Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 956 of the Regular Session
Act 956 of the Regular Session
*ANS402* 04-15-2025 09:15:44 ANS402
State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H4/15/25 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 491 3
4
By: Senator K. Hammer 5
By: Representative Achor 6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO REQUIRE A VENDOR THAT CONTRACTS WITH THE 9
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS DIVISION TO SUBMIT DATA FOR 10
VERIFICATION BY AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT; TO IMPOSE A 11
CIVIL PENALTY ON A VENDOR THAT PROVIDES INACCURATE 12
DATA; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER 13
PURPOSES. 14
15
16
Subtitle 17
TO REQUIRE A VENDOR THAT CONTRACTS WITH 18
THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS DIVISION TO SUBMIT 19
DATA FOR VERIFICATION BY AN INDEPENDENT 20
AUDIT; TO IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY ON A 21
VENDOR THAT PROVIDES INACCURATE DATA; 22
AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. 23
24
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 25
26
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 21 -5-404(10), concerning the powers, 27
functions, and duties of the State Board of Finance concerning contracts with 28
qualified vendors, is amended to read as follows: 29
(10)(A) To direct the office to contract with qualified vendors, 30
as defined by the board, offering the plan options under the program as 31
prescribed by the board without regard to § 19 -11-228 or other statutes 32
requiring competitive bidding. 33
(B) Each contract shall : 34
(i) be Be for a term of at least one (1) year but 35
may be made automatically renewable from term to term in the absence of 36 As Engrossed: H4/15/25 SB491
2 04-15-2025 09:15:44 ANS402
notice of termination by either party; and 1
(ii) Require a qualified vendor to agree to 2
verification of the vendor's data under § 21 -5-425; and 3
4
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 21, Chapter 5, Subchapter 4, is amended 5
to add an additional section to read as follows: 6
21-5-425. Verification of data of vendor — Independent audit process — 7
Civil penalty — Rules. 8
(a) A vendor that contracts with the Employee Benefits Division under 9
this subchapter and a fiscal impact is required shall agree to verify the 10
accuracy of the data the vendor provides to the state. 11
(b) The division shall not contract with a vendor for services for the 12
division that does not agree to submit to an independent audit process to 13
verify the accuracy of the vendor's data. 14
(c) The Director of the Employee Benefits Division: 15
(1) Shall develop an independent audit process to verify the 16
accuracy of the data a vendor provides to the state; and 17
(2) May request a vendor submit to an independent audit process. 18
(d) A vendor that is found through the independent audit process under 19
subdivision (c)(2) of this section to have provided inaccurate data to the 20
state is subject to: 21
(1) A civil penalty of: 22
(A) Five hundred dollars ($500) for a first violation; and 23
(B) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent 24
violation; and 25
(2) Loss of licensure or authorization to operate in this state. 26
(e) The director shall promulgate rules to implement this section. 27
28
SECTION 3. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 29
General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that using accurate data is 30
indispensable when considering the fiscal impact of legislation for this 31
state; that vendors may not provide accurate data and the state needs an 32
independent audit process to enable the state to verify the accuracy of 33
vendor data; and that this act is immediately necessary because it is vital 34
to know the fiscal impact of the passage of legislation to protect the 35
residents of this state. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and 36 As Engrossed: H4/15/25 SB491
3 04-15-2025 09:15:44 ANS402
this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public 1
peace, health, and safety shall become effective on: 2
(1) The date of its approval by the Governor; 3
(2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, 4
the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the 5
bill; or 6
(3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is 7
overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto. 8
9
/s/K. Hammer 10
11
12
APPROVED: 4/21/25 13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35