To Create The Fertility Clinic Licensure Act.
HB1795 creates the “Fertility Clinic Licensure Act” and adds a new regulatory framework for fertility clinics in Arkansas. The bill defines a fertility clinic as a medical facility or healthcare professional that collects or preserves human embryos for creation or placement into a patient, and it requires any facility providing in vitro fertilization to obtain a separate fertility clinic license in addition to any existing hospital or institutional license.
The bill also establishes a $1,000 annual licensing fee for fertility clinics and directs the Arkansas Department of Health to administer the licensing program. It requires fertility clinics to report non-personally identifiable data that is already reported to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under the federal Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992, and authorizes the department to require that reporting on the same schedule as the federal submission. Clinics that violate the reporting requirement would face a $50,000 fine. The department must compile an annual public report, post it on its website, and provide it to the House and Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committees, and it must adopt rules to implement the new subchapter.
HB1795 would amend Arkansas law governing healthcare facility licensing by adding fertility clinics as a separately licensed category under Title 20, Chapter 9, and by expanding the Department of Health’s oversight authority over IVF-related services. It would create new statutory definitions, licensing fees, reporting obligations, public reporting requirements, and enforcement penalties, affecting fertility clinics, IVF providers, hospitals, and other medical facilities that offer embryo collection, preservation, or transfer services.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a regulatory and transparency measure rather than a controversial policy overhaul. Its structure suggests support for standardized oversight of fertility services, public reporting, and state-level licensing. No formal vote history or transcript evidence is provided to indicate opposition or amendment-driven concern.
The main points of potential contention are the new separate licensing requirement for IVF providers, the $1,000 annual fee, and especially the $50,000 penalty for reporting violations. Providers may view the bill as adding administrative burden, duplicative regulation, or increased costs, while supporters are likely to emphasize patient safety, accountability, and public transparency. Because no committee transcripts or votes are included, there is no documented disagreement in the provided record, only likely policy friction around regulation of fertility treatment.