Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 748 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 521 3
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By: Senator B. Davis 5
By: Representative Unger 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LAW ENFORCEMENT 9
TRAINING REIMBURSEMENT; TO EXTEND THE TIME PERIOD 10
AFTER COMPLETION OF TRAINING FOR WHICH REIMBURSEMENT 11
IS REQUIRED; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LAW 16
ENFORCEMENT TRAINING REIMBURSEMENT; AND 17
TO EXTEND THE TIME PERIOD AFTER 18
COMPLETION OF TRAINING FOR WHICH 19
REIMBURSEMENT IS REQUIRED. 20
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 12 -9-209 is amended to read as follows: 24
12-9-209. Reimbursement for training costs or expenses. 25
(a)(1) If a county, city, town, or state agency law enforcement agency 26
pays the costs or expenses for training a law enforcement officer at a state-27
funded or municipally operated law enforcement training academy and another 28
county, city, town, or state agency law enforcement agency employs that law 29
enforcement officer within eighteen (18) twenty-four (24) months after 30
completion of the training in a position requiring a certificate of training 31
from a state-funded or municipally operated law enforcement training academy, 32
the county, city, town, or state agency law enforcement agency that employs 33
the law enforcement officer, at the time of employing the law enforcement 34
officer, shall reimburse the county, city, town, or state agency law 35
enforcement agency for all or a portion of the costs or expenses incurred by 36 SB521
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the county, city, town, or state agency law enforcement agency for the 1
training of the law enforcement officer at the state -funded or municipally 2
operated law enforcement training academy, unless the law enforcement officer 3
has been terminated by the county, city, town, or state agency law 4
enforcement agency that paid the costs or expenses of training, in which case 5
no reimbursement is required from the county, city, town, or state agency law 6
enforcement agency employing the law enforcement officer. 7
(2) Reimbursement may be sought only from the first county, 8
city, town, or state agency by each successive law enforcement agency that 9
employed the law enforcement officer after the county, city, town, or state 10
agency first law enforcement agency paid the costs or expenses of training 11
within the twenty-four-month period after the date of the law enforcement 12
officer's completion of training . 13
(3) Reimbursement shall include any salary, travel expenses, 14
food, lodging, or other costs , including nonrecoverable equipment costs, 15
required to be paid by the county, city, town, or state agency, law 16
enforcement agency as follows: 17
(A) If the law enforcement officer is employed within two 18
(2) twelve (12) months after completion of the training, the employing law 19
enforcement agency shall reimburse the total of the costs or expenses of 20
training; or 21
(B) If the law enforcement officer is employed more than 22
two (2) twelve (12) months but not more than six (6) twenty-four (24) months 23
after completion of the training, the employing law enforcement agency shall 24
reimburse eighty percent (80%) fifty percent (50%) of the costs or expenses 25
of training; 26
(C) If the law enforcement officer is employed more than 27
six (6) months but not more than ten (10) months after completion of the 28
training, the employing agency shall reimburse sixty percent (60%) of the 29
costs or expenses of training; 30
(D) If the law enforcement officer is employed more than 31
ten (10) months but not more than fourteen (14) months after completion of 32
the training, the employing agency shall reimburse forty percent (40%) of the 33
costs or expenses of training; or 34
(E) If the law enforcement officer is employed more than 35
fourteen (14) months but not more than eighteen (18) months after completion 36 SB521
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of the training, the employing agency shall reimburse twenty percent (20%) of 1
the costs or expenses of training . 2
(b)(1) A request for reimbursement shall: 3
(A) Be in writing; 4
(B) Contain an itemized list of costs to be reimbursed; 5
and 6
(C) Be made by the original employing law enforcement 7
agency to the subsequent employing law enforcement agency within six (6) 8
months of the date on which the law enforcement officer was hired by the 9
subsequent law enforcement agency. 10
(2) If any county, city, town, or state agency law enforcement 11
agency that employs a law enforcement officer whose costs or expenses of 12
training were paid by another county, city, town, or state agency law 13
enforcement agency fails to make reimbursement for the costs or expenses of 14
training as required in subsection (a) of this section, the county, city, 15
town, or state agency law enforcement agency entitled to reimbursement shall 16
notify the Treasurer of State. 17
(2)(3) The Treasurer of State shall then withhold the amount of 18
the reimbursement due for training the law enforcement officer from the 19
county or municipal aid of the employing county, city, town, or state agency 20
law enforcement agency or from funds appropriated to the employing state 21
agency and shall remit the amount to the county, city, town, or state agency 22
law enforcement agency that is entitled to the reimbursement under the 23
provisions of this section. 24
(c)(1) A private community with a population of more than five 25
thousand (5,000) persons that employs certified law enforcement officers is 26
entitled to reimbursement under this section and may remit the reimbursed 27
costs or expenses under subsection (a) of this section to an entity 28
contracting with the private community that paid the training costs or 29
expenses of the certified law enforcement officers. 30
(d) A law enforcement agency that employs on a permanent basis a law 31
enforcement officer who has completed training at a state -funded or 32
municipally-operated law enforcement training academy shall comply with this 33
section. 34
(2)(e) As used in this subsection, section: 35
(1) "Law enforcement agency" means the same as defined in § 12 -36 SB521
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9-102; and 1
(2) "private Private community” means the same as defined in § 2
14-14-814. 3
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 12 -9-602(a)(1), concerning the employment 5
or appointment, or separation from employment or appointment of a law 6
enforcement officer, is amended to read as follows: 7
(a)(1)(A) An employing law enforcement agency shall immediately notify 8
the Division of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, in a manner adopted 9
by the division, of the employment or appointment, or separation from 10
employment or appointment, of any law enforcement officer. 11
(B) Upon notification by an employing law enforcement 12
agency of employment or appointment of any law enforcement officer, if the 13
law enforcement officer completed required training from a state -funded or 14
municipally-operated law enforcement training academy within the last twenty -15
four (24) months, the division shall notify the previous employing law 16
enforcement agency that paid the costs or expenses for training the law 17
enforcement officer. 18
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SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This act is effective on and after January 20
1, 2026. 21
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APPROVED: 4/17/25 24
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