Photo: Courtesy Arkansas House of Representatives
As the Arkansas legislature was winding down its eighth week of the 2021 Regular Session Friday, more than 270 bills have been signed into law.
Last week, the House passed more than 50 bills including the following:
HB1061 – This bill creates the No Patient Left Alone Act. The bill outlines visitation rights for hospital patients including children, patients with disabilities, hospice care, long-term care patients, and members of the clergy.
HB1437 – This bill concerns “Publish for Pay websites” or privately-owned websites that request or require the payment of a fee in order to remove a booking photograph from the website. The bill states the person responsible for removing the booking photograph from the website shall remove the photograph within five business days of receipt of a written request and not require payment of a fee for removing the booking photograph. It also states the website must post contact information.
HB1457 – This bill creates “Paisley’s Law.” It allows parents of a stillborn child to claim an income tax credit in the amount of $500.
HB1488 – This bill allows employees to file a Workers’ Compensation Claim for COVID-19 if the employee can prove they contracted the virus at their place of employment.
HB1407 – This bill modifies the method of calculation of the stabilization tax and caps the tax at .2% for 2022.
HB1409 – This bill caps the taxable wage base for employers at $10,000 for 2022.
HB1433 – This bill outlines transportation funding for the 2020-2021 school year for districts that need more than the foundation funding provided to all public schools.
HB1464 – This bill adds a provision to the Arkansas Code that allows parents to challenge instructional material, events or activities in public schools.
HB1389 – This bill creates the Arkansas Foresters for the Future Scholarship Program. This scholarship will be funded by the State Forestry Fund.
SB287 – This bill expands eligibility for the Governor’s Scholars Program and the Arkansas High Technology Scholarship Program to migrants from the Compact of Free Association Islands (Marshallese) and to an individual or child of a person who holds a Federal Form I-766 Employment Authorization Document (work permit).
HB1462 – This bill allows state-supported two-year and four-year institutions of higher education to designate a staff member as a homeless and foster student liaison.
To accommodate hearing bills and proposed amendments, there will be some changes to committee schedules beginning this week. Updated schedules and links to live streams can be found at arkansashouse.org.
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