Arkansas House passes broad package of bills on online safety, health coverage, elections and education

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas House of Representatives on March 17, 2025, approved a wide-ranging package of bills addressing children's online safety, health-care oversight and funding, election procedures, education policy and several technical corrections to state law.

The most prominent measures that passed include the Arkansas Kids Online Safety Act, tighter reporting and fee changes for pharmacy benefit managers, clarified rules for paid canvassers and local petition activity, and removal of a sunset provision on the medical-marijuana privilege tax that funds food-insecurity programs. Several other bills on elections, education and public-safety licensing also cleared the chamber.

Why it matters: The bills together touch a range of state responsibilities — from placing expectations on technology platforms to protect minors, to increasing regulatory tools and funding streams for oversight of pharmacy benefit managers, to preserving funding used for child nutrition programs. Many measures were noncontroversial or technical; a handful drew more opposition or closer votes, including the repeal of the medical-marijuana sunset and the measure expanding investigative authority related to the state lottery.

Key votes and outcomes (Votes at a glance)

- HB 17-26, Arkansas Kids Online Safety Act — Passed 92-2. The bill creates a duty of care for technology platforms to address elevated risks of harm to minors (anxiety, depression, eating disorders, exploitation, bullying and similar categories described in the bill) and establishes an online-safety council under the Department of Commerce to advise and report to the relevant legislative committee. Representative Gramlich explained that the council and rulemaking details would be handled by the Department of Commerce; Representative Gramlich said he did not expect a funded full-time staff for the council and anticipated volunteer participation. (Passage confirmed in the chamber roll call.)

- HB 16-02, Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) licensure act amendments — Passed 98-0 with 7 present. Representative Johnson said the measure (1) adds definitions tied to improved reporting, (2) increases the initial licensure fee to $20,000 and establishes a $20,000 renewal fee, and (3) requires reporting on PBM structure to assist the Arkansas Insurance Department with enforcement. Johnson said there are 47 PBMs in the state and that the new fees would fund PBM enforcement at AID.

- HB 17-14, Clarification of the definition of paid canvasser — Passed 76-18. Representative Rose said the bill clarifies existing law and explicitly lists items (food, lodging, travel, bonuses, fees, gift cards and similar) that count as "anything of value" for purposes of distinguishing paid canvassers from volunteers.

- HB 16-18, Municipal attorney election/appointment threshold change — Passed 93-0 with 2 present. Representative Hock said the bill raises the population threshold (from 30,000 to 50,000) under which cities may adopt an ordinance to appoint rather than elect municipal attorneys when candidates are not available inside city limits.

- HB 13-52, Actions related to certain foreign entities (People's Republic of China) — Passed (roll call recorded). Representative Beatty described multiple provisions: disclosure and limits on campus entities, restrictions on sister-city agreements with governments identified as hostile, and divestment/reporting requirements for public investment entities. Beatty said parts of the bill were included in the governor's package.

- HB 13-01, Amendments to the Gold Card (prior authorization) process — Passed 95-0 with 1 present. Representative Johnson described clarifications to the prior-authorization exemption process, including a definition of "gold card" and prospective review for new providers.

- HB 1,300, Prior Authorization Transparency Act amendments — Passed 93-1 with 3 present. Representative Johnson said the bill sets fines for violations, expands reporting and broadens the definition of prior authorization to capture synonyms used in the industry.

- HB 12-52, Certified community-based doula certification act — Passed 88-3 with 3 present. Representative Johnson said the bill creates a certification process for birth and postpartum doulas and requires reimbursement for doula services as part of the governor's maternal-health package.

- SB 2-19, Repeal of the medical-marijuana privilege-tax sunset — Passed 74-7 with 11 present. Representative Eaves said tax proceeds are directed to the food insecurity fund and support summer EBT for children, breakfast programs and reduced copays for lunch.

- SB 2-31, Lottery investigative authority amendments — Passed 73-16 with 8 present. Representative Cozart said the change allows specified lottery investigators to pursue lottery-law and lottery-rule violations, to access certain areas quickly when fraud or theft is suspected, and requires reporting to the attorney general and the Arkansas State Police. The bill drew a larger minority vote than many other measures.

- SB 3-04, Voter address updates and polling verification — Passed 93-1 with 2 present. Representative Beatty said the bill recognizes county clerks' technology improvements and allows updated voter information received before polls close to be used to permit a voter to cast a ballot provided the clerk can verify the voter has not already voted.

- SB 2-46, Arkansas Access Act (education) — Passed 77-17. Representative Shepherd said this is the senate version of the access bill the House had advanced; it passed with a significant minority opposed.

Other bills that passed with limited debate (select examples)

- HB 15-74: Paid canvasser residency requirement for state initiatives — Passed 76-16. - HB 16-93: Rules on duplication of damaged or defective ballots and reporting remade ballots — Passed 93-0. - HB 16-94: Alternatives to electronic filing for campaign-finance reports (cleanup) — Passed (unanimous roll call recorded). - HB 17-04: Child custody where a parent is a first responder (extend military protection to first responders) — Passed 88-0 with 4 present. - HB 16-86: Make concealed-handgun license electronic; estimated savings — Passed 92-2 with 1 present. - HB 16-92: Technical corrections to polygraph/examiner and private investigator licensing, removes certain vague licensing bars — Passed 96-0. - SB 1-67: Technical correction to Public School Choice Act application date — Passed 94-1. - SB 3-28: Technical cleanup on computer-crime definitions regarding minors and trier-of-fact language — Passed 97-0. - SB 3-93: Amendments to sex-offender registration conditions (certain convictions require lifetime registration) — Passed 96-0.

Discussion vs. formal action

Most measures were explained on the floor by the bill sponsor and then put to a roll call with limited floor debate. When representatives asked questions (for example, Representative Dolby questioned Gramlich about costs and meeting frequency for the online-safety council), sponsors typically said rulemaking and staffing details would be left to the administering agency and that they did not expect a funded board position in the first instance. Where the chamber recorded closer votes (for example SB 2-31 and SB 2-19), sponsors offered brief policy rationales on the floor before passage.

What's next

The House adjourned and will reconvene at 1:30 p.m. on the next scheduled day of the session. Several committees announced follow-up hearings and meetings to continue work on outstanding constitutional amendments and agency issues.

Sources: House floor proceedings, March 17, 2025 (motions, floor explanations and roll-call results as recorded on the House floor).