Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
*LGL075* 02/17/2025 10:21:51 AM LGL075
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1494 3
4
By: Representative Hawk 5
By: Senator Hill 6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS GUIDANCE OUT OF THE 9
DARKNESS ACT; TO REQUIRE STATE AGENCIES TO PUBLISH 10
FEDERAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ONLINE; AND FOR OTHER 11
PURPOSES. 12
13
14
Subtitle 15
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS GUIDANCE OUT OF 16
THE DARKNESS ACT; AND TO REQUIRE STATE 17
AGENCIES TO PUBLISH FEDERAL GUIDANCE 18
DOCUMENTS ONLINE. 19
20
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 21
22
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 25, Chapter 1, is amended to add an 23
additional subchapter to read as follows: 24
Subchapter 13 — Arkansas Guidance Out of the Darkness Act 25
26
25-1-1301. Title. 27
This subchapter shall be known and cited as the "Arkansas Guidance Out 28
of the Darkness Act" or “Ark -GOOD Act". 29
30
25-1-1302. Legislative findings and intent. 31
(a) The General Assembly finds that: 32
(1) Transparency in government is essential to ensuring 33
accountability and maintaining public trust; 34
(2) Despite lacking the force of law, guidance from the United 35
States Government often: 36 HB1494
2 02/17/2025 10:21:51 AM LGL075
(A) Influences state agency decision -making and regulatory 1
enforcement; and 2
(B) Provides insight into the interpretation of the law by 3
federal agencies; and 4
(3) The public has a right to know what federal guidance 5
documents are received by state agencies and how those documents might impact 6
state policies and procedures. 7
(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to require state agencies 8
to: 9
(A) Publish all federal guidance documents received by the state 10
agency from the United States Government; and 11
(B) Organize the federal guidance documents in an online format 12
to promote transparency and accountability. 13
14
25-1-1303. Definitions. 15
As used in this subchapter: 16
(1) "Federal agency" means the same as "agency" as defined under 17
5 U.S.C. § 551 as it existed on January 1, 2025; 18
(2)(A) "Federal guidance document" means a statement issued by a 19
federal agency that: 20
(i) Sets forth a policy on a statutory, regulatory, 21
or technical issue; or 22
(ii) Provides an interpretation of a federal statute 23
or regulation. 24
(B) A federal guidance document may include without 25
limitation a written or electronic directive, memorandum, notice, bulletin, 26
letter, or policy statement. 27
(C) "Federal guidance document" does not include a rule 28
promulgated under 5 U.S.C. § 553 as it existed on January 1, 2025; 29
(3) "Publicly accessible website" means a website maintained by 30
a state agency that is available to the public with no login, subscription, 31
or payment requirement; and 32
(4) "State agency" means every agency, authority, board, bureau, 33
commission, council, department, division, and officer of this state, 34
including without limitation a state -supported institution of higher 35
education. 36 HB1494
3 02/17/2025 10:21:51 AM LGL075
1
25-1-1304. Publication of a federal guidance document. 2
(a) A state agency shall create a webpage on its publicly accessible 3
website to publish a federal guidance document received by the state agency 4
that: 5
(1) Seeks to influence the state agency’s: 6
(A) Interpretation, enforcement, or implementation of 7
state laws, rules, or policies; or 8
(B) Administration of federal funds; or 9
(2) Provides recommendations or instructions to the state agency 10
on compliance with federal laws or regulations. 11
(b) A state agency that publishes a webpage under subsection (a) of 12
this section to display a federal guidance document shall provide: 13
(1) The full text or an electronic copy of the federal guidance 14
document; 15
(2) The date that the federal guidance document was received by 16
the state agency; and 17
(3) A brief content summary of the federal guidance document and 18
its potential impact on the operations or policies of the state agency. 19
20
25-1-1305. Timeliness of Publication. 21
(a) A state agency shall publish a federal guidance document required 22
under § 25-1-1304 within thirty (30) days of receipt. 23
(b) A state agency that receives a federal guidance document that is 24
marked as confidential or restricted by the issuing federal agency shall: 25
(1) Publish a notice on its website indicating the existence of 26
the confidential or restricted federal guidance document; and 27
(2) Submit a written inquiry to the issuing federal agency 28
asking what, if any, portions of the document may be disclosed. 29
30
25-1-1306. Exemptions. 31
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 25 -1-1305, this subchapter 32
does not require the publication of: 33
(1) A federal guidance document that has been properly 34
classified under an executive order from the President of the United States; 35
(2) A federal guidance document that has been exempted from 36 HB1494
4 02/17/2025 10:21:51 AM LGL075
public disclosure by a federal statute; 1
(3) Personally identifiable information; 2
(4) Sensitive security information; and 3
(5) Internal state agency communication pertaining to a federal 4
guidance document. 5
(b) Reasonably identifiable portions of a federal guidance document 6
that do not contain exempt information under subsection (a) of this section 7
shall be published. 8
9
25-1-1307. Enforcement and compliance. 10
(a) The director of a state agency shall oversee the agency's 11
compliance with the provisions of this subchapter. 12
(b) The Auditor of State shall: 13
(1) Annually conduct a review of state agency compliance with 14
this subchapter; and 15
(2) Prepare and submit a written report regarding compliance 16
with this subchapter on or before July 1 of each year to the Legislative 17
Council. 18
19
SECTION 2. DO NOT CODIFY. SEVERABILITY. 20
If any provision of this act or the application of this act to any 21
person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other 22
provisions or applications of this act which can be given effect without the 23
invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this act 24
are declared severable. 25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36