kim hammer

Arkansas Secretary of State seeks design submissions for anti-abortion monument at Capitol

BY: - September 1, 2023

The Arkansas Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission is seeking potential designs for a “monument to the unborn” at the state Capitol, in accordance with a new state law. Act 310 of 2023 authorizes the Secretary of State to decide where to place “a suitable monument commemorating unborn children aborted during the era of Roe v. […]

Southeast Arkansas hospital awarded $5M in American Rescue Plan Act relief funds

BY: - June 13, 2023

Arkansas lawmakers awarded nearly $5 million in federal funds on Tuesday to a rural Southeast Arkansas hospital that will start merging with the Baptist Health system on July 1. Drew Memorial Health System will receive $4,926,897 from the pot of money, originally more than $1.5 billion, allocated to Arkansas from the American Rescue Plan Act […]

Arkansas Senate panel OKs tweaked bill barring implicit bias training in schools

BY: - March 29, 2023

A state Senate committee on Wednesday approved a new version of the bill that aims to prohibit public schools and colleges from requiring employees to participate in implicit bias training. House Bill 1559 prohibits schools from taking “adverse employment action” against an employee who fails or refuses to participate in implicit bias training. The State […]

poll worker clean an electronic ballot machine

Arkansas House committee passes bill to regulate paper ballot counties

BY: - March 13, 2023

A group of state representatives advanced legislation Monday that would require counties that opt to get rid of voting machines to bear the costs of paper ballots. The Arkansas House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs passed Senate Bill 250 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R-Benton) on a split voice vote after several hours of debate […]

Republican Sen. Kim Hammer of Benton succeeded in passing a bill regulating how counties can switch to paper ballots on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. He's seen here with Sen. John Payton (R-Wilburn) at a 2022 Arkansas Legislative Council meeting. (Courtesy of Arkansas Senate)

Arkansas licensing board for home inspectors will be combined with two others under bill

BY: - March 7, 2023

A state Senate panel on Tuesday approved a bill that consolidates three real estate-related professional licensing boards into one despite strident objections from members of one of the boards. Senate Bill 354 would abolish the Arkansas Abstracters’ Board, Home Inspector Registration Board and the Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board and replace them with a single […]

Sen. Clarke Tucker, Sen. Breanne Davis

Education bill amendment filed ahead of House committee meeting

BY: - February 27, 2023

Rep. Keith Brooks (R-Little Rock), the House sponsor of the governor’s education bill, filed a six-page amendment late Friday following bipartisan calls for changes to the legislation. Senate Bill 294, also called the LEARNS Act, is the result of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ campaign promise to make sweeping changes to the state’s education system. The […]

people cast ballots at electric vote machines

Arkansas Senate committee OKs bill to regulate paper ballots and hand counts

BY: - February 23, 2023

A group of state senators on Thursday voted to require Arkansas counties that opt to hand count election returns to first run ballots through vote-counting machines. Senate Bill 250 sponsor Rep. Kim Hammer (R-Benton) and state election officials said the legislation would ensure that preliminary, unofficial election results are reported quickly. Counties would still have […]

Arkansas Division of Higher Education Director Maria Markham sits behind a desk and speaks into a microphone

Official recommends lottery scholarship add more support for low-income students

BY: - December 14, 2022

Legislators considered proposals to add a needs-based component to a lottery-funded scholarship program and create an appeals process for students during the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Lottery Oversight subcommittee meeting Wednesday. Maria Markham, director of the Arkansas Division of Higher Education, said that creating a sliding scale for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program would allow […]

Arkansas Senate suspends Clark for “frivolous” complaint, changes rules for future ethics filings

BY: - September 27, 2022

The Arkansas Senate voted to sanction Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale), who was not present at Tuesday’s Senate meeting, for filing a “spurious, frivolous and retaliatory” ethics complaint against Sen. Stephanie Flowers (D-Pine Bluff). The 26-4 vote came after three Senate Ethics Committee meetings and two full Senate meetings, bringing an end to several weeks of […]

Arkansas Senate delays decision on possible sanctions for senator’s complaint

BY: - September 16, 2022

The Arkansas Senate did not reach a decision Friday about whether to censure Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale) after he tried to present a case to his colleagues that the ethics complaint he filed against another senator was not “frivolous and retaliatory,” as the Senate Ethics Committee found last week. Senators did, however, vote unanimously to […]