AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE - STATE BANK DEPARTMENT AND STATE SECURITIES DEPARTMENT APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.
HB1028 is an annual appropriation bill for the Arkansas Department of Commerce’s State Bank Department and State Securities Department for fiscal year 2026-2027. It sets the maximum number of regular and temporary employees for each division and authorizes spending for salaries, matching funds, operating expenses, travel, professional fees, capital outlay, examination travel, refunds and reimbursements, and investor education activities. The bill also includes an emergency clause so the appropriations take effect on July 1, 2026.
For the State Bank Department, the bill authorizes up to 92 regular employees and 4 extra-help positions, with a total appropriation of $14,768,700. For the State Securities Department, it authorizes up to 41 regular employees and 3 extra-help positions, with a total appropriation of $4,486,527, plus separate appropriations of $50,000 for refunds and reimbursements and $316,000 from the Investor Education Fund. The investor education money may be used for operating expenses, grants and aid, and promotional items.
The bill does not change substantive banking or securities regulation; instead, it provides the spending authority needed for the State Bank Department and State Securities Department to operate during the 2026-2027 fiscal year. It establishes salary caps, staffing limits, and line-item appropriations from the Bank Department Fund, Securities Department Fund, cash funds, and the Investor Education Fund, while requiring compliance with state fiscal, procurement, and budgeting laws. Its practical effect is to fund the agencies responsible for bank supervision, securities enforcement, examinations, and investor education in Arkansas.
The available record suggests the bill was routine and noncontroversial. There are no committee transcripts, recorded votes, or noted amendments in the provided materials, and the bill advanced to become Act 35. The absence of recorded opposition or debate is consistent with a standard budget measure that is typically handled as part of the Joint Budget Committee’s appropriations process.
No specific points of contention are reflected in the provided materials. Because the bill is an appropriation measure, any disagreements would likely have centered on staffing levels, salary authority, travel and operating budgets, or the use of Investor Education Fund dollars for grants and promotional items, but none of those issues are documented here. The bill’s emergency clause and effective-date language are standard for appropriations and do not appear to have been disputed in the available record.