2024 Arkansas legislative session
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| 2024 Arkansas legislative session |
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| General information |
| Scheduled session start: April 10, 2024 Scheduled session end: May 9, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Leslie Rutledge (R) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 5, 2024 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Arkansas State Legislature was scheduled to convene on April 10 and adjourn on May 9.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Republicans won a 29-6 majority in the Senate and a 82-18 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Arkansas was one of 20 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Arkansas State Senate
- Senate president: Leslie Rutledge (R)
- Majority leader: Blake Johnson (R)
- Minority leader: Greg Leding (D)
Arkansas House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Matthew Shepherd (R)
- Majority leader: Marcus Richmond (R)
- Minority leader: Tippi McCullough (D)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Arkansas was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. 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.
Arkansas was also one of 20 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Arkansas State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.
Arkansas State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 6 | |
| Republican Party | 29 | |
| Total | 35 | |
Arkansas House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 18 | |
| Republican Party | 82 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 45 standing committees in Arkansas' state government, including 17 joint legislative committees, 14 state Senate committees, and 14 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Academic Facilities Oversight Committee
- Advanced Communications and Information Technology Committee
- Boys State Committee
- Code Revision Commission
- Constitutional Amendments Committee
- Economic and Tax Policy Committee
- Game and Fish Commission Oversight Committee
- Girls State Committee
- Governor's Emergency Fund Review Committee
- Joint Budget Committee
- Joint Energy Committee
- Joint Performance Review Committee
- Legislative Council
- Legislative Facilities Committee
- Legislative Joint Auditing Committee
- Legislative Printing Requirements and Specifications Committee
- Public Retirement and Social Security Programs Committee
Senate committees
- Ethics Committee
- Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee
- Senate Children and Youth Committee
- Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Senate Efficiency Committee
- Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
- Senate Public Retirement and Social Security Programs Committee
- Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee
- Senate Rules, Resolutions and Memorials Committee
- Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee
- Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Arkansas. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
House committees
- Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee
- House Advanced Communications and Information Technology Committee
- House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee
- House City, County and Local Affairs Committee
- House Education Committee
- House Insurance and Commerce Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Management Committee
- House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
- House Revenue and Taxation Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee
- Legislative Orientation Committee
- Public Transportation Committee
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.
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Arkansas.
Arkansas Party Control: 1992-2025
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas • Eleven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Historical Senate control
Republicans won control of the Arkansas State Senate in 2012. In 2022, they won a 29-6 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Arkansas Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Arkansas State Senate election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 30 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Republicans | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 29 |
Democrats held the chamber between 1874 and 2012. From 1914 to 1968, there were no Republican members of the chamber.
Historical House control
Republicans won control of the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2012. In 2022, they won an 82-18 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Arkansas House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Arkansas House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 89 | 88 | 86 | 76 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 75 | 71 | 55 | 49 | 36 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 18 |
| Republicans | 10 | 12 | 14 | 24 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 28 | 45 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 74 | 78 | 82 |
Democrats held the chamber between 1874 and 2012. The Democratic majority did not fall below 95 seats from 1900 to 1978.
See also
| Elections | Arkansas State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
