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Arkansas Senate Bill SB417

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB417 Compare Versions

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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
2-Act 402 of the Regular Session
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43 State of Arkansas 1
54 95th General Assembly A Bill 2
65 Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 417 3
76 4
87 By: Senator J. Dotson 5
98 By: Representative Maddox 6
109 7
1110 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1211 AN ACT TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS RELATED TO HIGHER 9
1312 EDUCATION; TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT FOR AFFIRMATIVE 10
1413 ACTION PROGRAMS AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION; 11
1514 TO AMEND CERTAIN LAWS RELATED TO REPORTING AND 12
1615 SERVICES BY INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION; TO 13
1716 AMEND LAWS RELATED TO CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, 14
1817 PERSONNEL, LAND, AND SERVICES OF INSTITUTIONS OF 15
1918 HIGHER EDUCATION; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 16
2019 17
2120 18
2221 Subtitle 19
2322 TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS RELATED TO HIGHER 20
2423 EDUCATION. 21
2524 22
2625 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 23
2726 24
2827 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6-60-703(b)(1)(H), concerning the inclusion 25
2928 of affirmative action program summaries in the Comprehensive Arkansas Higher 26
3029 Education Annual Report, is repealed. 27
3130 (H) Affirmative action programs summaries, § 6 -63-103; 28
3231 29
3332 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 6-60-703(b)(2) and (3), concerning the 30
3433 contents of the Comprehensive Arkansas Higher Education Annual Report 31
3534 biennially and every five (5) years, is amended to read as follows: 32
3635 (2) Biennially, each even -numbered year: 33
3736 (A) A financial condition report, § 6 -61-222; and 34
3837 (B) Changes to affirmative action program plans, § 6 -63-35
3938 103; and 36 SB417
4039
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4241 (C) Economic development goals and educational efforts, § 1
4342 6-61-207; and 2
4443 (3) Every five (5) years, beginning in 2015: 3
4544 (A) Minority retention plans, § 6 -61-122; and 4
4645 (B) Affirmative action program plans, § 6 -63-103(c). 5
4746 6
4847 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -61-141 is repealed. 7
4948 6-61-141. Duplication of services. 8
5049 An institution of higher education that has its main campus, satellite 9
5150 campus, or center located within a twenty -five-mile radius of another main 10
5251 campus of an institution of higher education shall enter into a written 11
5352 agreement with that institution of higher education that shall address 12
5453 duplication of services between the institutions of higher education. 13
5554 14
5655 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -61-221(d)(2), concerning the inclusion of 15
5756 reporting of graduates requiring postsecondary remediation within the 16
5857 Comprehensive Arkansas Higher Education Annual Report, is amended to read as 17
5958 follows: 18
6059 (2) The reports developed under this section shall be prepared 19
6160 on or before October 1 each year and include the cost of remediation for each 20
6261 state-supported institution of higher education, which shall be submitted to 21
6362 the Division of Higher Education according to standards developed by the 22
6463 Division of Higher Education and shall include for each state -supported 23
6564 institution of higher education: 24
6665 (A) The amount of institutional revenue spent on 25
6766 remediation; 26
6867 (B) The total general revenue subsidy spent on 27
6968 remediation; 28
7069 (C) The total institutional expenditure for remediation; 29
7170 and 30
7271 (D) The general revenue percentage of total expenditures 31
7372 for remediation. 32
7473 33
7574 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 61, Subchapter 16, is 34
7675 repealed. 35
7776 6-61-1601. Findings. 36 SB417
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8079 The General Assembly finds that: 1
8180 (1) There is a need to create and promote a comprehensive energy 2
8281 summary and report for the state. 3
8382 (2) The collaboration of all state -supported institutions of 4
8483 higher education that participate in energy research activities is vital to 5
8584 ensure an orderly and effective set of data and other research necessary to 6
8685 promote energy conservation and develop alternative energy sources on a 7
8786 statewide level. 8
8887 9
8988 6-61-1602. Institutional Energy Research Committee — Creation — 10
9089 Purpose. 11
9190 (a) The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall coordinate 12
9291 the efforts of all state -supported institutions that participate in energy 13
9392 research activities in the development of the Arkansas Energy Summary and 14
9493 Report. 15
9594 (b) The Division of Higher Education, in collaboration with state -16
9695 supported institutions of higher education that participate in energy 17
9796 research activities, shall appoint at least one (1) member of the research 18
9897 faculty at each state -supported institution of higher education that 19
9998 participates in energy research activities to serve on the Institutional 20
10099 Energy Research Committee. 21
101100 (c)(1) The purpose of the committee is to coordinate ongoing energy 22
102101 research efforts taking place at each state -supported institution of higher 23
103102 education and create the Arkansas Energy Summary and Report. 24
104103 (2) The committee shall modify the Arkansas Energy Summary and 25
105104 Report as necessary to ensure it is updated with the latest energy research 26
106105 available. 27
107106 28
108107 6-61-1603. Arkansas Energy Summary and Report. 29
109108 (a) The Institutional Energy Research Committee shall create and adopt 30
110109 the Arkansas Energy Summary and Report that includes without limitation the: 31
111110 (1) Energy production and usage in Arkansas, including: 32
112111 (A) Current sources of energy in Arkansas by percentage 33
113112 and cost; 34
114113 (B) Current energy demand and percentage of use of each 35
115114 energy source, including the production capacity of each energy source; 36 SB417
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118117 (C) Projected energy use for the next: 1
119118 (i) Ten (10) years; and 2
120119 (ii) Twenty (20) years; 3
121120 (D) Current and projected cost per kilowatt of additional 4
122121 energy production capabilities for the following energy sources: 5
123122 (i) Coal; 6
124123 (ii) Hydroelectric; 7
125124 (iii) Natural gas; 8
126125 (iv) Nuclear; 9
127126 (v) Solar; 10
128127 (vi) Wind; 11
129128 (vii) Lignite; and 12
130129 (viii) Other; and 13
131130 (E) Environmental challenges and the impact of each energy 14
132131 source listed in subdivision (a)(1)(D) of this section; 15
133132 (2) Energy production capacity compared to projected energy 16
134133 growth; 17
135134 (3) Economical methods for additional energy sources into the 18
136135 market; and 19
137136 (4) Current and possible tax incentives or governmental policies 20
138137 to promote an increase in energy production capacity for state energy 21
139138 consumption or export to other states. 22
140139 (b) The committee shall submit the Arkansas Energy Summary and Report 23
141140 and relevant data, research, and findings to the Joint Committee on Energy no 24
142141 later than July 1, 2014. 25
143142 26
144143 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -62-314 is amended to read as follows: 27
145144 6-62-314. Construction project exemption. 28
146145 The following state-supported institutions of higher education shall be 29
147146 exempt as allowed by § 19 -4-1415(b)(5) for construction projects exceeding 30
148147 five million dollars ($5,000,000) if they have adopted policies and 31
149148 procedures in compliance with state law involving the awarding and oversight 32
150149 of the contracts for design and construction services: 33
151150 (1) Henderson State University; 34
152151 (2) Southern Arkansas University; 35
153152 (3) University of Central Arkansas; 36 SB417
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156155 (4) National Park College Arkansas Tech University ; and 1
157156 (5) Northwest Arkansas Community College State-supported two-2
158157 year colleges; and 3
159158 (6) Arkansas Tech University . 4
160159 5
161160 SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 6 -62-606(b), concerning the review by the 6
162161 Building Authority Division of transfer and lease agreements, is amended to 7
163162 read as follows: 8
164163 (b) In proceeding under this subchapter, it shall not be necessary for 9
165164 the board to comply with any other laws relating to the procurement, 10
166165 disposal, or leasing of property, including without limitation laws 11
167166 concerning the appointment of appraisers in connection therewith, laws 12
168167 restricting the obligation of funds for construction, and laws dealing with 13
169168 the improvement of historic structures , except that the transfer and the 14
170169 lease agreement shall be subject to the review and approval of the Building 15
171170 Authority Division. 16
172171 17
173172 SECTION 8. Arkansas Code § 6 -63-103 is repealed. 18
174173 6-63-103. Affirmative action programs — Plans — Annual reports. 19
175174 (a)(1) Each state-supported institution of higher education shall 20
176175 prepare an affirmative action program for the recruitment of African -21
177176 Americans and other members of minorities for faculty and staff positions and 22
178177 for enrollment as students. 23
179178 (2) Affirmative action plans shall be prepared on a continuing 24
180179 basis for future five -year periods. 25
181180 (b)(1) Each state-supported institution of higher education shall 26
182181 prepare annually a summary report on the steps that have been taken to reach 27
183182 the goals of the plan. 28
184183 (2) The report shall: 29
185184 (A) Include information on the progress made by each 30
186185 institution for the various levels of employment within the institution; and 31
187186 (B) Be presented in a table format limited to no more than 32
188187 five (5) pages. 33
189188 (c) Copies of the five -year plan and annual reports summaries of each 34
190189 institution of higher education shall be included in the Comprehensive 35
191190 Arkansas Higher Education Annual Report, filed with the Governor, the 36 SB417
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194193 Division of Higher Education, the president and board of trustees of the 1
195194 institution, the board of visitors of the institution, if applicable, and the 2
196195 House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education. 3
197196 (d) In carrying out the affirmative action plans, each institution of 4
198197 higher education shall provide for a part -time or full-time employee to 5
199198 assist the institution in the recruitment of African -Americans and other 6
200199 members of minorities for faculty and staff positions and for enrollment as 7
201200 students. 8
202201 9
203202 SECTION 9. Arkansas Code § 6 -63-321 is amended to read as follows: 10
204203 6-63-321. Overtime, incentives, and differentials for direct and 11
205204 indirect unclassified patient care personnel at University of Arkansas for 12
206205 Medical Sciences. 13
207206 (a) All unclassified positions employed to provide or support patient 14
208207 care at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences are eligible for 15
209208 overtime at the rate of one and one -half (1½) times their regular hourly 16
210209 rate. 17
211210 (b) In addition to overtime, unclassified direct and indirect patient 18
212211 care employees scheduled to work shifts outside of normal operating schedules 19
213212 may be eligible to receive up to twenty -four percent (24%) of the hourly rate 20
214213 paid as a shift differential. 21
215214 (c)(1) All unclassified positions employed to provide or support 22
216215 patient care at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences shall be 23
217216 eligible to receive incentive pay not to exceed one and two -tenths (1.2) 24
218217 times their base hourly rate. 25
219218 (2) All unclassified employees required to work in specialty 26
220219 areas shall be eligible to receive up to ten percent (10%) of the hourly rate 27
221220 paid as a specialty differential while working in such areas. 28
222221 (d)(1) When overtime, shift differentials, standby pay, incentive pay, 29
223222 or specialty differentials are provided to employees as stated in this 30
224223 section, the total may exceed the line item maximum salaries for those 31
225224 positions. 32
226225 (2) This section does not apply to the positions of Patient Care 33
227226 Administrator, Associate Administrator, or Assistant Administrator of Patient 34
228227 Care. 35
229228 (e)(1) In addition, the Board of Trustees of the University of 36 SB417
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232231 Arkansas for Medical Sciences may also make special compensation allowances 1
233232 available, in such amounts as the board may determine or justify equitable in 2
234233 view of the current requirements for registered nurses in the Clinical 3
235234 Programs of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the 4
236235 availability of registered nurses for employment in the Little Rock 5
237236 metropolitan area. 6
238237 (2) However, the special compensation allowances approved by the 7
239238 board for a single individual shall not exceed the state line item maximum by 8
240239 more than twenty percent (20%) for those positions. 9
241240 10
242241 SECTION 10. Arkansas Code § 6 -64-218 is amended to read as follows: 11
243242 6-64-218. Sale of donated land. 12
244243 (a) The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas may sell any 13
245244 land donated to the University of Arkansas by individuals. 14
246245 (b) When the purchase price is paid to the treasurer of the 15
247246 university, the president and secretary of the board or designee shall 16
248247 execute a deed conveying the lands to the purchaser. 17
249248 18
250249 SECTION 11. Arkansas Code § 19 -4-1415(c)(2), concerning the 19
251250 requirement for institutions of higher education to submit a summary of 20
252251 contract amendments to the Legislative Council, is amended to read as 21
253252 follows: 22
254253 (2)(A) The institutions of higher education stated in 23
255254 subdivision (b)(5) of this section shall perform all duties and 24
256255 responsibilities stated in subdivision (c)(1) of this section under policies 25
257256 and procedures adopted by their governing boards. 26
258257 (B) They shall submit a summary of all contract amendments 27
259258 to the Legislative Council. 28
260259 29
261260 SECTION 12. Arkansas Code § 21 -4-203(12), concerning the definition of 30
262261 "state agencies" under the Uniform Attendance and Leave Policy Act, is 31
263262 amended to read as follows: 32
264263 (12) “State agencies” means all agencies, departments, boards, 33
265264 commissions, bureaus, councils, state-supported institutions of higher 34
266265 education, or other agencies except the following excluded agencies or 35
267266 positions within agencies: 36 SB417
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270269 (A) The elected constitutional officers of this state and 1
271270 their employees; 2
272271 (B) The General Assembly and its employees, including 3
273272 employees of the Bureau of Legislative Research and Arkansas Legislative 4
274273 Audit; 5
275274 (C) Members of the Supreme Court, members of the Court of 6
276275 Appeals, the Administrative Office of the Courts, circuit courts, and 7
277276 prosecuting attorneys, but not including deputy prosecuting attorneys; 8
278277 (D) The Arkansas Department of Transportation; and 9
279278 (E) All administrative, academic, or other nonclassified 10
280279 employees of the state-supported State-supported institutions of higher 11
281280 education; 12
282281 13
283282 SECTION 13. Arkansas Code § 21 -4-503 is amended to read as follows: 14
284283 21-4-503. Applicability of subchapter. 15
285284 (a) The provisions of §§ 21 -4-501 and 21-4-504 apply to: 16
286285 (1) Employees of the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission; 17
287286 (2) Employees of the Arkansas Department of Transportation; and 18
288287 (3) Classified employees of state -supported institutions of 19
289288 higher education; and 20
290289 (4) Employees of all agencies of this state whether in the 21
291290 executive, legislative, or judicial branch of government. 22
292291 (b) The provisions of this section or any amendments to this section 23
293292 shall not change any employee benefits or agreements established under § 6 -24
294293 57-103, § 6-58-105, or § 6-59-105. 25
295294 26
296295 SECTION 14. Arkansas Code § 21 -4-505 is amended to read as follows: 27
297296 21-4-505. Compensation for unused sick leave of nonclassified employees 28
298297 of state-supported institutions of higher education — Calculation for unused 29
299298 sick leave. 30
300299 (a) At its discretion, a state -supported institution of higher 31
301300 education may compensate a nonclassified an employee of the state -supported 32
302301 institution of higher education for accumulated unused sick leave by 33
303302 providing to the nonclassified employee the same compensation for accumulated 34
304303 unused sick leave provided to a classified employee of the state -supported 35
305304 institution of higher education under § 21-4-501. 36 SB417
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308307 (b) Compensation for accumulated unused sick leave under this section 1
309308 shall not be used by the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System in the 2
310309 calculation of final average compensation under § 24 -4-101. 3
311310 (c) Unused sick leave for nonclassified employees of state-supported 4
312311 institutions of higher education shall accrue at the same rate as unused sick 5
313312 leave accrues under § 21-4-207 for classified employees for calculations made 6
314313 under this section. 7
315314 8
316315 SECTION 15. Arkansas Code § 22 -2-114(c), concerning exemption from 9
317316 regulation and supervision of leasing responsibilities by the Building 10
318317 Authority Division, is amended to read as follows: 11
319318 (c) This section shall not apply to an institution of higher 12
320319 education, the State Highway Commission, the Arkansas Department of 13
321320 Transportation, or the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission. 14
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