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Senate committee approves transfer of Arkansas Wine Producers Council to state tourism division
Summary
The committee approved moving the Arkansas Wine Producers Council from the Department of Commerce to the tourism division of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism to support development of a wine tourism facility; a trust fund of about $3.6 million was identified for that purpose.
Sen. Missy Irvin told the committee Senate Bill 370 would transfer the Arkansas Wine Producers Council from the Department of Commerce to the tourism division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism to better align the council’s mission with tourism promotion.
Delaney Thomas, director of the tourism division, and Jay Quinley of the Department of Commerce appeared with the sponsor. Thomas told senators a tourism development trust fund set aside in statute contains roughly $3.6 million that the council could use to buy land, construct a facility and staff operations to develop a physical wine‑tourism visitor center in Arkansas wine country.
Committee members asked whether the fund provided sufficient authority and spending authorization; Thomas said the trust fund exists for those purposes but could not say whether current funds alone would fully pay all costs. Senators also asked about approval processes for land purchase and construction; witnesses said the council would identify locations and proposals and that Parks, Heritage and Tourism would collaborate on promotion and project oversight; larger transactions would be subject to existing review and approval processes (for example, the building authority and ALC where applicable).
The committee passed the transfer by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded.
