2026 Arkansas legislative session

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2026 Arkansas legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    April 8, 2026 Scheduled session end:    May 7, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Bart Hester (R) House Speaker Brian Evans (R) Majority Leader Senate: Blake Johnson (R) House: Howard Beaty (R) Minority Leader Senate: Greg Leding (D) House: Andrew Collins (D)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the Arkansas State Legislature is scheduled to convene on April 8, 2026, and adjourn on May 7, 2026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Republicans won a 29-6 majority in the Senate and a 81-19 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2026 session, Arkansas was one of 19 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Republicans held a majority in the Arkansas state House and state Senate.

Arkansas was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas.

Arkansas' governor was Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Leadership in 2026

See also: Leadership positions in state legislatures

Arkansas State Senate

• Senate president: Bart Hester (R)
• Majority leader: Blake Johnson (R)
• Minority leader: Greg Leding (D)

Arkansas House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Brian Evans (R)
• Majority leader: Howard Beaty (R)
• Minority leader: Andrew Collins (D)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

Arkansas was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2026 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 19 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 2026 legislative session.

Arkansas State Senate

Partisan composition, Arkansas State Senate

As of January 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	6
Republican	28
Other	0
Vacancies	1
Total	35

Arkansas House of Representatives

Partisan composition, Arkansas House of Representatives

As of January 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	19
Republican	80
Other	0
Vacancies	1
Total	100

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 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 has met these criteria yet in 2026. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Arkansas state government

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 2026 legislative session, there were 41 standing committees in Arkansas' state government, including 14 joint legislative committees, 14 state Senate committees, and 13 state House committees.

Joint legislative committees

• Advanced Communications and Information Technology Committee
• Boys State Committee
• Code Revision Commission
• Economic and Tax Policy Committee
• Girls State Committee
• Governor's Emergency Fund Review Committee
• Joint Budget Committee
• Joint Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs
• Joint Energy Committee
• Joint Performance Review Committee
• Legislative Council
• 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

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
• 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:

See also: Section 22, Article 19, of the Arkansas Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Arkansas

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

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

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 2024, they won a 29-6 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Arkansas Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. 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	'24
Democrats	30	28	28	29	27	27	27	27	27	20	14	11	9	9	7	6	6
Republicans	5	7	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	15	21	24	26	26	28	29	29

Before 1992

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 2024, they won an 81-19 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Arkansas House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. 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	'24
Democrats	89	88	86	76	72	70	72	75	71	55	49	36	27	26	22	18	19
Republicans	10	12	14	24	28	30	28	25	28	45	51	64	73	74	78	82	81

Before 1992

Democrats held the chamber between 1874 and 2012. The Democratic majority did not fall below 95 seats from 1900 to 1978.

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2014-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - Arkansas

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	Arkansas State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Arkansas State Senate elections, 2026 Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2026	Arkansas State Legislature Arkansas House of Representatives Arkansas State Senate Governor of Arkansas Arkansas Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Arkansas State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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