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Senate committee advances competing bills that would let local boards or voters remove fluoridation from water
Summary
Two bills on fluoride — one allowing county-level petitions and another that delegates authority to local water boards — were debated; the committee approved the county‑petition bill (SB 4‑68) as amended and took SB 6‑13 forward as neutral after discussion and public testimony from county clerks and the Association of Arkansas Counties.
The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee on Monday considered two competing measures that would change how communities control water fluoridation.
Senate Bill 4‑68, carried by Sen. Clint Penzo, would allow a county petition and vote to prohibit fluoridation for a public water system that serves multiple counties only if a majority of qualified electors in each county supplied by the system vote to prohibit fluoridation. Penzo said the language was revised after floor feedback to require unanimous county majorities in multi‑county systems so that a few counties cannot override another county’s preference.
Senate Bill 6‑13, introduced…
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