Daniel Breen

A bill that would remove Arkansas’ unique statute allowing tenants to face criminal charges for not paying rent has failed in the state legislature.

House Bill 1798, sponsored by Fayetteville Democratic Rep. Nicole Clowney, failed to pass in a meeting of the House Insurance and Commerce committee Monday.

A bill banning gender-affirming medical care for Arkansans under 18 is now one step away from becoming law.

The Senate on Monday passed House Bill 1570, which bans transgender youth from obtaining gender transition care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The bill, called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation, or SAFE, Act, would open physicians up to civil litigation and licensure penalties for providing gender-transition related therapies, including surgery, to minors.

An effort to override Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto of a bill that would return fines to businesses that violated COVID-19 public health guidelines failed in the state legislature Tuesday.

Members of the House of Representatives voted 39 to 40, with 21 members voting present or not voting, not to override the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 301, sponsored by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Jonesboro. The vote followed an abbreviated meeting of the Senate in which members voted 19 to 13 to override the veto.

Following hours of debate, members of the Arkansas House Education committee narrowly passed a bill that would provide private school scholarships for low-income students.

Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 11 to nine in favor of House Bill 1371, sponsored by Republican Rep. Ken Bragg of Sheridan.

As the nation and the world marks one year since the COVID-19 pandemic officially began, Arkansans are remembering the nearly 5,400 residents who have died from the disease since the state saw its first coronavirus case one year ago Thursday.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson joined staff at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, where the state’s first coronavirus patient was hospitalized.

Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives have approved a bill banning gender transition-related medical care for people under the age of 18. Lawmakers passed House Bill 1570, sponsored by Republican Rep. Robin Lundstrum of Springdale, in a meeting Wednesday.

Speaking on the House floor, Lundstrum said people under the age of 18 should not be allowed to receive "irreversible" medical treatment, even if they have the approval of a parent or guardian.

Another 180,000 Arkansans are newly eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccines as the state fully opens up Phase 1B of its vaccination schedule.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the change Monday, which adds manufacturing workers, transit workers, including ride share and meal delivery drivers, essential government employees, and workers at grocery and other big box stores to the list of those eligible for the vaccine in the state.

Effective immediately, Arkansas is lifting nearly all restrictions on businesses related to the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Friday that all capacity limits on businesses and large gatherings will only be recommendations, and not enforceable by law.

Speaking in a news conference at the state Capitol, Hutchinson said the goal is to give businesses more flexibility to tailor public health guidelines to better fit with their day-to-day operations.

A bill that would allow healthcare providers to decline certain non-emergency medical services because of their moral opposition has failed in a legislative committee.

Members of the Arkansas House Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee voted not to approve Senate Bill 289 in a meeting Thursday following hours of debate, including an abbreviated public comment period cut short by a motion for immediate consideration.

Members of the Arkansas Senate advanced two bills Monday that would restrict abortion access in the state.

A bill that would ban nearly all abortions in Arkansas is on its way to the House after passing the Arkansas Senate on Monday.

Arkansas lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make it illegal for schools to allow transgender girls and women to play on sports teams corresponding to their gender identity.

The legislation, called the Gender Integrity Reinforcement Legislation for Sports (GIRLS) Act, is sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, and Rep. DeAnn Vaught, R-Horatio. State Attorney General Leslie Rutledge introduced the bill at a news conference Monday.

Two bills aimed at changing the way members of Arkansas’ agricultural regulatory agency are appointed have had varying degrees of success in the state legislature.

Both bills would alter the appointment process for members of the Arkansas State Plant Board, which oversees licensing and regulations for agriculture in the state. Currently, the majority of the board is appointed directly by groups representing various industries like timber, seeds and livestock.

One of the state’s constitutional officers tasked with redrawing Arkansas House and Senate districts has announced her picks to help with the task.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Tuesday former state Republican Party chair Doyle Webb will lead the effort, alongside former Republican state lawmakers Andy Davis and Doug House.

Arkansas businesses can now apply for a second round of loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP.

The second set of loans from the federal program opened to businesses getting loans from lenders with under $1 billion in assets late last week, and will open for all other businesses Tuesday.

A federal judge has blocked four laws restricting access to abortion in Arkansas just hours after they took effect.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker on Tuesday granted the request from abortion rights groups, issuing a two-week restraining order against the laws. Baker had previously put a halt to the laws in 2017, though a federal appeals court later vacated that ruling.

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said clinics were forced to cancel appointments and only provide medication abortion while the laws were temporarily in effect.

Arkansas is the most pro-life state in the nation according to a national anti-abortion advocacy group.

The designation comes from the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Life, which ranks each state based on laws and policies aimed at restricting access to the procedure.

Speaking in a news conference at the state Capitol on Wednesday, Americans United for Life president and CEO Catherine Glenn Foster said states have more leeway to restrict the procedure as federal courts tilt more conservative.

A new report grading over 500 cities in the U.S. on LGBTQ equality shows Little Rock leading the eight Arkansas cities surveyed.

The Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index scores cities on policies, such as non-discrimination laws and transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, on a scale of zero to 100.

Xavier Persad is senior legislative counsel with the Human Rights Campaign. He says the report looks at several indicators to gauge the overall state of equality in individual cities.

North Little Rock voters will decide who will serve as their next mayor in a runoff election Tuesday. The two candidates, former mayor Terry Hartwick and former Democratic state lawmaker Tracy Steele, failed to get more than 50% of the vote in what was a four-person contest on Election Day. Steele says he’s confident he’ll emerge victorious from the runoff.

A new bill would make nearly all forms of abortion a crime in Arkansas, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, and Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, allows abortion to be performed legally only when the mother’s life is threatened or to remove an ectopic pregnancy.

Arkansas lawmakers will soon vote on whether to require all high school students to take a computer science course.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Wednesday the state legislature will take up a bill creating the requirement sponsored by Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, in the January general session.

Arkansas’s Republican Governor says President Donald Trump should begin the transition process to the administration of president-elect Joe Biden.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he expects Biden to be the next president of the United States.