Arkansas Senate advances package of bills on pharmacies, lottery accounting, worker leave, vaping, water bonds and school policy

The Arkansas Senate on an extended floor day debated and acted on a wide set of bills affecting state finances, health access, workplace leave and local governance.

The chamber approved Senate Bill 103, a measure aimed at pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacy network access; Senate Bill 232, a technical but budget-significant fix to Arkansas Lottery accounting; Senate Bill 241, which amends the Uniform Attendance and Leave Policy Act to provide standardized bereavement leave for public employees; and a separate measure to create an Arkansas vape-product registry intended to limit unapproved closed-system products. Lawmakers also debated water and wastewater financing and moved a referral to the people to renew the state's general-obligation bond authority used to fund low-interest loans for water projects.

Why it matters: the package touches multiple everyday services and dollar flows. Lottery-accounting changes affect how the state records scholarship-related balances and could reclassify a prior shortfall; the pharmacy measure seeks to limit out-of-state or network practices that, sponsors say, reduce patient access to in-state pharmacies; the water bond referral preserves the main financing mechanism state agencies use to make low-interest loans for water and sewer projects; and the bereavement policy standardizes leave for public employees across state agencies.

Key outcomes and context

- Pharmacy networks and patient access (Senate Bill 103): The measure sponsored by Senator Penzo was presented as an update to Arkansas's "any willing provider" protections aimed at preventing pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from arbitrarily excluding Arkansas pharmacies from networks and to create an enforcement option through the Insurance Department. The Senate passed SB 103 by recorded roll call; the bill passed with the emergency clause adopted and was transmitted to the House.

- Arkansas Lottery accounting (Senate Bill 232): Senator Hickey explained that the bill reforms how net proceeds and certain actuarial liabilities (notably OPEB calculations) are treated in state accounting, with an effective date of July 1 to align with the fiscal year. The sponsor said the change will eliminate a legacy "shortfall" trust account and could result in tens of millions of dollars being reclassified back into scholarship funding. The Senate passed SB 232 with the emergency clause; the sponsor noted a remaining actuarial step is required to pin the exact dollar effect.

- Bereavement leave for public employees (Senate Bill 241): Senator Scott presented a bill that adopts language from an existing statute defining immediate family to create a consistent bereavement leave entitlement for public employees so they need not rely on discretionary supervisor approval. The Senate passed SB 241 after roll call.

- Vape-product registry (Senate Bill 252): Senator Dismayne presented legislation to create an Arkansas vape-product registry limited to closed-system (cartridge) devices; registrants would need to be on the FDA list of approved products in order to be eligible for retail sale in Arkansas. The Senate approved SB 252 by roll call.

- Contractors and licensing (Senate Bill 364): Senator Hester said the bill changes remedies for unlicensed contractors so penalties are set and handled by the Contractors Board, rather than an automatic forfeiture of payment. Sponsors described the change as a fairness measure to allow smaller or inadvertent violators to be brought into compliance and receive payment subject to board-determined penalties. SB 364 passed on a roll call.

- Schools and organized labor (Senate Bill 402): SB 402 restricts recruitment by employee organizations and unions during work hours on public school campuses; the measure was reported and passed by the Senate after debate and a roll call.

- Vehicle height and safety (Senate Bill 411): Sponsored as a public-safety bill addressing modified vehicles with highly elevated hoods and lowered rear bumpers, proponents said the measure aims to reduce crashes where drivers cannot see. The Senate debated the technical wording at length and passed SB 411 after roll call; senators sought minor drafting clarifications during debate.

- Water financing, bond referral and related measures (Senate Bills 420, 421 and related): Senator Hester led several items expanding eligibility and continuing a voter referral for the Natural Resources Commission bond authority that funds low-interest loans for water and wastewater projects. Key figures cited on the floor included a historical cap increase (from $300 million to $500 million in authorizing principal) and an annual issuance limit described by sponsors as up to $30 million per year (or $60 million per biennium). The Senate passed the enabling legislation and approved sending the referral to the 2026 ballot; sponsors repeatedly said local governments across the state routinely use the program and that many counties have received funding through the program.

Votes at a glance (selected items from the floor session)

- SB 189 (amendment then final): Passed on revote; final recorded tally reported 29 yes, 5 no. (Sponsor: Clark)

- SB 339 (child maltreatment investigations oversight membership): Passed as amended; final tally reported 33 yes, 1 no. (Sponsor: Clark)

- SB 345 (tourism/permitting/house amendment concurred): Passed as amended; final reported 38 yes, 2 no, 2 present. (Sponsor: Irvin)

- SB 103 (pharmacy / PBM / "any willing provider" protections): Passed; final recorded tally reported 34 yes, 0 no; emergency clause adopted. (Sponsor: Penzo)

- SB 232 (Arkansas Scholarship Lottery accounting changes): Passed; final recorded tally reported 33 yes, 0 no, 1 present; emergency clause adopted. (Sponsor: Hickey)

- SB 241 (uniform attendance and leave / bereavement leave): Passed; final recorded tally reported 30 yes, 2 no, 1 present, 1 not voting. (Sponsor: Scott)

- SB 252 (vape-product registry for closed-system, FDA-approved items): Passed; final recorded tally reported 33 yes, 0 no, 1 not voting. (Sponsor: Dismayne)

- SB 364 (contractor licensing / remedies): Passed; final recorded tally reported 34 yes, 0 no. (Sponsor: Hester)

- SB 402 (limits on recruiting by unions/associations in schools): Passed; final reported tally reported 27 yes, 2 no, 3 not voting, 2 present. (Sponsor: Penzo)

- SB 411 (vehicle bumper/height regulation for modified vehicles): Passed; final reported tally 18 yes, 10 no, 4 not voting, 2 present (Sponsor: Crowell)

- SB 416 (program funding / electric vehicle program language cleanup): Passed; reported 32 yes, 0 no, 1 not voting, 1 present. (Sponsor: Irvin)

- SB 420 (expand water development program eligibility): Passed; final reported tally 25 yes, 6 no, 3 not voting. (Sponsor: Hester)

- SB 421 (authorize Natural Resources Commission general-obligation bond referral to voters; raise caps): Passed; final reported tally 20 yes, 3 no, 4 not voting, 3 present. (Sponsor: Hester) — will be placed on the 2026 ballot for voter approval before new bond issuances may proceed.

- SB 433 (display of the Ten Commandments / National Model Display Act extension): Passed; final reported tally 27 yes, 4 no, 3 present. (Sponsor: Dodson)

- SB 443 (board/licensure cleanup for appraisers, abstractors, home inspectors): Passed; final reported tally reported 32 yes, 1 no. (Sponsor: Bryant)

- SB 454 (unclaimed property accounting, interest trust fund): Passed; final recorded tally reported 34 yes, 0 no; emergency clause adopted. (Sponsor: Hill)

- House bills and other measures: The Senate also took up and passed a sequence of House bills on health workforce licensing, community health workers, lung-cancer screening coverage and other items; those measures were transmitted back to the House after roll calls during the same floor session (selected House measures passed as recorded on the floor).

What senators said and open questions

Sponsors characterized the pharmacy bill as an access measure for Arkansas pharmacies and patients; lottery supporters said SB 232 cleans up accounting language and avoids carrying a $20 million "shortfall" account on the books by moving to a one-year lag in scholarship payments. Sponsors of the water referral said the existing program has funded projects in every county and that continuing the bond authority is necessary to keep low-interest loan dollars available.

Opponents raised concerns in several debates about scope and local control: the vehicle-height bill prompted detailed technical questions about drafting and about commercial/utility vehicles; the water-eligibility expansion prompted questions about whether allowing for-profit water companies to apply for loan assistance changes the fund's availability for nonprofit or municipal water providers; and some senators argued the Ten Commandments measure raised constitutional questions and urged caution pending parallel litigation in other circuits.

What comes next

Legislation that passed the Senate will be transmitted to the House where companion or differing amendments could be considered. The water bond measure, if enacted by both chambers and signed, will appear on the 2026 general-election ballot for voter approval before bonds would be issued under the expanded cap.

Ending note

The session was dense with roll calls and technical amendments; sponsors repeatedly invited members to refine drafting in conference or on return to committee. Several measures carried emergency clauses and were sent directly to the House with an expedited effect if ultimately enacted.