House bill to let municipal port authorities form police forces pulled for geographic-limits amendment

State Representative Steve Unger, District 19, told the House City, County & Local Affairs Committee that House Bill 1711 would give municipal port authorities the explicit authority to establish a police force and to fund it with fees collected by the port.

"If you haven't been out there, I would really encourage you to go because I gotta tell you, it's a crown jewel of the region," Unger said, describing the Port of Little Rock as about 5,000 acres that supports about 10,000 jobs. He said the measure was intended to let ports provide security similar to protections at major seaports and to help recruit industry.

The bill drew sustained questioning from committee members over the scope of authority and oversight. Representative Kavanaugh expressed concern that the bill did not define geographic limits for the proposed police force and warned it could create an agency with statewide reach: "That gives me a lot of heartburn because they're under the authority of a specific port." Unger responded that he did not envision the force "going all over the state," but acknowledged committee members' concerns about clear jurisdictional boundaries.

Other members asked about coordination with existing law enforcement. Representative Kevin Hall said he had discussed the bill with Arkansas State Police and reported support; Unger said Little Rock Police currently "tries to" patrol the port but is "pretty undermanned." Committee members asked whether the highway police or railroad police could fill the gap, and whether the port's board and fee structure were sufficient to support an independent force.

Unger said the bill would allow fees collected by a municipal port authority to fund the force and that any port would be responsible for creating its own funding plan. He said he had spoken with the port director and with state law-enforcement representatives and that the port director supported the idea.

After multiple members asked for clearer geographic limits and more detail on oversight and training, Unger asked to "pull it down and add a geographic perimeter" so he could draft amendments. The committee granted the request and the bill was withdrawn from consideration to allow revisions.

The discussion included repeated questions about training and certification; Unger said port officers would receive the same training and certification that other municipal officers receive. Members also noted potential liabilities and the need for checks and balances on any force established by an authority rather than an elected municipal government. The sponsor and several committee members offered to work on language to define jurisdictional boundaries and reporting requirements.

For now, the measure will be revised outside the committee and returned later. Speaker comments and committee requests make clear that the bill will be amended to add explicit geographic limits and other guardrails before the committee will reconsider it.