AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM - CAPITOL ZONING DISTRICT COMMISSION APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.
SB16 is an annual appropriations bill for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism’s Capitol Zoning District Commission for fiscal year 2026-2027. It authorizes funding for regular salaries, extra help, personal services matching, and operating expenses, and it also includes a separate cash fund appropriation for additional operating expenses. The bill sets the maximum number of regular employees at three and allows one temporary or part-time employee when needed.
The bill provides a total of $257,040 from the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account for operations and $2,000 from a cash fund for cash fund operations. It also contains standard fiscal controls requiring compliance with state procurement, accounting, budgetary, revenue stabilization, and salary administration laws. Like other annual budget measures, it includes an emergency clause making it effective July 1, 2026 so the agency can continue operating without interruption at the start of the fiscal year.
SB16 does not create new regulatory policy; it amends state spending authority by appropriating funds and setting staffing limits for the Capitol Zoning District Commission within the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. Its legal effect is to authorize the expenditure of specified state funds for salaries and operations during the 2026-2027 fiscal year, while reinforcing that disbursements must comply with existing fiscal and procurement statutes. It also establishes the commission’s authorized workforce ceiling and the funding sources from which those expenses may be paid.
The available context suggests the bill was routine and noncontroversial. There are no recorded committee transcripts, no listed votes, and the bill advanced to become Act 131, which is typical of a standard appropriations measure. The inclusion of an emergency clause indicates legislative agreement that the funding needed to take effect at the start of the fiscal year.
No specific points of contention are reflected in the provided record. Because the bill is a narrow appropriation for an agency’s operating budget, any debate would likely have centered on funding levels, staffing authorization, or the use of the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account and cash funds, but no objections, amendments, or dissenting views are shown in the available materials.