To Add An Additional Judgeship To The Seventeenth District Of The State District Court System.
HB1978 would expand the Seventeenth District state district court system, which covers Clay and Greene counties, by adding one additional state district court judgeship. The bill amends the district’s governing statute to change the number of judges from one to two, while keeping the districtwide election structure, districtwide jurisdiction, and the existing five court departments located in Paragould, Marmaduke, Corning, Piggott, and Rector.
The new judgeship would be implemented on January 1, 2027, and placed on the ballot for election at the 2026 nonpartisan judicial election. The bill also specifies how the salary and benefits for one of the judges will be funded: the state pays the judge’s salary and benefits, while the City of Paragould, Greene County, and Clay County share the local funding obligation according to the formula in the bill, with payments remitted annually to the Administration of Justice Funds Section for deposit into the Constitutional Officers Fund.
The bill would amend Arkansas Code § 16-17-1113 to formally create an additional state district court judgeship in the Seventeenth District and adjust the district’s judicial staffing provisions accordingly. It would affect state and local court administration, judicial election planning, and the allocation of salary and benefit costs among the state, the City of Paragould, Greene County, and Clay County. The measure does not alter the district’s geographic boundaries or jurisdiction, but it does increase judicial capacity in the district and changes the funding obligations tied to that court position.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears procedural and administrative rather than controversial. The bill is framed as a court-organization measure, suggesting support for expanding judicial resources in the Seventeenth District. No opposition, amendments, or recorded debate are available in the provided context.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or voting history. Potential areas for concern, based on the bill itself, would likely involve the cost-sharing formula for the new judgeship and whether the district needs an additional judge, but no speaker or stakeholder positions are available here. The only clearly affected parties are the state judiciary, the City of Paragould, Greene County, and Clay County, which would share the local funding responsibility.