Arkansas House approves package of bills on firearms merchant codes, ballot readability, energy and other measures

The Arkansas House of Representatives on the floor session considered and passed a slate of bills covering firearms merchant codes and bank liability, ballot-title readability standards, energy project financing, and several other measures, while voting separately on emergency clauses and related items.

The most debated measure, House Bill 15-09 (Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act), passed 80–14–1 after a lengthy floor debate over whether the bill should protect community banks from liability for merchant category codes tied to firearms merchants. Representative Tre’ (Beatty) sponsored the bill and said the measure “does not create a gun registry in the state” and is intended to protect Arkansas community banks from being held liable for codes set by card networks. Representative Pilkington argued the bill was drafted to protect banks and said it amounts to a “bankers protection bill” rather than a pure Second Amendment measure. The House approved the bill by recorded vote: 80 yays, 14 nays, 1 present.

House Bill 16-04, prohibiting state agencies from purchasing promotional items made in China, passed 79–15. Representative McElhenden (sponsor) framed the measure as aligning state purchasing with Governor Sanders’s policy and said it would not affect private citizens’ purchasing choices.

On election-related measures, House Bill 16-37, requiring a short fiscal impact statement on statewide initiative and referendum measures, passed 80–14. The bill directs the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) to prepare a concise, unbiased fiscal statement (generally capped at 100 words, with a longer allowance in certain tax-related cases) for any ballot measure that would change state revenues, costs, or indebtedness.

House Bill 17-13, which would require ballot titles for initiated measures to meet an eighth-grade Flesch–Kincaid readability standard and declared an emergency, passed the House on the measure itself 60–23–10 but failed the emergency clause on a separate vote (63–26–8). Sponsor Representative Rose said the measure was intended to make petition and ballot language more accessible to voters; opponents raised technical concerns about the specific readability test and how constitutional amendments and long legal phrases are scored.

The House also approved House Bill 13-03, an economic development tax-credit bill for a proposed sustainable aviation fuel facility in southern Arkansas, by 91–2–3. Sponsor Representative Jean described a proposed $2–3 billion plant that he said would create a baseline of 75 jobs at about $100,000 annually and would purchase significant volumes of pulpwood from local landowners. The bill includes a performance-verified tax credit of up to $10 million per year contingent on DFA verification and a showing of net benefit to the state.

Health and patient-access measures moved as well. House Bill 10-79, mandating coverage for certain genetic testing and evidence-based cancer imaging, passed 84–3–10; sponsor Representative Allen said meeting the bill’s requirements would improve early detection and treatment options. House Bill 16-22 (amending the Medicaid Fairness Act to add administrative reconsideration of audits) passed unanimously, 96–0.

Other bills on the calendar included workforce-services changes (House Bill 15-82, passed 83–11), and Senate Bill 307 (Generating Arkansas Jobs Act of 2025), a measure to create a regulatory framework allowing utilities to recover certain construction costs through a rider mechanism to speed new base-generation projects. SB 307 and its emergency clause passed the House 77–13; sponsors argued the mechanism would reduce long-term rate shocks and help attract major customers such as data centers. Senate Bill 127, a University of Arkansas item pulled for separate consideration, failed on the floor 62–20–11.

Votes at a glance

- House Resolution 10-57 (recognizing AAUW Central Arkansas): adopted (voice vote). - House Resolution 10-71 (March 2025 as American Red Cross Month): adopted (voice vote). - House Bill 15-09 (Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act): passed 80–14–1. Sponsor: Rep. Beatty. Key provisions: prohibits certain uses of MCC 5723; grants Attorney General investigatory authority; civil penalty provision included (bill text included a $10,000-per-violation penalty as discussed on the floor). Opponents: Rep. Pilkington. Notes: dispute over whether to exempt community banks from liability. - House Bill 16-04 (prohibit purchase of promotional items made in China by state agencies): passed 79–15–0. Sponsor: Rep. McElhenden. - House Bill 16-37 (require concise fiscal-impact statements for statewide measures): passed 80–14–0. Sponsor: Rep. Ray. Key detail: DFA to provide an unbiased good-faith estimate (up to 100 words; up to 200 words in certain tax/revenue instances). - House Bill 17-13 (ballot-title readability standard; emergency clause): Bill passage: 60–23–10; Emergency clause failed 63–26–8. Sponsor: Rep. Rose. Key detail: uses the Flesch–Kincaid grade-level test and sets an eighth-grade target for ballot titles; opponents cited limits of that specific test for legal/constitutional language. - House Bill 13-03 (Sustainable Aviation Fuel Incentive Act): passed 91–2–3. Sponsor: Rep. Jean. Key details: sponsor described a proposed $2–3 billion plant, minimum 75 jobs at ~$100,000 average, expected annual purchases of pulpwood on the order of $50–100 million; tax credit up to $10 million per year contingent on DFA verification of net benefit. - House Bill 10-79 (coverage for genetic testing and cancer imaging): passed 84–3–10. Sponsor: Rep. Allen. Fiscal note discussed; sponsor reported removing EBD language to eliminate fiscal impact. - House Bill 16-22 (Medicaid Fairness Act amendments — administrative reconsideration): passed 96–0. Sponsor: Rep. Gramlich. Key detail: creates an administrative reconsideration process and allows corrective action plans in lieu of punitive outcomes in some audits. - House Bill 15-82 (workforce-services eligibility and reporting): passed 83–11–0. Sponsor: Rep. McAlinden. Key detail: aligns benefit eligibility with job-search reporting and the new Launch platform; DWS indicated operational readiness. - Senate Bill 307 (Generating Arkansas Jobs Act of 2025; emergency clause): passed 77–13–0. Sponsor on floor: Rep. Eaves. Key provisions: establishes a rider mechanism reviewed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) that allows cost recovery during construction for strategic investments; PSC review timelines included; sponsor argued the mechanism minimizes rate spikes and helps secure projects such as data centers. - Senate Bill 127 (University of Arkansas item pulled for separate vote): failed 62–20–11.

Why it matters

Taken together, the package reflects immediate policy priorities for the House: protecting local banking and commerce from liability tied to payment-network coding, increasing voter-facing transparency for ballot measures, facilitating large-scale energy investments and economic development, and making targeted health-care coverage changes. Several bills tie future implementation to state agencies (DFA, PSC, DWS) for verification or rulemaking, so follow-up actions and administrative reviews will determine how quickly provisions take effect.

Meeting context and next steps

Floor debate ranged from short explanatory remarks to extended back-and-forth on HB 15-09 and HB 17-13. Multiple budget and appropriations items also were advanced in batch votes during the session. Where the House approved emergency clauses, those measures will move immediately; where emergency clauses failed (HB 17-13), execution will follow ordinary timelines if enacted by the Senate and signed by the governor.

Endnotes: This article summarizes floor-level debate and recorded roll-call tallies as announced from the House floor; direct quotations are attributed to members speaking on the floor as recorded in the session transcript.