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Committee advances package of technical and licensing bills in brief votes
Summary
The Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee cleared a package of technical and licensing bills by voice votes, advancing measures on one‑call membership, ambulance reimbursement, birthing‑center coverage, gambling self‑exclusion and crisis stabilization units.
Alongside several debated items, the Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee cleared a set of shorter, largely technical or licensing bills by voice votes.
Key outcomes recorded in the hearing record:
- House Bill 17‑35 (sponsor Sen. Missy Irvin presented): Amends the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act to revise membership in the state one‑call center and add penalties for operators that fail to join. Sponsor said the change clarifies that operators of underground facilities must become members of the one‑call center and confirmed the Public Service Commission is the commission referenced in the statute. The committee voted to pass the bill.
- House Bill 18‑47 (as amended): Created a statewide self‑exclusion list for gambling venues so individuals can opt in once and be excluded statewide. Committee passed the bill as amended.
- House Bill 18‑26: Allows insurance coverage for deliveries at licensed birthing centers; sponsor Rep. Mary Bentley said the state currently has no licensed birthing centers and the bill would align birthing‑center coverage with hospital coverage. Committee passed the bill.
- House Bill 18‑50 and House Bill 18‑63: Technical ambulance/EMS bills. HB 18‑50 clarified minimum in‑network/out‑of‑network ambulance reimbursement (set at 325% of the Medicare rate where municipal/county contract rates are not adopted); HB 18‑63 assigned the Arkansas Ambulance Association responsibility to collect ordinance‑level contracted rates and provide those to the Insurance Department. Both bills passed.
- House Bill 13‑20: Added crisis stabilization units to the "any willing provider" list for relevant state health plan purposes; passed on a favorable motion.
Each measure moved on a committee voice vote; the transcript does not show roll‑call tallies for these items. Sponsors characterized most of these as clarifications or technical fixes rather than policy overhauls.
Ending note: Committee business continued with greater debate reserved for major bills; these technical and licensing measures were advanced to allow further floor or committee consideration in the legislative process.
