Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Census Coordination topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves bill to create state census coordination effort after 2020 undercount concerns
Summary
Senate Bill 403, presented in committee by Rep. Howard Beatty, would establish structures to improve census participation ahead of 2030; sponsor said Arkansas’s 2020 undercount was 5.4% and estimated the state lost billions as a result.
Representative Howard Beatty presented Senate Bill 403 to create a state structure focused on improving the accuracy of federal census counts and on coordinating outreach ahead of the 2030 census. Beatty told the committee that Arkansas suffered a high undercount in the 2020 census, which federal analysts classified among several states with statistically significant undercounts.
“As a result of the undercount in 2020, it is estimated that Arkansas lost over $5,000,000,000 in federal funding,” Beatty said in the hearing, and he explained that more than 300 federal programs rely on census data to allocate funds. He said the bill would establish a board and working group to coordinate education and outreach across the state’s 75 counties to improve response rates.
Committee members asked practical questions about board size and coordination with federal census entities. Representative Meeks asked whether a 30‑member board was necessary; Beatty replied that statewide coverage and stakeholder involvement warranted a larger group. Representative Beck supported the measure, saying his city had been substantially undercounted in prior cycles and had thereby missed federal funds.
Beatty closed, moved to pass, and the committee approved the bill by voice vote. The transcript records the committee’s approval by voice vote and no roll‑call tally was provided.
