting a moving vehicle while fleeing law enforcement): passed 94 yea, 2 nay, 1 present — sponsor: Rep. Tash — outcome: approved. - HB 18 48 (joint custody and domestic abuse definitions): passed 96 yea, 0 nay, 1 present — sponsor: Rep. Hudson — outcome: approved. - HB 18 41 (creates ARISE EMS funding framework; no funding attached): passed 78 yea, 10 nay, 6 present — sponsor: Rep. Johnson — outcome: approved (no appropriation included). - HB 15 43 (allow volunteer option to meet SNAP E&T requirements, permissive): passed 80 yea, 15 nay, 2 present — sponsor: Rep. Underwood — outcome: approved. - HB 17 29 (extend homestead exemption to residences held by an LLC): passed 96 yea, 0 nay, 2 present — sponsor: Rep. Burks — outcome: approved. - SB 2 27 (Freedom of Information Act clarifications): passed 87 yea, 5 nay, 5 present — sponsor: Rep. Eubanks (filed in Senate) — outcome: approved. - SB 2 32 (scholarship lottery act amendments and emergency clause): passed with emergency clause (vote taken in sequence; emergency adopted) — sponsor: Rep. Cozart — outcome: approved. - Additional bills and concurrence votes: the House concurred with multiple senate amendments to various bills (concurrence votes recorded throughout the session). Several bills were passed unanimously or with near-unanimous support; a number of bills were referred back to committee (for example, HB 17 68 was referred back to Public Health, Welfare & Labor by a motion adopted on the floor). (For complete roll-call tallies and bill text, see the House journal and official roll-call records.)

What the House did not decide: several measures reported no fiscal impact as presented on the floor, and multiple bills were explicitly passed without any funding attached (for example, HB 18 41 created a framework but included no appropriation).

Context and next steps: most bills passed by the House will proceed to the Senate (if they originated in the House they may await concurrence on senate amendments already adopted), or, if already returned with the governor's approval letter read into the record earlier in the day, will become law following the standard enactment process. Sponsors and committee chairs noted that a few items will return to committees for technical fixes or additional stakeholder review.

Ending: lawmakers adjourned until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday; several committee meetings and working groups were scheduled for the morning, including meetings of Rules, Public Health, and the Joint Energy committee.