AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY - DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.
HB1008 is the fiscal year 2026-2027 appropriation act for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management. It sets the agency’s authorized staffing levels and appropriates funding for a wide range of emergency management functions, including state operations, federal operations, disaster relief grants, hazardous materials response, the disaster relief trust, radiological emergency response, the Emergency Operations Center, federal surplus property, 911 rural enhancement, immediate disaster response, the Arkansas Public Safety Trust, Arkansas Wireless Information Network, levee mitigation, fire protection services, fire protection grants, and nuclear planning and response.
The bill is primarily a budget and spending measure rather than a policy change. It authorizes specific amounts from state, federal, and cash funds for salaries, operating expenses, grants, and aid, and it establishes maximum employee counts for several program areas within the division. It also includes standard fiscal-control provisions requiring compliance with state procurement, accounting, budgetary, and salary laws, and it contains an emergency clause making the act effective July 1, 2026.
HB1008 updates Arkansas law by appropriating funds and setting authorized positions for the Division of Emergency Management for FY2026-2027. It directs spending from multiple funding sources, including the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, federal funds, the Arkansas Disaster Relief Program Trust Fund, the Fire Services Fund, the Arkansas Nuclear Planning and Response Fund, the Arkansas Public Safety Trust Fund, and several cash funds. The act affects the Department of Public Safety, emergency management programs, local governments and entities receiving grants or aid, 911 and wireless communications systems, fire protection services, and disaster response and recovery operations.
The bill appears to have been routine and broadly noncontroversial, consistent with a standard agency appropriation measure. The available record shows no committee transcript debate and no recorded votes, and the bill ultimately became Act 158. The emergency clause and the breadth of funding suggest general legislative support for maintaining essential emergency management and public safety operations on schedule.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes, there is no evidence of disagreement over the staffing levels, the size of the appropriations, or the allocation among programs. If any concerns existed, they are not reflected in the available record.