Arkansas 2025 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB368 Draft / Bill

Filed 03/04/2025

                    Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law. 
*CRH103* 	03/03/2025 4:19:01 PM CRH103 
State of Arkansas     1 
95th General Assembly A Bill     2 
Regular Session, 2025  	SENATE BILL 368 3 
 4 
By: Senator Irvin 5 
By: Representative M. Shepherd 6 
 7 
For An Act To Be Entitled 8 
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MINERAL, TIMBER, 9 
AND OTHER RESOURCES ON STATE LANDS; TO REDUCE 10 
MEMBERSHIP OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE; TO 11 
AMEND THE STATE AGENCIES REQUIRED TO RECEIVE 12 
NOTIFICATION RELATED TO LEASES AND PERMITS FOR 13 
MINERAL, TIMBER, AND OTHER RESOURCES ON STATE LANDS; 14 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 15 
 16 
 17 
Subtitle 18 
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING MINERAL, 19 
TIMBER, AND OTHER RESOURCES ON STATE 20 
LANDS; TO REDUCE MEMBERSHIP OF THE 21 
NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE; AND TO 22 
AMEND THE NOTIFICATION RELATED TO LEASES 23 
AND PERMITS. 24 
 25 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 26 
 27 
 SECTION 1.  Arkansas Code § 22 -5-804(a), concerning the membership of 28 
the Natural Resources Committee, is amended to read as follows: 29 
 (a)(1)  The Natural Resources Committee is created and shall be 30 
composed of the following members: 31 
 (A)  The Secretary of the Department of Finance and 32 
Administration or his or her designee ; 33 
 (B)  The Director of Production and Conservation of the Oil 34 
and Gas Commission Secretary of the Department of Energy and Environment or 35 
his or her designee; 36    	SB368 
 
 	2 	03/03/2025 4:19:01 PM CRH103 
 (C)  The State Geologist; 1 
 (D) The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture or his 2 
or her designee; 3 
 (E)(D) The Commissioner of State Lands or his or her 4 
designee; 5 
 (F)(E) The Executive Secretary of the Arkansas State Game 6 
and Fish Commission or his or her designee ; 7 
 (G)(F) The Secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage, 8 
and Tourism or his or her designee ; 9 
 (H)  The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality; 10 
and 11 
 (I)(G) The Chair of the Arkansas Natural Heritage 12 
Commission or his or her designee . 13 
 (2)  A member of the committee may designate a person within the 14 
member's organization to attend meetings and conduct committee business on 15 
the member's behalf. 16 
 17 
 SECTION 2.  Arkansas Code § 22 -5-807(a), concerning notice to and 18 
recommendations from interested agencies related to leases and permits on 19 
state lands related to mineral, timber, and other resources, is amended to 20 
read as follows: 21 
 (a)  When an application for a lease or permit is filed with the 22 
Commissioner of State Lands for the taking or production of any sand, gravel, 23 
oil, natural gas, casinghead gas, coal, or other minerals or the severance of 24 
any timber or logs from state -owned lands, the Commissioner of State Lands 25 
shall so notify the Office of the State Geologist, the Arkansas Natural 26 
Resources Commission, the Oil and Gas Commission, the Arkansas State Game and 27 
Fish Commission, the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, the Division 28 
of Environmental Quality, the Arkansas Forestry Commission, the Department of 29 
Energy and Environment, and any other appropriate state agency that has or 30 
may have a particular interest in the area proposed to be covered by the 31 
lease or permit. 32 
 33 
 34 
 35 
 36