Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 643 3
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By: Senator D. Sullivan 5
By: Representative McCollum 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR 9
PUBLIC UTILITIES; TO REQUIRE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITIES 10
TO REPORT TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL; AND FOR OTHER 11
PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY AND 16
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES; AND 17
TO REQUIRE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITIES TO 18
REPORT TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. 19
20
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 21
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative findings and intent. 23
(a) The General Assembly finds that: 24
(1) Arkansas residents continue to face economic hardships due 25
to spiraling inflation; 26
(2) Costs continue to rise for public utility ratepayers for 27
both electricity and natural gas, stretching family budgets to pay for 28
critical services in this state; 29
(3) Electric rates have increased four (4) times for many 30
Arkansas ratepayers since 2021; 31
(4) Natural gas rates increased by more than twenty -three 32
percent (23%) for Summit Utilities ratepayers in 2024; 33
(5) Public utilities must be good stewards of public utility 34
ratepayer funds and should be transparent with how public utility ratepayer 35
funds are spent; and 36 SB643
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(6) A utility owned by a governmental entity is mandated to 1
operate with transparency under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25 -2
19-101 et seq. 3
(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly that Arkansas takes 4
responsibility to ensure public utility rates are established with full 5
transparency and accountability. 6
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 23, Chapter 3, is amended to add an 8
additional subchapter to read as follows: 9
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Subchapter 8 — Transparency and Accountability of Public Utilities 11
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23-3-801. Definitions. 13
As used in this subchapter: 14
(1)(A) "Advertising" means the act of publishing, disseminating, 15
soliciting, or circulating written, online, video, or audio communication 16
intended to induce a person to patronize a product, service, business, or 17
industry or to promote a business’s brand. 18
(B) "Advertising" includes without limitation the act of: 19
(i) Otherwise emphasizing desirable qualities about 20
a product, service, business, or industry; or 21
(ii) Influencing public opinion with respect to 22
legislative, administrative, or electoral matters. 23
(C) "Advertising" does not include public communication: 24
(i) Required by law, rule, or order; 25
(ii) The primary purpose of which is to communicate: 26
(a) Service interruptions, safety measures, or 27
emergency conditions; or 28
(b) Employment opportunities with a public 29
utility; or 30
(iii) Directly related to a program approved by the 31
Arkansas Public Service Commission regarding income -based service, special 32
rates, or energy conservation. 33
(D) "Advertising" includes a communication if any portion 34
of the communication is “advertising” as defined in this section; 35
(2) "Compensation" means salary, bonus, benefits, or other 36 SB643
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consideration of any value; 1
(3) "Covered business unit" means a division, department, or 2
other organizational employee group within a public utility that performs 3
activities described under this subchapter; 4
(4) "Electric utility" means a public utility, an investor -owned 5
utility, an electric cooperative, or any private power supplier or marketer 6
that is engaged in the business of supplying electrical energy to the 7
ultimate consumer or any customer classes within this state; 8
(5) "Expense" means any payment, expenditure, compensation, or 9
costs; 10
(6) "Gas utility" means a person, or any combination of persons, 11
including a lessee, trustee, or receiver of a utility that: 12
(A) Owns or operates, for compensation in this state, 13
equipment or facilities for storing, transmitting, distributing, selling, or 14
furnishing natural gas to or for the public at retail; and 15
(B) Is regulated by the commission; 16
(7) "Governmental utility" means a utility that is required to 17
make its records available for inspection and copy under the Freedom of 18
Information Act of 1967, § 25 -19-101 et seq.; 19
(8)(A) "Political influence activity" means an expense for the 20
purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the possible: 21
(i) Adoption, repeal, or modification of federal, 22
state, or local rules, regulations, legislation, or ordinances; 23
(ii) Election, recall, appointment, or removal of a 24
public official; 25
(iii) Adoption or rejection of initiatives or 26
referenda; 27
(iv) Approval, modification, or revocation of a 28
public utility franchise; 29
(v) Public opinion with respect to federal, state, 30
or local: 31
(a) Adoption, repeal, or modification of 32
rules, regulations, legislation, or ordinances; 33
(b) Election, recall, appointment, or removal 34
of a public official; 35
(c) Adoption or rejection of initiatives or 36 SB643
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referenda; 1
(d) Approval, modification, or revocation of a 2
public utility franchise; or 3
(e) Public utility rate setting; or 4
(vi) Decisions of federal, state, or local 5
government officials. 6
(B) "Political influence activity" includes an activity 7
undertaken in support of activities listed in subdivisions (8)(A)(i) — (vi) 8
of this section, including research, analysis, preparation, or planning or 9
any other related costs identified by the commission. 10
(C) "Political influence activity" does not include: 11
(i) An appearance before the commission when the 12
public utility is the applicant in an uncontested proceeding; or 13
(ii) An appearance before a legislative committee, 14
the commission, or a state agency when the public utility’s participation has 15
been specifically requested in writing by the chair of the legislative 16
committee, chair of the commission, or head of the state agency; 17
(9)(A) "Public utility" means: 18
(i) An electric utility; or 19
(ii) A gas utility. 20
(B) "Public utility" does not include a governmental 21
utility; and 22
(10) "Public utility affiliate" means an entity that is related 23
to the public utility as a subsidiary, parent, or sibling corporation, 24
including without limitation by shareholding or other means of control. 25
26
23-3-802. Public utility rate transparency and disclosure — Political 27
and investor-related expenses. 28
(a)(1) On or before January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, each 29
public utility with more than three thousand (3,000) ratepayers shall provide 30
a report to the Legislative Council. 31
(2) The report required under subdivision (a)(1) of this section 32
shall include the expenses from the previous calendar year of any direct or 33
indirect costs that are recovered through rates of a public utility for: 34
(A) Membership, dues, sponsorships, or contributions to a 35
trade association if any portion of those contributions supports political 36 SB643
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influence activities or advertising; 1
(B) Charitable giving, including contributions to 2
organizations qualified under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) or 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(4), 3
as they existed on January 1, 2025, and any expenses related to charitable 4
giving; 5
(C) Political influence activities; 6
(D) Advertising; 7
(E) Any compensation for an employee of a public utility, 8
if any portion of that compensation is used for attempts by the employee to 9
influence the decision of federal, state, or local government officials; 10
(F) Contributions to a political candidate, political 11
party, campaign committee, issue committee, or independent expenditure 12
committee or other political expenses; 13
(G) Litigation regarding existing or proposed federal, 14
state, or local rules, regulations, legislation, or ordinances; 15
(H) Any costs, including marketing, administration, 16
customer service, or other costs, for products or services not regulated by 17
the Arkansas Public Service Commission; 18
(I) Penalties or fines, including tax penalties or fines, 19
issued against a public utility; 20
(J) Travel, lodging, or food and beverage expenses for a 21
public utility’s board of directors and officers or the board of directors 22
and officers of a public utility affiliate; 23
(K) Any owned, leased, or chartered aircraft for the 24
public utility’s board of directors and officers or the board of directors 25
and officers of a public utility affiliate; 26
(L) Investor relations; and 27
(M) Annual compensation that is in excess of the current 28
annual compensation of the Governor for an individual, including an employee 29
of the public utility, a member of the public utility’s board of directors or 30
officers, or a member of the board of directors or officers of a public 31
utility affiliate. 32
(b) The report required under subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall 33
include without limitation: 34
(1) An itemized list of all expenses associated with activities 35
described under subdivision (a)(2) of this section, including any expenses 36 SB643
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paid to: 1
(A) A vendor, including a separate line item for each 2
payment to a vendor for activities described under subdivision (a)(2) of this 3
section; 4
(B) A trade association, if any portion of those expenses 5
supports political influence activities or advertising; 6
(C) An organization qualified under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) 7
or 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(4), as they existed on January 1, 2025; 8
(D)(i) A public utility employee in the form of 9
compensation or reimbursement. 10
(ii) For each employee listed under subdivision 11
(b)(1)(D)(i) of this section, the list shall include: 12
(a) The employee’s job title; 13
(b) A job description sufficient to describe 14
the employee’s responsibilities; 15
(c) Each activity described under subdivision 16
(a)(2) of this section in which the employee engaged; 17
(d) A description sufficient to describe the 18
employee's nature of that work; 19
(e) The total annual compensation for the 20
employee; 21
(f) The percentage of annual compensation paid 22
for work associated with the activities described under subdivision (a)(2) of 23
this section; 24
(g) The percentage of annual compensation 25
recoverable from ratepayers; and 26
(h) All uniform system of account codes to 27
which compensation was recorded for the employee; and 28
(E) Public utility affiliates, including a separate line 29
item for each payment to a public utility affiliate for activities described 30
under subdivision (a)(2) of this section; 31
(2) A list of all expenses paid to vendors; and 32
(3)(A) A list of covered business units of the public utility. 33
(B) For each covered business unit, the public utility 34
shall include a list of employees who work in that covered business unit. 35
(C) For each employee, the public utility shall include: 36 SB643
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(i) The employee’s job title; 1
(ii) A job description sufficient to describe the 2
employee’s responsibilities; and 3
(iii) Whether or not the employee conducted an 4
activity that is described under subdivision (a)(2) of this section. 5
(c)(1) For an employee who conducted an activity described under 6
subdivision (a)(2) of this section, the report required under subdivision 7
(a)(1) of this section shall list: 8
(A) Each activity described in subdivision (a)(2) of this 9
section in which the employee engaged; 10
(B) A description sufficient to describe the nature of 11
that work; 12
(C) The total annual compensation paid for work associated 13
with the activities described under subdivision (a)(2) of this section; 14
(D) The percentage of annual compensation recoverable from 15
ratepayers; and 16
(E) All uniform system of account codes to which 17
compensation was recorded for the employee. 18
(2) An itemized list required under subdivision (c)(1) of this 19
section shall include: 20
(A) The billing amount; 21
(B) The billing date; 22
(C) The identity of the payee; 23
(D) An explanation of the expense sufficient to describe 24
its purpose; and 25
(E) Any other itemized information deemed relevant by the 26
Legislative Council. 27
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