HB1147 is the annual appropriation act for the Arkansas Secretary of State for fiscal year 2025-2026. It sets the maximum number of regular employees and extra-help positions for the office and authorizes funding for the agency’s core operations, including salaries, benefits, overtime, operating expenses, special maintenance, building and grounds maintenance, and election-related expenses. The bill also separately appropriates money for Capitol Police operations, monument and memorial preservation on the State Capitol grounds, cash-funded restoration and maintenance projects, fee and tax refunds, the county voting system grant program, Arkansas Video Service Act administration, the National Statuary Hall Collection, Help America Vote Act-related federal spending, the gift shop and cafe, the business and commercial services electronic filing system, Capitol security, and an HVAC upgrade for the north end of the State Capitol building.
The bill’s impact on state law is primarily fiscal and administrative rather than substantive policy change. It authorizes a total operations appropriation of $25,201,841 for the Secretary of State, plus additional dedicated appropriations for specific programs and projects, including $11,000,000 for county voting system grants and $9,100,000 for the Capitol HVAC upgrade. It also includes special language allowing transfers among operations line items with approval, requiring the Secretary of State to maintain a permanent gift shop on the first floor of the Capitol, and directing a one-time transfer of $3,100,000 from the General Revenue Allotment Reserve Fund for Capitol security. The act is time-limited to the 2025-2026 fiscal year, with emergency clauses making certain security-related provisions effective immediately upon passage.
The general sentiment around the bill appears strongly supportive and noncontroversial. The recorded votes show unanimous approval in both chambers on third reading, with 96 yeas and 0 nays in the House and 33 yeas and 0 nays in the Senate. There is no committee transcript indicating debate or opposition, and the bill moved as a Joint Budget Committee measure, which is typical for agency appropriation bills.
Notable points of contention are not reflected in the available record, but the bill contains provisions that could draw attention in other contexts, such as the permanent placement of the Secretary of State gift shop in the Capitol, the large security and HVAC appropriations, and the use of cash funds and reserve transfers for Capitol-related projects. The inclusion of election-system funding and Capitol Police funding also makes the bill relevant to election administration and statehouse security, though no recorded opposition appears in the voting history provided.
HB1147 establishes the Secretary of State’s fiscal year 2025-2026 spending authority and staffing limits, appropriating funds from multiple sources for elections, Capitol security, building maintenance, business services, and related operations. It affects Arkansas fiscal administration by authorizing specific line-item spending, creating or continuing special funding streams, and directing transfers between funds for Capitol security. The bill does not broadly amend substantive code provisions, but it does impose special-language requirements governing agency operations, including the permanent Capitol gift shop location and the use of funds for county voting systems and Capitol improvements.
The bill appears to have been received positively and passed without recorded opposition. Both chambers approved it unanimously on third reading, and there are no committee transcripts or recorded objections in the provided materials. The lack of dissent suggests the measure was viewed as a routine and necessary budget bill for the Secretary of State’s office and related Capitol functions.
No explicit controversy is documented in the available record. Potentially sensitive elements include the $11 million county voting system grant appropriation, the $3.1 million Capitol security funding transfer, the $9.1 million HVAC upgrade, and the special language mandating a permanent gift shop in the State Capitol. These provisions could raise questions about spending priorities, Capitol operations, or election infrastructure, but the voting history indicates no recorded legislative resistance.