An Act For The Office Of Attorney General Appropriation For The 2025-2026 Fiscal Year.
HB1146 is the fiscal year 2025-2026 appropriation act for the Arkansas Office of Attorney General. It sets the agency’s authorized staffing levels, salary caps, and operating budgets for the main office and several specialized units, including the Medicaid Fraud Division (state and federal components), the Internet Crimes Against Children program, and the Cooperative Disability Investigation Program. The bill also authorizes extra-help positions and provides funding for salaries, benefits, travel, professional fees, capital outlay, and other operating expenses.
In addition to the annual operating appropriations, the bill authorizes the use of cash funds from settlement fees, restitution, and other unrestricted cash resources, and it includes transfer authority allowing the Attorney General, with required approvals, to move appropriations among line items and to deposit certain unobligated settlement-related cash into the State Central Services Fund. The act is structured as a one-year budget measure and includes an emergency clause so it takes effect on July 1, 2025.
HB1146 does not create new substantive criminal or civil law; instead, it amends state budget authority by appropriating a total of more than $26 million for the Attorney General’s operations, plus additional appropriations for Medicaid fraud, federal program support, and cash-fund activities. It establishes maximum employee counts and salary rates for specified classifications, and it directs how state and federal funds may be spent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026. The bill also affects the handling of settlement proceeds and other cash resources by authorizing transfers into the State Central Services Fund and by permitting spending on consumer education, enforcement, grants, and restitution-related activities.
The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and broadly supported. In the available voting history, it passed the Arkansas House 98-0 on third reading and the Senate 34-0 on third reading, indicating unanimous support in both chambers. No committee transcript or recorded debate is provided, and there is no evidence in the available materials of significant opposition or amendment-driven conflict.
There is little visible contention in the record provided. The only potentially sensitive issues are the size and flexibility of the appropriations, the use of settlement-related cash funds, and the transfer authority granted to the Attorney General, which can raise oversight concerns in budget bills generally. However, the unanimous votes and absence of committee debate suggest these issues did not generate meaningful opposition in this session.