The Arkansas Code Revision Commission voted to exercise the first renewal option on its publishing contract with LexisNexis and authorized staff to proceed with issuing two replacement bound volumes for the recodified Title 19.

The decision came after staff and LexisNexis representatives described publication options for the Title 19 recodification and discussed pricing and scheduling. Jill Thayer of the Bureau of Legislative Research told the commission LexisNexis was the only bidder when the current contract was awarded and that the contract terminates on Dec. 31 but “provides for two renewal terms of up to seven years each.”

Why it matters: Title 19’s recodification replaces the existing bound volumes for that title; the commission concluded that producing two new hardbound replacement volumes (to be called 19A and 19B) during the supplement season is preferable to issuing stand-alone supplements that would keep obsolete bound volumes in circulation.

Commission members pressed staff on cost and scheduling. Brian Miller and a LexisNexis representative said the two replacement volumes should be priced as replacement volumes rather than supplements; Miller noted manufacturing costs for additional hardbound volumes and said the vendor was “open to discuss” discounts. The commission instructed staff and LexisNexis to identify which two volumes currently scheduled for replacement could be delayed to make room for 19A and 19B and to return with a final cost estimate. The commission recorded that, if the substitution keeps the established 2025 pricing, the price should remain “the same or close thereto.”

LexisNexis commented briefly at the meeting. “LexisNexis is looking forward to working with the state of Arkansas going forward and we are in favor of extending the contract,” the company representative said.

Formal action: The commission voted to authorize staff to exercise the first renewal option on the LexisNexis contract and separately approved proceeding with two replacement bound volumes for Title 19, subject to staff and LexisNexis determining which two currently scheduled replacements to delay and returning with final pricing. Both motions were seconded and passed by voice vote.

Next steps: Staff will work with LexisNexis to identify the specific replacement volumes to postpone, produce a cost estimate (including any proposed discount), and present those details to the commission and the Legislative Council as required for final approval.