Arkansas House passes broad package of bills; debates massage-licensure compact, anesthesia assistants and procurement transparency

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas House of Representatives on Feb. 26 adopted a broad package of bills and resolutions and heard extended debate on three substantive policy items: an interstate massage-therapy compact, licensure for anesthesiologist assistants and adding disaster purchases to the state procurement transparency rules.

House members opened with ceremonial resolutions and recognitions, then moved into the legislative calendar, taking recorded votes on a succession of bills that mostly passed with bipartisan support.

Why it matters: The massage-therapy compact would let licensed massage therapists from member states practice in Arkansas without obtaining a separate state license; the anesthesiologist assistant measure creates a new clinician category authorized to work under physician supervision; and the procurement change adds declarations of disaster emergency to the definition of “critical emergency,” which supporters said will increase transparency for emergency purchases.

Massage-therapy compact debate

Representative J. Nazarenko presented House Bill 12-17, the interstate massage-therapy compact, saying it “removes barriers” and provides portability for licensed therapists while including safeguards to keep “bad actors out.” The fiscal impact estimate attached to the bill was described in committee as about $15,000 initially and roughly $6,000 per year thereafter; Nazarenko said the Department of Health believed the cost would likely be lower.

Representative Wardlaw pressed Nazarenko on whether the compact creates an open-ended funding obligation for rulemaking and how oversight would work if the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) rejected compact rules. Nazarenko said she used language from other occupational compacts that gives the committee and ALC oversight, but she did not provide a specific contingency if ALC declined particular rules. Representative Pilkington responded on the House floor that Arkansas could opt out if it disagreed with adopted compact rules, saying, “we have the option to leave.”

Representative Graham interjected, asking, “What’s the catch?” Nazarenko replied there was none and urged a favorable vote.

The House approved the compact by roll-call vote: 86 yeas, 0 nays, 3 present.

Anesthesiologist assistants and supervision limits

Representative M. Johnson explained House Bill 12-51 to establish licensure for anesthesiologist assistants, a clinically trained profession that would practice under physician supervision rather than independently. Johnson described the training pathway as distinct from certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and said anesthesia assistants are already permitted in more than 20 states.

Representatives asked whether anesthesiologist assistants must work under anesthesiologists specifically (Johnson: yes) and how supervision would function in rural hospitals. Johnson said the supervising physician must be “readily available,” using language similar to prior CRNA legislation, and that one supervising physician could oversee up to four anesthesia assistants concurrently. Representatives expressed concern about logistics at large medical campuses where departments are spread across buildings.

The House passed the measure by roll-call: 72 yeas, 17 nays, 5 present.

Procurement, emergency purchases and transparency

Representative Gazzaway sponsored Senate Bill 166 to amend procurement law by adding a declaration of a state of disaster emergency to the definition of “critical emergency.” He said that procurement conducted under that definition would be subject to procurement law and associated reporting requirements, giving the legislature and procurement offices more transparency than purchases made by executive order alone.

Representative Wooten asked whether the change would prevent past problems — referencing a reported $10 million purchase during COVID that she said had “disappeared” — and whether the bill would create procedures to avoid similar outcomes. Gazzaway said the bill requires reporting to procurement at the earliest practical date and argued the change increases oversight and transparency.

The House passed the bill: 93 yeas, 0 nays, 4 present.

Votes at a glance

Below are bills and resolutions that received recorded action during the Feb. 26 session. Items recorded as adopted by voice vote are noted when no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript excerpt.

- HB 14-60 — Amend appointments to certain boards, commissions and councils to reflect current congressional districts: Passed, roll-call 91-0-0. - HB 15-36 — Withhold state transportation funding from school districts that do not require passenger restraint systems in certain cases: Passed, roll-call 68-9-10. - HB 14-65 — Dirt-bike use on private property and owner liability: Passed, roll-call 93-0-0. - HB 15-08 — Recodify Title 19 (public finance) and make conforming changes: Passed, roll-call 95-0-0. - HB 15-27 — Allow parents to place minor settlements into a 529 plan (Arkansas Brighter Future program): Passed, roll-call 94-0-0. - HB 12-91 — Clarify minor-league baseball players’ status under minimum-wage law: Passed, roll-call 94-0-0. - HB 12-17 — Interstate Massage Compact: Passed, roll-call 86-0-3. - HB 12-51 — Arkansas Anesthesiologist Assistant Act (licensure): Passed, roll-call 72-17-5. - HB 11-71 — Abbreviated independent assessments for certain Medicaid beneficiaries: Passed, roll-call 94-0-0. - HB 14-03 — Allow nonhospital entities to be community bridge organizations under the Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me Act: Passed, roll-call 91-2-1. - HB 14-39 — Remove DHS certification step for private-care-agency licensure (streamline): Passed, roll-call 95-0-0. - HB 15-37 — Repeal unused “community homes” location act for I/DD: Passed, roll-call 94-0-0. - HB 14-40 — Establish registration for massage-therapy establishments: Passed, roll-call 95-0-0. - HB 14-54 — Allow third-party background checks for service-provider employees: Passed, roll-call 95-0-0. - HB 14-56 — Convert State Kidney Disease Commission to advisory council: Passed, roll-call 89-1-4. - HB 14-58 — Limit credentialing database information (remove DEA numbers from centralized database): Passed, roll-call 97-0-0. - HB 12-76 — Allow certain municipalities to extend spousal retirement benefits to specified offices: Passed, roll-call 92-2-0. - SB 63 — Amend secretaries’ reporting timing to Arkansas Legislative Council (timing/oversight change): Passed, roll-call recorded on transcript (78 yeas, 11 nays, 4 present reported). - SB 147 — Agency name change (Department of Transformation and Shared Services → Department of Shared Administrative Services): Passed (governor-supported agency bill); recorded on transcript (vote taken to approve bill and emergency clause). - SB 165 — Procurement technical change (allow resubmittal after clarifying questions in competitive sealed proposals): Passed, roll-call 88-4-1. - SB 185 — Technical correction to Computer and Electronic Solid Waste Management Act (agency reference update): Passed, roll-call 96-1-0. - SB 166 — Add state of disaster emergency to definition of critical emergency in procurement law (see story above): Passed, roll-call 93-0-4. - SB 202 — Statutory bonding requirements for State Highway Commission construction projects (agency bill): Passed, roll-call 93-0-1. - SB 228 — Waiver process for renewed background checks for nonlicensed school staff: Passed, roll-call 96-0-0. - SB 234 — Create additional circuit judgeship for Nineteenth Judicial District West (Benton County): Passed with emergency clause, roll-call 97-0-0. - SB 136 — Right-to-try individualized investigational treatment (genomic sequencing access): Passed, roll-call 95-1-0. - SB 17 — Prohibit sale of a dead human body intended for cremation or burial and establish penalties: Passed, roll-call 96-0-0. - SB 178 — Clarify ability of a medical surrogate to obtain records on a principal’s income/assets under Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act: Passed, roll-call 94-0-0.

What was decided versus discussed

- Decided (formal action): The bills and resolutions listed above passed as recorded. - Discussion/direction: The massage-therapy compact prompted floor-level questions about fiscal estimates and oversight via the Arkansas Legislative Council; the anesthesiologist assistant bill prompted questions about direct supervision and rural hospital impact (supervising physician must be “readily available” and may supervise up to four assistants); and the procurement change focused on increasing reporting and transparency for disaster purchasing.

Next steps and context

Most bills that passed will move to the governor or are agency requests endorsed by the governor, per sponsors’ statements on the floor. Several items were described as technical or organizational updates (Title 19 recodification, agency name changes, procurement clarifications). Sponsors repeatedly said many measures were intended to streamline state operations rather than change substantive policy.

The House adjourned to reconvene at 1:30 p.m. the following day.

Ending note: Recorded tallies and the text of bills provide the official record of action; this summary uses the House floor transcript for attributions and counts.