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Senate panel approves bill to let donated labor count toward rural grant matches
Summary
The committee advanced Senate Bill 254 to allow donated labor and equipment to be counted as in‑kind matches for the Arkansas Rural Community Grant Program, proponents said. The program awards up to $15,000 per project; FY2024 grants totaled $604,878.21 to 61 communities.
The City, County & Local Affairs Committee — Senate on Tuesday advanced Senate Bill 254, which would allow donated labor and equipment to count as in‑kind matching contributions for the Arkansas Rural Community Grant Program.
Proponents say the change would remove a barrier for small rural communities that lack liquid assets or land to meet current match requirements. "Arkansas law currently requires that the match had, had to be made with either real or personal property," Jay Quinley, director of legislative affairs for the Department of Commerce, told the committee. He said the bill would permit skilled volunteers’ donated time, labor and equipment to be counted toward the match.
The measure targets projects funded by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s rural grant program, which allows communities to request up to $15,000 per project, provided they provide the required match. Quinley told the committee that in fiscal year 2024 the program awarded $604,878.21 to 61 communities and funded projects including baseball and softball fields, community centers, walking tracks, park and playground equipment, pavilions, picnic tables, library shelving and upgrades for fire stations.
Quinley acknowledged concerns about how donated labor would be valued. He said monitoring would be handled by Becca Caldwell, director of the Rural Services Division, and compared the valuation process to how the commission checks the value of land. "We would wanna see a reliable appraiser for labor rates," Quinley said. "We'd wanna make sure that this matched industry norms. We'd wanna see bids in other projects to make sure it was in line with other bids that have been put forward."
Committee members did not record a roll‑call vote on the measure in the transcript. A motion to "do pass" was made on behalf of the bill’s sponsor and carried by voice vote, with no individual tallies provided.
If enacted, the change would let rural communities that can supply volunteer labor but not cash or property participate in projects funded through the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s rural grant program.
No effective date or fiscal note was discussed in the committee transcript.
