House at a glance: dozens of bills approved, key measures on public schools and public safety advance

The Arkansas House of Representatives on March 18, 2025, completed a packed floor day that produced dozens of final actions and concurrence votes on bills sent between the chambers. Lawmakers passed a series of measures affecting public safety benefits, school governance and standards, health program administration and other technical and policy changes.

Why it matters: The House’s votes move multiple items closer to becoming law or back to the Senate for final action. Several measures change eligibility or benefit rules for first responders and retirees, adjust how certain school matters are handled administratively, and clarify state program procedures. These are mostly targeted, state-level changes that affect agencies, local governments and specific worker and student populations.

Key votes (selected items and outcomes) House Bill 17-34 (allow nurse practitioners to pronounce death and sign death certificates when authorized by a facility’s medical director): passed, 91 yays, 3 nays, 2 present. Representative Childress explained the bill as a rural-hospital measure to reduce delays when physicians must be pulled from other duties.

House Bill 12-93 (increase line-of-duty death benefit for certain public employees and extend coverage to highway department employees): passed, 93 yays, 1 nay. Representative Andrews said the change raises the benefit from $150,000 to $250,000.

House Bill 13-22 (extend line-of-duty death benefits for firefighters dying from covered occupational cancers, emergency clause included): passed, 96 yays, 1 nay, 1 present.

House Bill 13-27 (eligibility adjustments under the state and public school life and health insurance program): passed, 97 yays, 0 nay.

House Bill 13-13 (allow certain firefighter retirees to remain on municipal or county health plans until Medicare eligibility): passed, 97 yays, 0 nay.

House Bill 16-88 (clarify who may use certain dealer extra license plates): passed, 97 yays, 0 nay.

House Bill 16-97 (provisional positions and motor vehicle restrictions for state-supported higher education institutions; emergency clause): passed, 96 yays, 0 nay, 1 present.

House Bill 16-40 (ethical-guidelines-related definition changes for school administrators; conflict-of-interest waiver process): passed, 94 yays, 0 nay, 1 present.

House Bill 14-68 (28-day cure period for certain home-improvement claims for residential projects): passed, 96 yays, 0 nay, 1 present.

House Bill 16-19 (set administration fees under Medicaid for certain immunizations and monoclonal antibodies; civil immunity language included): passed (vote recorded as taken on the floor; clerk announced the bill passed).

House Bill 17-58 (technical update for hearing instrument dispensers to reflect federal rule changes): passed, 98 yays, 0 nay.

Senate Bill 2-23 (Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025 — require public schools to inform students and staff of existing religious‑expression rights): passed, 79 yays, 17 nays.

Senate Bill 4-17 (technical higher-education corrections): passed, 82 yays, 11 nays, 1 present.

Senate Bill 1-35 (election procedure for unchanged school-district ad valorem millage when no contest would avoid opening separate polling places): passed, 81 yays, 5 nays, 10 present.

Senate Bill 4-13 (procedural clarification about school board oath-of-office filing): passed, 97 yays, 0 nays.

Senate Bill 2-79 (clarify statute-of-limitations applicability for the Division of Labor investigations and wage claims): passed, 97 yays, 0 nays.

Procedural and other floor actions: The House voted to reconsider the emergency clause on House Bill 17-13 and then passed the emergency clause on revote (the clerk recorded the revote numbers during the floor proceeding). The House also voted to expunge a prior vote on House Bill 13-65 after the parliamentarian identified a supermajority requirement for amending an initiated act; that expungement motion passed.

What’s next: Bills that required concurrence in the Senate were sent back to that chamber where noted. Measures that included emergency clauses or the governor’s signature requirements will follow statutory enactment timelines. Members and staff on the floor noted that budget holds must be released as the session’s schedule tightens.

Ending: The House adjourned until 1 p.m. the following day after announcing committee meeting times and scheduling details for budget work.