Arkansas House recalls bill over deputy prosecutor pay language, refers it back to Joint Budget Committee

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas House of Representatives on Jan. 27, 2025 voted to recall a bill from the governor—s office and re-refer it to the Joint Budget Committee after legislators said drafting in the measure could be read to make counties pay a recurring 25% share of deputy prosecutors— salaries.

Representative Lane Jean moved to recall the measure from the governor—s office, saying lawmakers had intended a one-time 25% state pickup of county payments but that the bill—s language could be read as a 25% reduction "every year." "It was determined that it may be 25% every year reduction, and that was not the intent," Jean said on the House floor.

The House recorded the recall vote as 98 yays, 0 nays and 0 present. Chief Clark was directed to recall the bill to the chamber. Members then moved to re-refer the bill to the Joint Budget Committee; the speaker announced the motion passed by more than a simple majority, with the record later noted as "more than 51 votes." The exact roll-call tally for that re-referral was not specified in the transcript.

The recall and re-referral were taken during routine floor business amid several committee reports. Committee chairs reported do-pass recommendations on several bills: the House Committee on Public Transportation reported on House Bill 1046 (chair Mike Holcomb); the Committee on Revenue and Taxation reported on House Bill 1074 (Representative Kavanaugh, chair); the Committee on Judiciary reported on House Bill 1204 (Carol Dolby, chair); and the Committee on Education reported that House Bill 1085 was recommended to pass as Amendment No. 1 (Representative Keith Brooks, chair). The committees presented those recommendations without recorded floor debate in the transcript.

An executive communication was read into the record from Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders dated Jan. 27, 2025, notifying the House that she had reviewed and approved several measures from the regular session, including items described in the reading as "House Bill 1080 act 2, House Bill 1001 act 3, House Bill 1108 act 4, House Bill 1109 act 5, House Bill 1110 act 6, House Bill 1111 act 7, House Bill 1113 act 8, [and] House Concurrent Resolution 1002." The communication was read verbatim on the floor; the transcript does not include the text of the signed acts beyond the reading.

No further action on the recalled bill was recorded in the transcript beyond the re-referral. The House adjourned to reconvene the next day at 1:30 p.m., and several committee meeting times and photo calls were announced before adjournment.

Ending: The re-referral returns the measure to the budget committee for review; the transcript does not specify a timeline for committee consideration or final disposition.