Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 929 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H4/3/25 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1951 3
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By: Representative A. Collins 5
By: Senator J. Bryant 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO SET FORTH AUTHORIZED DOMAIN EXTENSIONS FOR 9
HIGHER EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT WEBSITES; AND FOR 10
OTHER PURPOSES. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO SET FORTH AUTHORIZED DOMAIN 15
EXTENSIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND 16
GOVERNMENT WEBSITES. 17
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 19
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative findings. 21
The General Assembly finds that: 22
(1) Certain domain extensions are restricted to government entities in 23
the United States; 24
(2) When users see a website with a ".gov", a ".mil", or a ".edu" 25
extension, they can be confident that it is an official government website; 26
(3) Using a government extension provides an additional layer of 27
security, as it requires stringent verification processes to obtain, reducing 28
the likelihood of phishing scams and other fraudulent activities; 29
(4) A government extension signifies that the website is an official 30
source of government information or services, helping to ensure that members 31
of the public have access to accurate and reliable information from trusted 32
sources; and 33
(5) Using a government extension reinforces government accountability 34
and transparency, as it clearly identifies official government entities and 35
their online presence. 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/25 HB1951
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1
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 1, Subchapter 1, is amended 2
to add an additional section to read as follows: 3
6-1-109. Public institutionally accredited postsecondary or higher 4
education institution websites — Use of authorized domain extension — 5
Definition. 6
(a) As used in this section, "public institutionally accredited 7
postsecondary or higher education institution" means a public postsecondary 8
or higher education institution that holds an institutional accreditation by 9
an agency on the United States Department of Education's list of 10
Institutional Accrediting Agencies as it existed on January 1, 2025. 11
(b) A public institutionally accredited postsecondary or higher 12
education institution shall use a ".edu" top level domain for: 13
(1) The website address for the website, if any, of the public 14
institutionally accredited postsecondary or higher education institution; and 15
(2) Any email addresses made available by the public 16
institutionally accredited postsecondary or higher education institution for 17
use by the: 18
(A) Public institutionally accredited postsecondary or 19
higher education institution; and 20
(B) Employees of the public institutionally accredited 21
postsecondary or higher education institution. 22
(c) A public institutionally accredited postsecondary or higher 23
education institution may operate a website that uses a sponsored top -level 24
domain that is not a ".edu" domain if: 25
(1) A reasonable person would not mistake the website as the 26
primary website of the public institutionally accredited postsecondary or 27
higher education institution; and 28
(2) The website of the public institutionally accredited 29
postsecondary or higher education institution is: 30
(A) Solely for internal use and not intended for use by 31
members of the public; 32
(B) Temporary and in use by the public institutionally 33
accredited postsecondary or higher education institution for a period of no 34
more than one (1) calendar year; 35
(C) Related to an event, program, or informational 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/25 HB1951
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campaign operated by the public institutionally accredited postsecondary or 1
higher education institution in partnership with another person or entity 2
that is not a governmental entity; or 3
(D) Related to a collegiate athletics program. 4
(d) The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board may authorize a 5
waiver of the requirements of subsection (b) of this section if: 6
(1) There are extraordinary circumstances under which use of an 7
".edu" top level domain extension would cause demonstrable harm to members of 8
the public or businesses; and 9
(2) A representative of the public institutionally accredited 10
postsecondary or higher education institution submits a written request to 11
the board that includes a justification for the waiver. 12
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 14, Chapter 1, Subchapter 1, is amended 14
to add an additional section to read as follows: 15
14-1-112. Municipal government — Use of authorized domain extension. 16
(a) A municipal government shall use a ".gov" sponsored top -level 17
domain for: 18
(1) The website address for the website, if any, of the 19
municipal government; and 20
(2) Any email addresses made available by the municipal 21
government for use by the: 22
(A) Municipal government; and 23
(B) Employees of the municipal government. 24
(b) A municipal government may operate a website that uses a sponsored 25
top-level domain that is not a ".gov" domain if: 26
(1) A reasonable person would not mistake the website as the 27
primary website of the municipal government; and 28
(2) The website of the municipal government is: 29
(A) Solely for internal use and not intended for use by 30
members of the public; 31
(B) Temporary and in use by the municipal government for a 32
period of no more than one (1) year; or 33
(C) Related to an event, program, or informational 34
campaign operated by the municipal government in partnership with another 35
person or entity that is not a governmental entity. 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/25 HB1951
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(c) The Legislative Council may authorize a waiver of the requirements 1
of subsection (a) of this section if: 2
(1) There are extraordinary circumstances under which use of a 3
".gov" sponsored top -level domain extension would cause demonstrable harm to 4
citizens or businesses; and 5
(2) A representative of the municipal government submits a 6
written request to the Legislative Council that includes a justification for 7
the waiver. 8
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SECTION 4. Arkansas Code Title 25, Chapter 1, Subchapter 1, is amended 10
to add an additional section to read as follows: 11
25-1-131. State agencies, boards, or commissions — Use of authorized 12
domain extension — Definition. 13
(a) As used in this section, "state agency, board, or commission" 14
means a state agency, board, or commission established by law, except for a 15
board or commission that primarily serves a public institutionally accredited 16
postsecondary or higher education institution and that makes available to 17
members email addresses with a ".edu" top -level domain. 18
(b) A state agency, board, or commission shall use a ".gov" or a 19
".mil" sponsored top -level domain for: 20
(1) The website address for the website, if any, of the state 21
agency, board, or commission; and 22
(2) Any email addresses made available by the state agency, 23
board, or commission for use by the: 24
(A) State agency, board, or commission; and 25
(B) Employees of the state agency, board, or commission. 26
(c) A state agency, board, or commission may operate a website that 27
uses a sponsored top -level domain that is not a ".gov" or a ".mil" domain if: 28
(1) A reasonable person would not mistake the website as the 29
primary website of the state agency, board, or commission; and 30
(2) The website of the state agency, board, or commission is: 31
(A) Solely for internal use and not intended for use by 32
members of the public; 33
(B) Temporary and in use by the state agency, board, or 34
commission for a period of no more than one (1) year; or 35
(C) Related to an event, program, or informational 36 As Engrossed: H4/3/25 HB1951
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campaign operated by the state agency, board, or commission in partnership 1
with another person or entity that is not a governmental entity. 2
(d) The Legislative Council may authorize a waiver of the requirements 3
of subsection (b) of this section if: 4
(1) There are extraordinary circumstances under which use of a 5
".gov" or a ".mil" top -level domain extension would cause demonstrable harm 6
to citizens or businesses; and 7
(2) The secretary, chair, or other principal of the state 8
agency, board, or commission submits a written request to the Legislative 9
Council that includes a justification for the waiver. 10
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SECTION 5. DO NOT CODIFY. Effective date. 12
This act is effective on and after June 1, 2026, except as to cities 13
and towns that have a population of fewer than ten thousand (10,000) 14
inhabitants, which will be required to comply with this act on and after 15
January 1, 2027. 16
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/s/A. Collins 18
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APPROVED: 4/21/25 21
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