To Amend The Law Concerning The State Administration Of Justice Fund.
Summary
HB1407 amends Arkansas law governing the State Administration of Justice Fund, which is the state fund used to distribute revenue to a wide range of judicial and justice-related programs and agencies. The bill updates the statutory list of recipients and the priority order for monthly allocations when the fund balance is insufficient to fully fund all authorized distributions.
A central change is the removal of the Arkansas District Judges Council, Inc., as a direct recipient of State Administration of Justice Fund distributions. The bill’s legislative findings explain that, after the consolidation of local courts into a unified district court system and recent Arkansas Supreme Court direction regarding the organization of district judges, the state no longer needs to support the council in that manner. The bill also makes conforming changes to the allocation-priority subsection so that the district judges council is no longer among the first items funded when revenues are short.
Impact
The bill revises Arkansas Code § 16-10-310 to alter how State Administration of Justice Fund revenues are distributed among state programs and agencies. It removes one line-item appropriation to the Arkansas District Judges Council, Inc., and renumbers the remaining recipients, while preserving funding streams for courts, prosecutors, public defender-related functions, crime victims, drug courts, state police retirement, legal aid, and other justice system programs. In practical terms, the measure changes the statutory funding structure for judicial administration and reallocates the fund’s priority list without broadly changing the fund’s overall purpose.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong, bipartisan support for the bill, with unanimous passage in both chambers on third reading (96-0 in the House and 31-0 in the Senate). The bill text itself frames the change as an efficiency measure and a modernization of fund administration in light of the state’s unified district court system. No committee transcript is available, but the recorded votes indicate little to no opposition.
Contention
The main substantive point of contention, as reflected in the bill text, is the elimination of direct state support for the Arkansas District Judges Council, Inc. The General Assembly’s findings state that such support is no longer necessary, implying a policy judgment that the council’s role has changed after court consolidation and recent judicial developments. Any disagreement would likely center on whether removing that funding stream could affect district judges’ coordination or representation, but the recorded votes show no visible floor-level resistance.
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