AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION - CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.
HB1038 is the fiscal year 2026-2027 appropriation bill for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s Child Support Enforcement division. It authorizes funding for personal services, operating expenses, and data processing/equipment, and sets the maximum number of regular and temporary employees the division may employ during the fiscal year. The bill also includes an emergency clause so the appropriation takes effect on July 1, 2026, ensuring the agency can continue operating without interruption.
The measure appropriates a total of $77,949,301, including funding for regular salaries, extra help, employee matching costs, operating expenses, professional fees, capital outlay, and data processing. It establishes a workforce cap of 775 regular employees and authorizes up to 15 extra-help positions. The bill also contains special language exempting extra-help positions from hour limitations, while requiring reporting if a temporary or part-time employee works more than seven months.
As an appropriation act, HB1038 does not create new substantive child support policy; instead, it controls how state funds may be spent by the Child Support Enforcement division and ties those expenditures to existing fiscal and procurement laws. It reinforces compliance with the State Procurement Law, General Accounting and Budgetary Procedures Law, Revenue Stabilization Law, and Regular Salary Procedures and Restrictions Act, among others. The act is limited to the 2026-2027 fiscal year and is intended to support the agency’s ongoing administrative and enforcement functions.
The available context suggests little controversy around the bill. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided material, and the bill was ultimately enacted as Act 40. The general sentiment appears routine and administrative, consistent with a standard budget measure that is necessary for agency operations rather than a policy debate. Any potential concern would likely center on staffing levels, spending authority, or the use of extra-help positions, but no specific opposition is shown in the record provided.
HB1038 amends state fiscal law only for the 2026-2027 budget cycle by appropriating funds to the Department of Finance and Administration’s Child Support Enforcement division and setting authorized staffing levels and spending categories. It affects the Child Support Enforcement Fund and governs how the agency may use state money for salaries, benefits, operations, travel, professional services, capital outlay, and technology-related expenses. The act also temporarily authorizes extra-help positions and imposes reporting requirements for longer-term temporary employment, while preserving compliance with broader state fiscal and procurement statutes.
The bill appears to have been received as a routine appropriations measure with no documented floor or committee controversy in the provided materials. Because it funds an existing state agency function and includes an emergency clause for timely implementation, the overall sentiment is best characterized as practical and supportive. The fact that it became Act 40 suggests it moved through the process successfully without notable recorded opposition in the available record.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or vote history. In a bill of this type, the most likely areas of discussion would be the size of the appropriation, the 775-employee cap, the 15 extra-help positions, and the exemption from hour limits for temporary staff. However, the record supplied does not show any named opponents, amendments, or disputed provisions, so any contention appears minimal or absent in the available materials.