Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
*JAR037* 01/15/2025 1:29:52 PM JAR037
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 72 3
4
By: Joint Budget Committee 5
6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO MAKE AN APPROPRIATION FOR PERSONAL SERVICES 9
AND OPERATING EXPENSES FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 10
OF THE COURTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 11
2026; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
13
14
Subtitle 15
AN ACT FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF 16
THE COURTS APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025 -17
2026 FISCAL YEAR. 18
19
20
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 21
22
SECTION 1. REGULAR SALARIES - OPERATIONS. There is hereby established 23
for the Administrative Office of the Courts for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, 24
the following maximum number of regular employees. 25
26
Maximum Annual 27
Maximum Salary Rate 28
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 29
No. Code Title Employees 2025-2026 30
(1) Q004N AOC DIRECTOR 1 GRADE SE04 31
(2) Q260C AOC COURT APPLICATIONS BUSINESS DIR 1 GRADE IT12 32
(3) D143C AOC JUDICIAL CHIEF IT SECURITY ARCHITECT 1 GRADE IT11 33
(4) Q088C AOC COMPUTER SUPPORT MANAGER 1 GRADE IT09 34
(5) Q219C AOC DATA QUALITY MANAGER 2 GRADE IT09 35
(6) Q114C AOC COMPUTER SUPPORT ANALYST II 2 GRADE IT08 36 SB72
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(7) Q048C AOC SOFTWARE ENGINEER 2 GRADE IT08 1
(8) Q070C AOC REGIONAL FUNCTIONAL SPECIALIST 6 GRADE IT07 2
(9) Q082C AOC INTERPRETER SC:L 1 GRADE IT06 3
(10) Q008N AOC DEPUTY DIRECTOR 1 GRADE GS15 4
(11) Q009C AOC MANAGING ATTORNEY 2 GRADE GS15 5
(12) Q019C AOC SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY 3 GRADE GS14 6
(13) Q050C AOC COURT INTERPRETER SERVICES DIRECTOR 1 GRADE GS13 7
(14) Q071C AOC FISCAL OFFICER 1 GRADE GS13 8
(15) Q058C AOC JUDICIAL BRANCH EDUCATION DIRECTOR 1 GRADE GS12 9
(16) Q104C AOC PERSONNEL MANAGER 2 GRADE GS12 10
(17) Q014C AOC SPECIALTY COURT COORDINATOR 1 GRADE GS12 11
(18) Q069C AOC CASA COORDINATOR 1 GRADE GS11 12
(19) G309C AOC GRANTS MANAGER 1 GRADE GS11 13
(20) Q258C AOC JUVENILE JUSTICE SPECIALIST 1 GRADE GS11 14
(21) Q089C AOC OFFICE MANAGER 1 GRADE GS11 15
(22) Q057C AOC PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER 1 GRADE GS10 16
(23) Q081C AOC SPANISH INTERPRETER 4 GRADE GS10 17
(24) Q289C AOC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST 1 GRADE GS09 18
(25) Q113C AOC EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 5 GRADE GS08 19
(26) Q102C AOC JUDICIAL EDUCATION SPECIALIST 1 GRADE GS08 20
(27) A142C AOC PAYROLL SERVICES SPECIALIST 1 GRADE GS08 21
(28) Q105C AOC RESEARCH ANALYST 1 GRADE GS08 22
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 47 23
24
SECTION 2. EXTRA HELP - OPERATIONS. There is hereby authorized, for 25
the Administrative Office of the Courts - Operations for the 2025-2026 fiscal 26
year, the following maximum number of part -time or temporary employees, to be 27
known as "Extra Help", payable from funds appropriated herein for such 28
purposes: two (2) temporary or part-time employees, when needed, at rates of 29
pay not to exceed those provided in the Uniform Classification and 30
Compensation Act, or its successor, or this act for the appropriate 31
classification. 32
33
SECTION 3. APPROPRIATION - OPERATIONS. There is hereby appropriated, 34
to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from the State 35
Central Services Fund , for personal services and operating expenses of the 36 SB72
3 01/15/2025 1:29:52 PM JAR037
Administrative Office of the Courts - Operations for the fiscal year ending 1
June 30, 2026, the following: 2
3
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 4
NO. 2025-2026 5
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $3,873,747 6
(02) EXTRA HELP 5,000 7
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 1,260,512 8
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 9
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 619,627 10
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 35,000 11
(C) PROF. FEES 45,000 12
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 164,500 13
(E) DATA PROC. 0 14
(05) JUDICIAL EDUCATION 400,000 15
(06) COURT INTERPRETER FEES 519,350 16
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $6,922,736 17
18
SECTION 4. REGULAR SALARIES - DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMISSION . There is 19
hereby established for the Administrative Office of the Courts - Dispute 20
Resolution Commission for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the following maximum 21
number of regular employees. 22
23
Maximum Annual 24
Maximum Salary Rate 25
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 26
No. Code Title Employees 2025-2026 27
(1) Q020C AOC ADR PROGRAM COORDINATOR 1 GRADE GS12 28
(2) Q132C AOC ADR TRAINING COORDINATOR 1 GRADE GS08 29
(3) Q113C AOC EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 1 GRADE GS08 30
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 3 31
32
SECTION 5. APPROPRIATION - DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMISSION - STATE. 33
There is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to 34
be payable from the State Central Services Fund , for personal services, 35
operating expenses and grants of the Administrative Office of the Courts - 36 SB72
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Dispute Resolution Commission - State for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1
2026, the following: 2
3
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 4
NO. 2025-2026 5
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $223,578 6
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 75,116 7
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 8
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 35,514 9
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 15,000 10
(C) PROF. FEES 31,604 11
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 12
(E) DATA PROC. 0 13
(04) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION GRANTS 25,000 14
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $405,812 15
16
SECTION 6. APPROPRIATION - ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMISSION - 17
CASH. There is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the 18
Courts, to be payable from the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as 19
determined by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State , for operating expenses, 20
fees and services of the Administrative Office of the Courts - Alternative 21
Dispute Resolution Commission - Cash for the fiscal year ending June 30, 22
2026, the following: 23
24
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 25
NO. 2025-2026 26
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 27
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $125,000 28
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 30,000 29
(C) PROF. FEES 120,000 30
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 31
(E) DATA PROC. 0 32
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $275,000 33
34
SECTION 7. APPROPRIATION - HEARING & VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS - STATE. There 35
is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be 36 SB72
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payable from the State Central Services Fund , for operating expenses for 1
reasonable accommodations for persons with hearing and visual impairments to 2
act as a venire person or juror for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the 3
following: 4
5
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 6
NO. 2025-2026 7
(01) AUXILIARY AIDS -HEARING & VISUAL 8
IMPAIRMENTS $10,000 9
10
SECTION 8. APPROPRIATION - DISTRICT JUDGES CONTINUING EDUCATION - 11
STATE. There is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the 12
Courts, to be payable from the State Central Services Fund , for operating 13
expenses for a continuing education program for District Judges for the 14
fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 15
16
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 17
NO. 2025-2026 18
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 19
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $60,000 20
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 20,000 21
(C) PROF. FEES 0 22
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 23
(E) DATA PROC. 0 24
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $80,000 25
26
SECTION 9. REGULAR SALARIES - DIVISION OF DEPENDENCY -NEGLECT 27
REPRESENTATION. There is hereby established for the Administrative Office of 28
the Courts - Division of Dependency-Neglect Representation for the 2025-2026 29
fiscal year, the following maximum number of regular employees. 30
31
Maximum Annual 32
Maximum Salary Rate 33
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 34
No. Code Title Employees 2025-2026 35
(1) Q191C AOC DATA ANALYST 1 GRADE IT06 36 SB72
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(2) Q019C AOC SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY 2 GRADE GS14 1
(3) Q029C AOC AD LITEM ATTORNEY 34 GRADE GS13 2
(4) Q113C AOC EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 1 GRADE GS08 3
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 38 4
5
SECTION 10. APPROPRIATION - DIVISION OF DEPENDENCY -NEGLECT 6
REPRESENTATION. There is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office 7
of the Courts, to be transferred from the State Administration of Justice 8
Fund, and to be payable from the State Central Services Fund , for personal 9
services and operating expenses of the Administrative Office of the Courts - 10
Division of Dependency -Neglect Representation for the fiscal year ending June 11
30, 2026, the following: 12
13
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 14
NO. 2025-2026 15
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $3,307,962 16
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 1,060,799 17
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 18
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 566,514 19
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 10,000 20
(C) PROF. FEES 1,405,816 21
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 22
(E) DATA PROC. 0 23
(04) LOCAL CASA PROGRAM GRANTS 1,750,000 24
(05) ATTORNEY AD LITEM FEES/REIMBURSEMENTS 396,750 25
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $8,497,841 26
27
SECTION 11. REGULAR SALARIES - COURT AUTOMATION. There is hereby 28
established for the Administrative Office of the Courts - Court Automation 29
for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the following maximum number of regular 30
employees. 31
32
Maximum Annual 33
Maximum Salary Rate 34
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 35
No. Code Title Employees 2025-2026 36 SB72
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(1) Q015N AOC APPLICATIONS DIRECTOR 1 GRADE IT12 1
(2) Q012N AOC CIS DIVISION DIRECTOR 1 GRADE IT12 2
(3) Q261C AOC IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE DIR 1 GRADE IT12 3
(4) Q062N AOC SYSTEMS DIRECTOR 1 GRADE IT12 4
(5) N187N CIS DIVISION ASSISTANT DIRECTOR 1 GRADE IT12 5
(6) Q259C AOC JUDICIAL CHIEF IT SECURITY OFFICER 1 GRADE IT11 6
(7) Q016C AOC PROGRAM MANAGER 1 GRADE IT11 7
(8) Q005C AOC DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR 2 GRADE IT10 8
(9) Q140C AOC DEVELOPMENT TEAM MANAGER 1 GRADE IT10 9
(10) Q028C AOC TECHNICAL TEAM MANAGER 1 GRADE IT10 10
(11) Q136C AOC INFORMATION SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR 2 GRADE IT09 11
(12) Q139C AOC IT SECURITY ANALYST 1 GRADE IT08 12
(13) Q190C AOC PROJECT MANAGER II 3 GRADE IT08 13
(14) Q142C AOC SOFTWARE ENGINEER 4 GRADE IT08 14
(15) Q049C AOC TECHNICAL ANALYST 3 GRADE IT08 15
(16) Q101C AOC WEBSITE DEVELOPER 1 GRADE IT08 16
(17) Q135C AOC BUSINESS ANALYST 4 GRADE IT07 17
(18) Q191C AOC DATA ANALYST 1 GRADE IT06 18
(19) Q189C AOC PROJECT ANALYST 2 GRADE IT06 19
(20) Q138C AOC QUALITY ASSURANCE LEAD 1 GRADE GS12 20
(21) Q068C AOC APPLICATIONS SPECIALIST 8 GRADE GS11 21
(22) Q137C AOC QUALITY ASSURANCE COORDINATOR 1 GRADE GS11 22
(23) Q113C AOC EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 1 GRADE GS08 23
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 43 24
25
SECTION 12. APPROPRIATION - COURT AUTOMATION. There is hereby 26
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 27
the Judicial Fine Collection Enhancement Fund , for personal services, 28
operating expenses and other costs associated with the state court automation 29
system by the Administrative Office of the Courts - Court Automation for the 30
fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 31
32
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 33
NO. 2025-2026 34
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $3,598,673 35
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 1,167,176 36 SB72
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(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 1
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 2,450,000 2
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 25,000 3
(C) PROF. FEES 50,000 4
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 801,590 5
(E) DATA PROC. 0 6
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $8,092,439 7
8
SECTION 13. APPROPRIATION - COURT AUTOMATION - CASH. There is hereby 9
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 10
the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief 11
Fiscal Officer of the State , for operating expenses and other costs 12
associated with the state court automation system of the Administrative 13
Office of the Courts - Court Automation - Cash for the fiscal year ending 14
June 30, 2026, the following: 15
16
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 17
NO. 2025-2026 18
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 19
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $150,000 20
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 21
(C) PROF. FEES 0 22
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 23
(E) DATA PROC. 0 24
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $150,000 25
26
SECTION 14. APPROPRIATION - DISTRICT JUDGES & CLERKS CONTINUING 27
EDUCATION. There is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the 28
Courts, to be payable from the District Court Judge and District Court Clerk 29
Education Fund, for operating expenses for the purpose of providing 30
continuing education to District Court Judges and District Courts Clerks by 31
the Administrative Office of the Courts - District Court Judges & Clerks 32
Continuing Education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 33
34
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 35
NO. 2025-2026 36 SB72
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(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 1
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $100,000 2
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 10,000 3
(C) PROF. FEES 10,000 4
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 5
(E) DATA PROC. 0 6
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $120,000 7
8
SECTION 15. REGULAR SALARIES - COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM - FEDERAL. 9
There is hereby established for the Administrative Office of the Courts - 10
Court Improvement - Federal for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the following 11
maximum number of regular employees. 12
13
Maximum Annual 14
Maximum Salary Rate 15
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 16
No. Code Title Employees 2025-2026 17
(1) Q056C AOC CIP PROGRAM MANAGER 1 GRADE GS12 18
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 1 19
20
SECTION 16. APPROPRIATION - COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM - FEDERAL. There 21
is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be 22
payable from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of 23
the State, for personal services, operating expenses and grants of the 24
Administrative Office of the Courts - Court Improvement Program - Federal for 25
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 26
27
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 28
NO. 2025-2026 29
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $67,947 30
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 23,527 31
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 32
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 350,000 33
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 150,000 34
(C) PROF. FEES 30,000 35
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 36 SB72
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(E) DATA PROC. 0 1
(04) DEPENDENCY NEGLECT GRANTS 140,000 2
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $761,474 3
4
SECTION 17. REGULAR SALARIES - ACCESS & VISITATION MEDIATION - FEDERAL. 5
There is hereby established for the Administrative Office of the Courts 6
Access & Visitation Mediation - Federal for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the 7
following maximum number of regular employees. 8
9
Maximum Annual 10
Maximum Salary Rate 11
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 12
No. Code Title Employees 2025-2026 13
(1) Q121C AOC DIRECTOR ACCESS & VISITATION 1 GRADE GS07 14
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 1 15
16
SECTION 18. APPROPRIATION - ACCESS & VISITATION MEDIATION - FEDERAL. 17
There is hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to 18
be payable from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer 19
of the State, for personal services and operating expenses of the 20
Administrative Office of the Courts - Access & Visitation Mediation - Federal 21
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 22
23
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 24
NO. 2025-2026 25
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $43,010 26
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 17,933 27
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 28
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 10,000 29
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 30
(C) PROF. FEES 85,000 31
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 32
(E) DATA PROC. 0 33
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $155,943 34
35
SECTION 19. REGULAR SALARIES - COURT SECURITY GRANTS . There is hereby 36 SB72
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established for the Administrative Office of the Courts - Court Security 1
Grants for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the following maximum number of regular 2
employees. 3
4
Maximum Annual 5
Maximum Salary Rate 6
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 7
No. Code Title Employees 2025-2026 8
(1) Q133C AOC DIR OF SEC & EMER PREPAREDNESS 1 GRADE GS12 9
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 1 10
11
SECTION 20. APPROPRIATION - COURT SECURITY GRANTS . There is hereby 12
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 13
the State Central Services Fund , for personal services, operating expenses 14
and security grants of the Administrative Office of the Courts - Court 15
Security Grants for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 16
17
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 18
NO. 2025-2026 19
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $97,565 20
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 30,331 21
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 22
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 25,000 23
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 3,000 24
(C) PROF. FEES 5,000 25
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 26
(E) DATA PROC. 0 27
(04) SECURITY GRANTS 500,000 28
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $660,896 29
30
SECTION 21. APPROPRIATION - COUNTY JUROR REIMBURSEMENT . There is 31
hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be 32
payable from the County Juror Reimbursement Fund , for reimbursing Arkansas 33
counties for the costs of jurors by the Administrative Office of the Courts - 34
County Juror Reimbursement for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the 35
following: 36 SB72
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1
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 2
NO. 2025-2026 3
(01) COUNTY JUROR REIMBURSEMENTS $850,000 4
5
SECTION 22. APPROPRIATION - COURT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM . There is hereby 6
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 7
the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief 8
Fiscal Officer of the State , for operating expenses of the Administrative 9
Office of the Courts - Court Management Program for the fiscal year ending 10
June 30, 2026, the following: 11
12
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 13
NO. 2025-2026 14
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 15
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $25,000 16
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 17
(C) PROF. FEES 0 18
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 19
(E) DATA PROC. 0 20
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $25,000 21
22
SECTION 23. APPROPRIATION - USDOT CASE MANAGEMENT . There is hereby 23
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 24
the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State , for 25
operating expenses for the US Department of Transportation Case Management 26
Program of the Administrative Office of the Courts - USDOT Case Management 27
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 28
29
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 30
NO. 2025-2026 31
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 32
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $484,000 33
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 34
(C) PROF. FEES 0 35
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 36 SB72
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(E) DATA PROC. 0 1
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $484,000 2
3
SECTION 24. APPROPRIATION - COURT INTERPRETERS. There is hereby 4
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 5
the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief 6
Fiscal Officer of the State , for operating expenses associated with fees from 7
Court Interpreter candidates and interpreter fees ordered by judges for the 8
fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 9
10
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 11
NO. 2025-2026 12
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 13
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $10,000 14
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 15
(C) PROF. FEES 15,000 16
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 17
(E) DATA PROC. 0 18
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $25,000 19
20
SECTION 25. APPROPRIATION - SPECIALTY COURT PROGRAM . There is hereby 21
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 22
the Specialty Court Program Fund , for costs associated with the Specialty 23
Court Program and providing assistance and support to the Specialty Court 24
Advisory Committee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 25
26
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 27
NO. 2025-2026 28
(01) SPECIALTY COURT PROGRAM $300,000 29
30
SECTION 26. APPROPRIATION - CASA PROGRAM. There is hereby 31
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 32
the Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates Program Fund , for operating 33
expenses and grants to local CASA programs statewide of the Administrative 34
Office of the Courts - CASA Program for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, 35
the following: 36 SB72
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1
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 2
NO. 2025-2026 3
(01) CASA PROGRAM EXPENSES $10,000 4
5
SECTION 27. APPROPRIATION - DRUG COURT ENHANCEMENT . There is hereby 6
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 7
the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State , for 8
operating expenses of the Administrative Office of the Courts - Drug Court 9
Enhancement for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 10
11
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 12
NO. 2025-2026 13
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 14
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $2,021,851 15
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 964,359 16
(C) PROF. FEES 3,677,807 17
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 18
(E) DATA PROC. 0 19
(02) GRANTS AND AID 2,498,223 20
(03) ADULT TREATMENT COURT PROGRAM 28,640 21
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $9,190,880 22
23
SECTION 28. APPROPRIATION - AOC STATEWIDE SOFTWARE LICENSE . There is 24
hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be 25
payable from the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by 26
the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State , for costs associated with software 27
licensing for district and circuit courts of the Administrative Office of the 28
Courts - Statewide Software License for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, 29
the following: 30
31
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 32
NO. 2025-2026 33
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 34
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $30,000 35
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 36 SB72
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(C) PROF. FEES 0 1
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 2
(E) DATA PROC. 0 3
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $30,000 4
5
SECTION 29. APPROPRIATION - JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM . There is hereby 6
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 7
the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State , for 8
operating expenses associated with Juvenile Justice Racial and Ethnic 9
Disparities Reform Initiative of the Administrative Office of the Courts - 10
Juvenile Justice Reform for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the 11
following: 12
13
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 14
NO. 2025-2026 15
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 16
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $353,774 17
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 13,914 18
(C) PROF. FEES 632,312 19
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 20
(E) DATA PROC. 0 21
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $1,000,000 22
23
SECTION 30. APPROPRIATION - ACCOUNTABILITY COURT FUND . There is hereby 24
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 25
the Accountability Court Fund , for operating expenses and grants and aid of 26
the Administrative Office of the Courts - Accountability Court Fund for the 27
fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 28
29
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 30
NO. 2025-2026 31
(01) ACCOUNTABILITY COURT EXPENSES $400,000 32
33
SECTION 31. APPROPRIATION - ADULT DRUG COURT. There is hereby 34
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 35
the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief 36 SB72
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Fiscal Officer of the State , for operating expenses and grants and aid of the 1
Administrative Office of the Courts - Adult Drug Court Program for the fiscal 2
year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 3
4
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 5
NO. 2025-2026 6
(01) ADULT DRUG COURT EXPENSES $1,000,000 7
8
SECTION 32. APPROPRIATION - SPECIALTY COURTS. There is hereby 9
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 10
the State Central Services Fund , for operating expenses and grants for 11
specialty courts of the Administrative Office of the Courts for the fiscal 12
year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 13
14
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 15
NO. 2025-2026 16
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 17
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $0 18
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 19
(C) PROF. FEES 2,800,000 20
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 21
(E) DATA PROC. 0 22
(02) GRANTS AND AID 1,700,000 23
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $4,500,000 24
25
SECTION 33. APPROPRIATION - COURTHOUSE LACTATION FACILITIES . There is 26
hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be 27
payable from the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by 28
the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State , for operating expenses and grants for 29
the construction, maintenance, renovation, equipping or purchase of lactation 30
facilities for Arkansas Courthouses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, 31
the following: 32
33
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 34
NO. 2025-2026 35
(01) COURTHOUSE LACTATION FACILITIES $100,000 36 SB72
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1
SECTION 34. APPROPRIATION - BYRNE JAG GRANT. There is hereby 2
appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be payable from 3
the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State , for 4
grants and aid to improve collaborative efforts with behavioral health and 5
criminal justice stakeholders for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the 6
following: 7
8
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 9
NO. 2025-2026 10
(01) GRANTS AND AID $150,000 11
12
SECTION 35. APPROPRIATION - COURT TECHNOLOGY INITATIVE . There is 13
hereby appropriated, to the Administrative Office of the Courts , to be 14
payable from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of 15
the State, for operating expenses for advancing the case management system in 16
Arkansas for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the following: 17
18
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 19
NO. 2025-2026 20
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 21
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $0 22
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 23
(C) PROF. FEES 4,027,500 24
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 25
(E) DATA PROC. 0 26
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $4,027,500 27
28
SECTION 36. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 29
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. FUND 30
TRANSFER. Federal funds received by the Arkansas State Police from the 31
United States Department of Transportation from safety incentive funds 32
received under 23 USC Section 402 for the "State and Community Highway Safety 33
Program" may be granted to the Administrative Office of the Courts and 34
deposited into the State Central Services Fund to reimburse expenditures by 35
the Administrative Office of the Courts for operating expenses of the 36 SB72
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Continuing Education Program for District Judges as appropriated in the 1
District Judges Continuing Education - State appropriation herein. The 2
appropriation to the Administrative Office of the Courts provided in the 3
District Judges Continuing Education - State appropriation may be expended 4
only in the event that federal funds have been granted and will be 5
transferred from the Arkansas State Police to reimburse the Continuing 6
Education Program for District Judges. 7
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2024 8
2025 through June 30, 2025 2026. 9
10
SECTION 37. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 11
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 12
DEPENDENCY-NEGLECT REPRESENTATION APPROPRIATION TRANSFER AUTHORITY. The 13
Administrative Office of the Courts shall receive approval from the Chief 14
Fiscal Officer of the State and Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget 15
Committee to transfer funds and appropriations between line items Regular 16
Salaries, Personal Services Matching, Operating Expense, Professional Fees 17
and Attorney Ad Litem Fees/Reimbursements of the Division of Dependency -18
Neglect Representation appropriation herein for the payment of employees 19
and/or contractors providing legal services for the Division of Dependency -20
Neglect Representation. 21
Determining the maximum number of employees and the maximum amount of 22
appropriation and general revenue funding for a state agency each fiscal year 23
is the prerogative of the General Assembly. This is usually accomplished by 24
delineating such maximums in the appropriation act(s) for a state agency and 25
the general revenue allocations authorized for each fund and fund account by 26
amendment to the Revenue Stabilization law. Further, the General Assembly 27
has determined that the Administrative Office of the Courts may operate more 28
efficiently if some flexibility is provided to the Administrative Office of 29
the Courts authorizing broad powers under this Section. Therefore, it is 30
both necessary and appropriate that the General Assembly maintain oversight 31
by requiring prior approval of the Legislative Council or Joint Budget 32
Committee as provided by this section. The requirement of approval by the 33
Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee is not a severable part of this 34
section. If the requirement of approval by the Legislative Council or Joint 35
Budget Committee is ruled unconstitutional by a court of competent 36 SB72
19 01/15/2025 1:29:52 PM JAR037
jurisdiction, this entire section is void. 1
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2024 2
2025 through June 30, 2025 2026. 3
4
SECTION 38. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 5
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 6
MONTHLY INSTALLMENT. From July 1, 2024 2025 through June 20, 2025 2026, a 7
lump sum monthly installment of at least one -twelfth (1/12) of a portion of 8
the annual appropriation provided for in the Division of Dependency -Neglect 9
Representation appropriation of this Act, or so much thereof as may be made 10
available, shall be provided from the State Administration of Justice Fund to 11
the State Central Services Fund to provide a portion of the funds for that 12
appropriation. 13
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2024 14
2025 through June 30, 2025 2026. 15
16
SECTION 39. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 17
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 18
TRANSFER PROVISION. After receiving approval from the Chief Fiscal Officer 19
of the State and Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee, the 20
Agency is authorized to transfer appropriation from any line item authorized 21
in Court Automation Appropriation of the Administrative Office of the Courts 22
in this Act to any other line item authorized in Court Automation 23
Appropriation. 24
Determining the maximum number of employees and the maximum amount of 25
appropriation and general revenue funding for a state agency each fiscal year 26
is the prerogative of the General Assembly. This is usually accomplished by 27
delineating such maximums in the appropriation act(s) for a state agency and 28
the general revenue allocations authorized for each fund and fund account by 29
amendment to the Revenue Stabilization law. Further, the General Assembly 30
has determined that the Administrative Office of the Courts may operate more 31
efficiently if some flexibility is provided to the Administrative Office of 32
the Courts authorizing broad powers under this Section. Therefore, it is both 33
necessary and appropriate that the General Assembly maintain oversight by 34
requiring prior approval of the Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee 35
as provided by this section. The requirement of approval by the Legislative 36 SB72
20 01/15/2025 1:29:52 PM JAR037
Council or Joint Budget Committee is not a severable part of this section. 1
If the requirement of approval by the Legislative Council or Joint Budget 2
Committee is ruled unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, 3
this entire section is void. 4
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2024 5
2025 through June 30, 2025 2026. 6
7
SECTION 40. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 8
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. FUNDING 9
AND APPROPRIATION TRANSFER AUTHORITY FOR COUNTY JUROR REIMBURSEMENT. (i) 10
After receiving prior approval by the Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint 11
Budget Committee if meeting in a Legislative Session, the Director of the 12
Administrative Office of the Courts may direct the Chief Fiscal Officer of 13
the State to transfer appropriation to the County Juror Reimbursement 14
appropriation and State Central Services funding in the same amount to the 15
County Juror Reimbursement Fund from any State Central Services Fund 16
appropriation authorized for the Administrative Office of the Courts. 17
(ii) Determining the maximum amount of appropriation and funding for a state 18
agency each fiscal year is the prerogative of the General Assembly. This is 19
usually accomplished by delineating such maximums in the appropriation act(s) 20
for a state agency and the general revenue allocations authorized for each 21
fund and fund account by amendment to the Revenue Stabilization law. 22
Further, the General Assembly has determined that the Administrative Office 23
of the Courts may operate more efficiently if some flexibility is provided to 24
the Administrative Office of the Courts authorizing broad powers under this 25
Section. Therefore, it is both necessary and appropriate that the General 26
Assembly maintain oversight by requiring prior approval of the Legislative 27
Council or Joint Budget Committee, if meeting in a Legislative Session, as 28
provided by this section. The requirement of approval by the Legislative 29
Council or Joint Budget Committee is not a severable part of this section. 30
If the requirement of approval by the Legislative Council or Joint Budget 31
Committee is ruled unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, 32
this entire section is void. 33
(iii) The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 34
2024 2025 through June 30, 2025 2026. 35
36 SB72
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SECTION 41. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds 1
authorized by this act shall be limited to the appropriation for such agency 2
and funds made available by law for the support of such appropriations; and 3
the restrictions of the State Procurement Law, the General Accounting and 4
Budgetary Procedures Law, the Revenue Stabilization Law, the Regular Salary 5
Procedures and Restrictions Act, or their successors, and other fiscal 6
control laws of this State, where applicable, and regulations promulgated by 7
the Department of Finance and Administration, as authorized by law, shall be 8
strictly complied with in disbursement of said funds. 9
10
SECTION 42. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General 11
Assembly that any funds disbursed under the authority of the appropriations 12
contained in this act shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for 13
which this act was adopted, as evidenced by the Agency Requests, Executive 14
Recommendations and Legislative Recommendations contained in the budget 15
manuals prepared by the Department of Finance and Administration, letters, or 16
summarized oral testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas Legislative 17
Council or Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and adoption. 18
19
SECTION 43. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 20
General Assembly, that the Constitution of the State of Arkansas prohibits 21
the appropriation of funds for more than a one (1) year period; that the 22
effectiveness of this Act on July 1, 2025 is essential to the operation of 23
the agency for which the appropriations in this Act are provided, and that in 24
the event of an extension of the legislative session, the delay in the 25
effective date of this Act beyond July 1, 2025 could work irreparable harm 26
upon the proper administration and provision of essential governmental 27
programs. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act 28
being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health 29
and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 2025. 30
31
32
33
34
35
36