Arkansas House debates bill to remove race and gender membership requirements for state boards

LITTLE ROCK — House Bill 13 65, introduced by Representative Brown, drew extended debate Wednesday after the House read the bill aloud and members argued whether statutory race and gender provisions for boards and commissions should be removed.

Brown said the measure targets 22 code sections that she described as inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. "We have 22 sections in the Arkansas code that are unconstitutional because they directly conflict with the fourteenth amendment of the constitution of The United States," Representative Brown said during her explanation of the bill. She argued the statutes bar some Arkansans from volunteering to serve by imposing race- or gender-based requirements.

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