Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 544 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1513 3
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By: Representatives McCollum, Wing, Achor, Andrews, Barker, Beaty Jr., Beck, Bentley, M. Berry, 5
Breaux, Brooks, K. Brown, M. Brown, Burkes, Joey Carr, C. Cooper, Cozart, Evans, C. Fite, L. Fite, 6
Fortner, Furman, Gazaway, Gonzales, Gramlich, Haak, Hawk, Hollowell, Jean, Ladyman, Long, 7
Lundstrum, Lynch, McAlindon, McClure, M. McElroy, McGrew, B. McKenzie, McNair, S. Meeks, 8
Miller, Milligan, K. Moore, Painter, Pearce, Pilkington, Puryear, R. Scott Richardson, Richmond, Rose, 9
Rye, Schulz, Steimel, Tosh, Underwood, Unger, Vaught, Womack, Wooldridge, Wooten 10
By: Senators J. Petty, K. Hammer, Dees, M. McKee, Stone 11
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For An Act To Be Entitled 13
AN ACT TO CREATE THE ELECTION INTEGRITY U NIT WITHIN 14
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 'S OFFICE; TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF 15
THE STATE BOARD OF E LECTION COMMISSIONER S; TO AMEND 16
THE LAW CONCERNING V IOLATIONS OF ELECTIO N LAW; AND 17
FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 18
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Subtitle 21
TO CREATE THE ELECTION INTEGRITY U NIT 22
WITHIN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE; TO 23
AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF 24
ELECTION COMMISSIONERS; AND TO AMEND THE 25
LAW CONCERNING VIOLATIONS OF ELECTION 26
LAW. 27
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 30
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 7-1-109 is amended to read as follows: 32
7-1-109. Enforcement of election laws. 33
(a) Following a written complaint concerning any election law 34
violation or irregularity to the county board of election commissioners, the 35
written complaint sh all be sent by the county board of election commissioners 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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to the State Board of Election Commissioners and the Election Integrity Unit 1
for evaluation and investigation. 2
(b) A complaint submitted under subsection (a) of this section shall 3
be included by the unit in the Arkansas Election Integrity Database. 4
5
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 7 -4-120(b)(7), concerning complaints of 6
election law violations, is amended to read as follows: 7
(7)(A) If a complaint is filed as required by this section, the 8
State Board of Election Commissioners shall investigate the alleged violation 9
and notify the Election Integrity Unit to enter the complaint into the 10
Arkansas Election Integrity D atabase. 11
(B) If at the conclusion of the investigation, the State 12
Board of Election Commissioners find that there is probable cause to believe 13
there has been a criminal violation of the voter registration laws or 14
election laws, the State Board of Election Commissioners may forward the 15
complaint to the prosecuting attorney for criminal prosecution. 16
(C) Immediately upon beginning an investigation under this 17
section, the State Board of Election Commissioners shall notify the person or 18
persons under investigation of the fact of the investigation and the nature 19
of the investigation. 20
(C)(D) If at the conclusion of the investigation, the 21
State Board of Election Commissioners finds that there is probable cause to 22
believe there has been a violation of the voter registration laws or election 23
laws, and the complaint has not been referred to the prosecuting attorney, 24
the State Board of Election Commissioners may set a public hearing. 25
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 7, Chapter 4, is amended to add an 27
additional subchapter to read as follows: 28
Subchapter 3 — Election Integrity Unit 29
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7-4-301. Title. 31
This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Election Integrity 32
Unit Act of 2023”. 33
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7-4-302. Election Integrity Unit. 35
(a) There is created within the Attorney General's Office the Election 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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Integrity Unit. 1
(b) The purpose of the Election Integrity Unit is to aid the Secretary 2
of State and the State Board of Election Commissioners in the completion of 3
their duties related to the investigation of electi on crimes and the security 4
of elections. 5
(c) The director of the Election Integrity Unit shall be known as the 6
“Director of the Election Integrity Unit” and shall be appointed by the 7
Attorney General. 8
(d) The Attorney General may also appoint staff to ensure the 9
efficient operation of the Election Integrity Unit, including without 10
limitation: 11
(1) Assistants; 12
(2) Nonsworn investigators; 13
(3) Professional staff; and 14
(4) Clerical staff. 15
(e) The Election Integrity Unit shall be based in Little Rock, 16
Arkansas. 17
18
7-4-303. Definitions. 19
As used in this subchapter: 20
(1) “Election laws” means the United States Constitution, the 21
Arkansas Constitution, and the statutes, final court decisions of general 22
applicability, and rules of the United States a nd the State of Arkansas 23
concerning elections conducted by county boards of election commissioners and 24
the rules promulgated by the State Board of Election Commissioners under § 7 -25
4-101 concerning elections conducted by county boards of election 26
commissioners; and 27
(2) “Voter registration laws” means those laws under the United 28
States Constitution, the Arkansas Constitution, and the statutes, final court 29
decisions, and rules promulgated by the United States and the State of 30
Arkansas concerning voter regis tration laws. 31
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7-4-304. Duties of the Election Integrity Unit. 33
(a) The Election Integrity Unit shall establish the Arkansas Election 34
Integrity Database that shall be maintained by the Election Integrity Unit , 35
with secure access provided to the Secretar y of State and the State Board of 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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Election Commissioners. 1
(b) The Election Integrity Unit shall: 2
(1) Track all alleged violations, complaints, and investigations 3
in the Arkansas Election Integrity Database; 4
(2) Oversee the Attorney General’s election law violations 5
hotline under § 7-4-305; 6
(3) Respond to notifications or complaints generated by election 7
officials or any other person alleging a violation of voter registration laws 8
or election laws; 9
(4) Refer all notifications of complaints to the State Board of 10
Election Commissioners for investigation of any potential civil or criminal 11
acts related to a violation of election law and violations concerning 12
election security reported under §7 -4-120 or this subchapter; 13
(5) To institute civil proceedings for the purpose of enforcing 14
the provisions of this chapter and as specifically enumerated in § 7 -4-306. 15
(6) Receive sworn statements and issue subpoenas to compel the 16
production of records and other documents pursuant to § 25-16-705; and 17
(7) Enforce the provisions of this subchapter and perform such 18
other functions as may be incidental to the powers and duties set forth in 19
this subchapter. 20
(c) If during the course of an investigation, the State Board of 21
Election Commissioners determines that there may be a criminal violation of 22
voter registration laws or election laws, the findings of the investigation: 23
(1)(A) May be turned over to the appropriate prosecutorial 24
agency for criminal prosecution. 25
(B) A prosecuting attorney having jurisdiction over a 26
violation of voter registration laws or election laws may designate an 27
attorney employed by the Attorney General's office as a special deputy 28
prosecutor to prosecute any charges related to a violation of voter 29
registration laws or election laws or any other charges that may arise from 30
the same factual allegations or may be properly joined under state law. 31
(C)(i) Under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, § 20 and 32
§ 16-21-103, only a prosecuting attorney has the duty and authority to 33
commence and prosecute any criminal action under state law. 34
(ii) A special deputy prosecuting attorney's power 35
to prosecute a criminal action under this section is derivative from the 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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prosecuting attorney; and 1
(2) Shall be heard by the State Board of Election Commissioners 2
if the potential violation is a civil violation. 3
(d) This subchapter does not limit the jurisdict ion of any other state 4
entity empowered by law to investigate, act upon, or dispose of alleged 5
violations of state voter registration and election laws. 6
(e)(1) By August 1 of each year, the State Board of Election 7
Commissioners shall submit a report of all closed investigations of the 8
previous calendar year to the: 9
(A) Governor; 10
(B) Attorney General; and 11
(C) Joint Performance Review Committee. 12
(2) The report required under subdivision (e)(1) of this section 13
shall: 14
(A) Provide a summary of information on each closed 15
investigation of an alleged violation of election laws conducted during the 16
prior calendar year; 17
(B) Include the total number of: 18
(i) Complaints received; 19
(ii) Independent investigations ini tiated; and 20
(iii) Number of complaints referred for criminal 21
prosecution; and 22
(C) The current status of any resulting criminal case. 23
24
7-4-305. Election law violation — Hotline. 25
(a)(1) The Attorney General shall establish and publish proced ures to 26
receive complaints concerning violations of election law. 27
(2) The procedures shall include the operation of a toll -free 28
hotline and may include procedures to receive written complaints through the 29
mail, email, or fax. 30
(3) Knowingly filing a f alse claim of a violation of election 31
law is a Class A misdemeanor punishable under § 7 -1-103(c). 32
(b)(1) The State Board of Election Commissioners shall report all 33
complaints received through the election law violation hotline to the Joint 34
Performance Review Committee in the report required under § 7 -4-304. 35
(2) The report may contain preliminary findings by the State 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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Board of Election Commissione rs as to the validity of the complaint if the 1
full investigation is not complete. 2
3
§ 7-4-306. Civil actions by Attorney General 4
(a) Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that a person 5
or entity is engaging, has engaged, or is about to eng age in any act or 6
practice declared unlawful by § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104, the Attorney General 7
may bring an action in the name of the state against that person or entity. 8
(b) An action under subsection (a) of this section may be brought to: 9
(1) Obtain a declaratory judgment that the act or practice 10
violates the provisions of § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104; 11
(2) Enjoin any act or practice that violates the provisions of § 12
7-1-103 or § 7-1-104 by issuance of a temporary restraining order or 13
preliminary or perman ent injunction, without bond, upon the giving of 14
appropriate notice; 15
(3) Recover on behalf of the state and its agencies actual 16
damages for loss incurred either directly or indirectly; and 17
(4) Recover civil penalties of at least one thousand dollars 18
($1,000) per violation of § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104, or any injunction, judgment 19
issued or entered into under the provisions of § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104 and 20
reasonable expenses, investigative costs, and attorney's fees. 21
22
SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 7 -5-202(c)(1)(F)(ii), concerning public 23
notice of elections, is amended to read as follows: 24
(ii) Information about the availability of the 25
Attorney General's election law violation hotline, including without 26
limitation the hotline telephone number of the Attor ney General's election 27
law violation hotline established under § 25-16-717 7-4-305; 28
29
SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 25 -16-717 is repealed. 30
25-16-717. Election law violation — Hotline. 31
(a)(1) The Attorney General shall establish and publish procedures to 32
receive complaints concerning violations of election law. 33
(2) The procedures shall include the operation of a toll -free 34
hotline and may include procedures to receive written complaints through the 35
mail, email, or fax. 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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(3) Knowingly filing a false clai m of a violation of election 1
law is a Class A misdemeanor punishable under § 7 -1-103(c). 2
(b)(1) The Attorney General shall report all complaints received to 3
the Joint Performance Review Committee within forty -five (45) days following 4
the certified election results of a general election. 5
(2) The report may contain preliminary findings by the Attorney 6
General as to the validity of the complaint. 7
(3) The Joint Performance Review Committee may call a meeting 8
within thirty (30) days of receipt of t he report for the purpose of 9
investigating election law violations. 10
(c)(1) If the Attorney General receives a complaint and finds it is 11
likely that a violation of election law has occurred, the Attorney General 12
shall forward the complaint to the Joint Pe rformance Review Committee for 13
preliminary investigation and may forward the complaint to the appropriate 14
prosecuting attorney. 15
(2) The prosecuting attorney may deputize the Attorney General 16
to act on the prosecuting attorney's behalf if the prosecuting attorney has a 17
conflict of interest in the investigation. 18
(3) If the Attorney General is deputized by the prosecuting 19
attorney, the Attorney General may investigate or prosecute the alleged 20
violation of election law. 21
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/s/McCollum 23
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APPROVED: 4/11/23 26
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