LobbyComply Blog

The Arkansas Legislature adjourned its special session on May 6. Lawmakers passed legislation cutting the individual income tax rate beginning in 2026 and the corporate tax rate beginning in 2027. This does affect lobbying reporting. A legislative lobbyist activity report will be due June 10 for the period from May 1 to May 31.

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The Arkansas Legislature adjourned its fiscal session sine die on April 29. Lawmakers passed the state budget and appropriations bills as well as a bill increasing the homestead property tax credit. Following the session, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a special session beginning during the week of May 4 for the purpose of tax cuts. This does affect lobbying reporting. The final monthly legislative lobbyist activity report for the fiscal session is due May 10 and the special session will trigger a legislative lobbyist activity report due June 10.

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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a vacancy in nomination for House District 44 following the death of Rep. Stan Berry on March 23.  A special primary election will be held on June 2 for purposes of the November 3 general election. Election dates to fill the unexpired term of office have not yet been set.

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The Arkansas Secretary of State promulgated the Combating Hostile Foreign Influence Rule to implement a 2025 state law requiring registration and disclosure by representatives of hostile foreign principals and foreign-supported political organizations. The rules expand the information that must be disclosed for foreign-supported political organizations; create a method for submitting complaints; and provide details of investigation, hearing, and enforcement procedures. The rules took effect January 18, 2026.

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The Arkansas Ethics Commission has reported a website outage, due to an attack by malicious actors. Estimated full restoration time is unknown. It is recommended to reach out to the commission at (501) 324-9600 or (800) 422-7773, or email jill.barham@arkansas.gov for any specific website need. The website is ordinarily a resource for ethics rules, opinions, complaints, and guidance for campaign finance reporting entities. Website visitors are cautioned to confirm the outage is restored before attempting to navigate to the site.

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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ordered new dates for the special elections for House District 70 and Senate District 26.  The special primary elections will be held on January 6, 2026, and special runoff elections are scheduled for February 3, 2026, if necessary. The special general elections are set for March 3, 2026. Two trial court judges in separate lawsuits ordered the original dates moved forward and the Arkansas Supreme Court denied the governor’s requests to stay the orders. The new dates were set “with objection” while the cases remain open on appeal. 

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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ordered a special election to fill the vacancy in House District 70 after  Rep. Carlton Wing resigned to become CEO of Arkansas PBS. A special primary election will be held on March 3, 2026 and a special runoff election is scheduled for March 31, 2026, if necessary. The special general election is set for June 9, 2026.

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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ordered a special election to fill the vacancy in Senate District 26 following the recent death of Sen. Gary Stubblefield.  A special primary election will be held on March 3, 2026 and a special runoff election is scheduled for March 31, 2026, if necessary. The special general election was initially set to coincide with the November 2026 Election Day, but subsequently moved forward to June 9, 2026.

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The Arkansas Legislature adjourned sine die on May 5. Several campaign finance bills were passed during this session. Contribution limits were reset to a base of $2,000, and emergency filing of paper campaign finance reports has also been approved. Additionally, rules have been put into place to prevent individuals from acting as agents of foreign principals without true and complete registration statement and supplements with the Arkansas Ethics Commission. This does affect lobbying reporting. The final monthly legislative lobbyist report will be due on June 10.

Arkansas lawmakers adjourned from their special session on August 11.

Legislation passed includes an expedited process for corporate and individual tax cuts.

The Legislature also approved an appropriation of $50 million for a school safety grant.

This does affect lobbying reporting.

The August special session triggered a lobbyist activity report due September 10.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has called for a special session in August to discuss possible tax cuts.

The previously estimated Arkansas budget surplus for the 2022 fiscal year of $1.4 billion grew to a record $1.6 billion.

The special session will be held the week of August 8.

This affects lobbyist reporting.

Lobbyists who are registered to lobby the General Assembly are required to file a monthly report for any month the General Assembly is in session.

The report will be due August 10, which is 10 days after the month of the session.

The 93rd Fiscal Session of the Arkansas General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 15 after about 30 days in session.

During the session, appropriations bills were enacted that will determine how taxpayer money is spent in the fiscal year 2023, which begins July 1.

The acts would also transfer $150 million from the state’s general reserves to a restricted reserve fund to pay for various improvements and projects.

The adjournment sine die date does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Lobbyists who are registered to lobby the General Assembly are required to file a monthly report for any month the General Assembly is in session.

The next report is due April 10 for the period of March 1 through March 31.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will call the Legislature back into a special session beginning December 7 to take up a tax cut plan.

The primary focus of the special session will be on the tax cut package that calls for reducing the state’s top income tax rate from 5.9% to 4.9%.

The package, which also includes corporate tax cuts and a low-income tax credit, would cost the state $135 million in the current fiscal year and grow to nearly $498 million when fully implemented in 2026.

While the session’s agenda will include several other items, Hutchinson said he does not plan to include a proposal to enact neighboring Texas’ unique law banning abortions six weeks into pregnancy.

Lawmakers, however, could vote to extend the session to take up abortion or any other items with a two-thirds vote of both chambers after the items on the agenda are considered.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson set a February 8 special election date to replace Sen. Lance Eads of Springdale.

Eads resigned to take a lobbying job. Former state Rep. Jim Bob Duggar is the only announced candidate so far.

The governor’s proclamation also sets December 14 for party primaries.

A special runoff primary, if needed, is set for January 11.

Candidate filing begins at noon November 15 and ends at noon one week later.