Votes at a glance: Arkansas House passes a string of bills on March floor calendar; several measures adopted unanimously

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas House completed a sizable floor calendar Wednesday, taking final action on a mix of policy bills, technical measures and ceremonial resolutions. Below are the actions recorded in the meeting transcript; vote counts are shown where the transcript provided them.

Votes and outcomes (selected bills and resolutions recorded on the floor):

- Concurrence with Senate amendment 1 to House Bill 13 69 (adds a Senate sponsor): House voted to concur, emergency clause included; roll call recorded as 99 yeas, 0 nays, 0 present.

- House Resolution 1061 (recognize Mountain Home Bombers boys indoor track team): adopted by voice vote.

- House Concurrent Resolution 1007 (urging U.S. Congress to reevaluate Medicare physician fee schedule): adopted by voice vote.

- House Resolution 1043 (supporting nomination of former governor Mike Huckabee as U.S. Ambassador to Israel): adopted by voice vote; former governor Huckabee addressed the chamber afterward.

- House Bill 13 65 (remove racial and gender quotas for certain boards): floor debate occurred; transcript excerpt does not include a recorded roll-call tally for final passage (tally not specified in excerpt).

- House Bill 1400 (exempt disabled veterans from certain penalties when redeeming tax-delinquent parcels): passed by roll call, 98 yeas, 0 nays, 0 present.

- House Bill 1502 (historic/special interest vehicle registration; changes antique classification from 45 to 30 years): passed 92 yeas, 6 nays, 0 present.

- House Bill 1596 (mobile work zones: double fines in mobile work zones for moving traffic violations): passed 98 yeas, 4 nays, 3 present.

- House Bill 1605 (make Construction Manager/General Contractor procurement method permanent for the State Highway Commission): passed 94 yeas, 2 nays, 3 present.

- House Bill 1597 (amend law concerning administration of oaths of office; expands list of former judges who may administer oaths): passed 97 yeas, 0 nays, 0 present.

- House Bill 1581 (add trafficking of persons and grooming a minor for future trafficking to victim-rights definition): passed 98 yeas, 0 nays, 0 present.

- House Bill 1609 (enhanced penalty when traffickers recruit from shelters or treatment centers): passed; transcript shows a roll-call but the tally in the excerpt is partially unclear (tally not fully specified).

- House Bill 1552 (classification of inchoate fentanyl offenses): passed 98 yeas, 0 nays, 1 present.

- House Bill 1593 (combine correction system reporting requirements): passed 99 yeas, 0 nays, 0 present.

- House Bill 1477 (governing body of open-enrollment charter schools; technical changes): passed 95 yeas, 0 nays (tally recorded in transcript excerpt).

- House Bill 1496 (teacher licensure and professional development updates; gives districts more control over PD): passed 77 yeas, 8 nays, 5 present.

- House Bill 1185 (adopt dietitian licensure compact): passed 99 yeas, 0 nays, 0 present.

- House Bill 1559 (Medicaid inpatient coverage waiver for substance use disorder; requires DHS to pursue waiver and report): passed 84 yeas, 9 nays, 4 present.

- House Bill 1268 (allow public transit authorities to participate in APERS): passed 83 yeas, 8 nays, 5 present.

- House Bill 1325 (APERS service credit for prior alternate retirement-plan service under narrow conditions): passed 91 yeas, 2 nays, 4 present.

- House Bill 1347 and 1348 (teacher retirement/survivor benefit and special-needs trust beneficiary clarifications): passed (1347 passed 99-0; 1348 passed 92 yeas, 1 nay, 4 present, emergency clause included).

- Senate Bill 253 (amend definition of manufactured home unit) and Senate Bill 226 (sudden cardiac arrest prevention / expand CPR/defibrillator training): both passed on the floor (SB226 recorded 93 yeas, 1 nay, 1 present).

Several items were handled by voice vote or unanimous consent (ceremonial resolutions, recognitions); those are noted above. When the transcript provided a numerical roll call, that tally is reported here; where the transcript excerpt did not include a completed roll call, the tally is marked "not specified." The House also moved to adjourn under House Rule 33(m) to reconvene the following day at 1:30 p.m.

What this means: The measures advanced a mix of policy changes — criminal sentencing adjustments for fentanyl-related inchoate offenses, expanded victim-rights coverage for trafficking, procurement changes at the Department of Transportation, and narrow veterans’ relief for tax redemption — and housekeeping or ceremonial items. Several technical or noncontroversial bills passed with large, often unanimous majorities; HB 13 65 prompted the most sustained floor debate in the available transcript.

For reporters: the transcript records sponsors’ floor explanations and vote tallies where taken; absent recorded tallies appear in the transcript excerpt as noted.