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2018 Arkansas legislative session
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| 2018 legislative sessions coverage |
|---|
| Arkansas General Assembly | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type: | State legislature |
| Term limits: | 16 years lifetime in the legislature |
| Session start: | February 12, 2018 |
| Session end: | March 13, 2018 |
| Website: | Official Legislature Page |
| Leadership | |
| Senate President: | Tim Griffin (R) |
| House Speaker: | Matthew Shepherd (R) |
| Majority Leader: | Senate: Jim Hendren (R) House: Marcus Richmond (R) |
| Minority Leader: | Senate: Keith Ingram (D) House: David Whitaker (D) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 35 (Senate), 100 (House) |
| Length of term: | 4 years (Senate), 2 years (House) |
| Authority: | Art 8, Section 3, Arkansas Constitution |
| Salary: | $39,400/year + $150/day |
| Elections | |
| Redistricting: | Arkansas Legislature controls Congressional Redistricting, Board of Apportionment controls state legislative redistricting |
During 2018, Ballotpedia tracked notable stories from the Arkansas General Assembly. The timeline on this page shows the major events that we tracked during 2018, including events in the regular session and in any special sessions that occurred after the regular session adjourned.
If you know of any additional events that should be added to this page, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Overview
In 2018, the Arkansas General Assembly was in session from February 12, 2018, through March 13, 2018.
Partisan control in 2018
Arkansas was one of 26 Republican state government trifectas in 2018. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Arkansas General Assembly in the 2018 legislative session.
Arkansas State Senate
| Party | As of November 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 9 | |
| Republican Party | 25 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 35 | |
Arkansas House of Representatives
| Party | As of November 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 24 | |
| Republican Party | 75 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Leadership in 2018
Arkansas State Senate
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Arkansas House of Representatives
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Regular session
Status of legislation at the end of the regular session
This table details the status of legislation covered on this page at the end of the regular session.
| Status of legislation at the end of the 2018 regular session | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Legislation | Subject area | Actions during the regular session | Status at the end of the regular session |
| Senate Bill 30 | Medicaid budget bill | Passed Senate Passed House |
Signed into law |
March 6, 2018
Arkansas Senate votes on Medicaid budget bill
The Arkansas State Senate approved a bill that would allocate $8.2 billion in state and federal funds to the state's Division of Medical Services in fiscal year 2019, which began July 1, 2018. The allocation included authorization for spending on the state's Medicaid expansion program.[1] The Senate approved the bill 27 to 2 before sending it to the House.
A day prior, the Trump administration authorized Arkansas to institute work and volunteer requirements on select Medicaid participants. Arkansas became the third state approved to implement such requirements, after Kentucky and Indiana.[2]
- Update: The state House approved the bill on March 7, 2018, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed it on March 8, 2018.
March 7, 2018
State House approves Medicaid budget bill
The Arkansas House of Representatives voted 79-15 in favor of SB 30, a Medicaid budget bill. Under the bill, the state's Medicaid program would expand using federal and state funds.[3] The bill passed following the Trump administration's approval of the state's request to require participants to work or volunteer. The requirement would apply to non-disabled, childless adults between the ages of 19 and 49.[4]
- Update: Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed it on March 8, 2018.
March 8, 2018
Arkansas governor signs Medicaid budget bill
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law legislation allocating funds to the state's Medicaid expansion program. The law authorized $8.2 billion in spending for the state Division of Medical Services ($5.7 billion in federal funds and $2.5 billion in state funds) to provide health insurance coverage to low-income residents who are Medicaid recipients or participate in the state's Medicaid expansion program, Arkansas Works. The legislation was signed into law after the federal government approved Arkansas' request to establish work, volunteer, and job training requirements for certain Arkansas Works participants. The House approved the bill 79 to 15 on March 7, one day after the Senate passed the bill on a 27 to 2 vote. The law went into effect on July 1, 2018.[5][6] Read more here.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Arkansas Constitution can be amended:
The Arkansas Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a citizen-initiated process and a legislative process. Arkansas requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.
Initiative
- See also: Initiated constitutional amendment
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In Arkansas, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Arkansas requires that a petition must contain qualified signatures equaling at least half of the required percentage of signatures (5%) from each of 50 of the state's 75 counties. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.
Legislature
A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Arkansas State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Arkansas House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Arkansas State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
See also
| Elections | Arkansas State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Arkansas Online, "Senate vote on SB30," March 6, 2018
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Arkansas Senate OKs Bill to Keep Medicaid Expansion," March 6, 2018
- ↑ KUAR, "Legislature Gives Final OK To Keeping Arkansas Medicaid Expansion," March 7, 2018
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Arkansas House Gives Final OK to Keeping Medicaid Expansion," March 7, 2018
- ↑ The Kansas City Star, "Arkansas governor signs bill keeping Medicaid expansion," March 8, 2018
- ↑ Arkansas Online, "Medicaid expansion gets nod as Arkansas House passes $8.2B spending bill," March 8, 2018
