AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - HEALTH SERVICES PERMIT AGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.
HB1027 is an annual appropriation bill for the Arkansas Department of Health’s Health Services Permit Agency for fiscal year 2026-2027. It authorizes funding for the agency’s personal services and operating expenses, sets a maximum of four regular employees, and provides a total appropriation of $480,745 from the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account.
The bill also carries forward unexpended balances generated by fees and fines under Arkansas Code 20-8-103 et seq., allowing those funds to remain available for the same purposes in the next fiscal year if the agency follows reporting and justification requirements. Like other appropriation acts, it includes standard provisions requiring compliance with state fiscal, procurement, and budget laws, and it contains an emergency clause making it effective July 1, 2026.
HB1027 primarily affects state budget authority rather than substantive regulatory law. It renews spending authority for the Health Services Permit Agency, preserves the agency’s staffing structure, and continues the use of fee- and fine-generated funds carried in the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account. The bill also reinforces oversight by requiring written justification and reporting for carry-forward balances, tying the agency’s spending to existing fiscal control statutes and Department of Finance and Administration procedures.
The available record suggests the bill was routine and noncontroversial. There are no committee transcripts or recorded votes indicating debate, opposition, or amendments, and the bill ultimately became Act 34. Its passage appears consistent with a standard budget measure needed to keep the agency operating into the next fiscal year.
No specific points of contention are documented in the available materials. Because the bill is an appropriation act, any potential concerns would likely center on the amount appropriated, the use of carry-forward fee and fine revenues, or compliance with reporting requirements, but none of those issues are shown to have been disputed in the record provided. The absence of transcripts and votes suggests little to no visible controversy.