4.11.25 – KARK – LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
A flurry of activity in what is expected to be the last full week of the 95th General Assembly as legislators worked to get their bills across the finish line prior to adjournment next Wednesday.
This week’s activity included the passage of a bill affecting Pharmacy Benefit Managers and pharmacies, the suspension of funding allocation for a new prison, the signing of 55 new laws on Thursday and an expected change to the way gas royalties are paid.
PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS
After being hotly debated in the Senate, House Bill 1150 passed and was sent on to the governor’s office to be signed into law following a 26-9 vote.
The bill would mandate that Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) could not own a pharmacy. Bill supporters cited a 2024 study by the Federal Trade Commission that stated PBMs were inflating drug costs and harming non-chain pharmacies.
The bill’s opponents included CVS Pharmacies, a PBM, which lobbied to have it voted down. CVS said in a statement that its 23 pharmacies in the state would close if this bill became law. Shortly after the bill’s passage, a CVS spokesperson issued a statement calling for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to veto the legislation.
PRISON ALLOCATION
A bill to allocate the remaining funds needed for a 3,000-bed prison in rural Franklin County has been removed by consideration in the Senate. The bill was parked after facing five defeats in the Senate as opponents cited a lack of planning in the site selection and ancillary construction costs for supporting infrastructure.
The afternoon after Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester (R-Cave City) said he did not plan on reintroducing the bill, Attorney General Tim Griffin spoke about the need for a new prison in the state to defeat county jail overcrowding due to state inmates being held in them.
NEW LAWS
Gov. Sanders signed 55 bills into law on Thursday. The bills included those impacting the Freedom of Information Act, asking for federal money to support nuclear waste research and protecting religious freedom for faith-based adoption and foster agencies.
With this latest round of signatures, the governor has signed 552 bills into law since the start of the 95th General Assembly. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs 55 bills into law on Thursday
GAS ROYALTIES
House Bill 1656 is being returned to the House on Monday after passing the Senate with an amendment on Thursday. If the bill becomes law, it will clarify the current law that allows well operators to charge leaseholders for handling and transporting a well’s output.
Arkansas has approximately 40,000 gas leaseholders.