HB1064 is the Department of Finance and Administration – Disbursing Officer appropriation act for Arkansas for fiscal year 2026-2027. It authorizes spending authority for a wide range of state contributions, grants, transfers, and special programs, including payments to interstate organizations, supplemental personal services funding, disaster assistance, unemployment compensation, bond programs, public legal aid, juvenile detention facilities, fire protection, drug task forces, children’s health programs, and multiple federal-funds-related transfer authorities. The bill also includes large temporary appropriation authorities for cash funds, miscellaneous state treasury funds, and federal program balances, along with special language governing how those funds may be requested, transferred, reported, and spent.
A major feature of the bill is that it sets up the fiscal framework for moving money among agencies and funds during the year, rather than creating a single program. It includes special language for the handling of American Rescue Plan Act funds, Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act funds, CARES-related appropriations, medical marijuana implementation costs, and various temporary appropriations for state agencies and institutions. The bill also amends one code provision related to motor vehicle registration reinstatement fees, directing those proceeds into the State Treasury as general revenue to be distributed under the Revenue Stabilization Law. In addition, it contains an emergency clause making the act effective July 1, 2026.
The bill’s impact on state law is primarily fiscal and administrative. It establishes or renews appropriation authority for numerous state funds and programs, sets maximum allocation amounts for several grant and allocation programs, and gives the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State and the Department of Finance and Administration authority to process transfers, establish appropriations, and manage reporting requirements subject to legislative review. It also creates a special grant program for pregnancy help organizations, defines eligible organizations, limits administrative costs, and requires annual reporting to the legislature. Because it is an appropriation act, it does not broadly rewrite substantive policy, but it does control how state money may be spent and under what conditions.
The general sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable and noncontroversial in the legislature. It passed the House and Senate overwhelmingly on third reading, with 96-1 in the House and 33-0 in the Senate, and it was ultimately approved and enacted as Act 168. The lack of committee transcript material suggests there was little recorded public debate in the available materials, and the vote totals indicate broad bipartisan support for the annual budget and appropriation package.
The main points of contention likely center on the bill’s policy-specific grant items and the size and direction of certain appropriations rather than the overall budget vehicle itself. The pregnancy help organization grants section is the most ideologically specific provision, because it funds organizations that support carrying pregnancies to term and excludes organizations that perform or support abortion-related services. Other potentially sensitive items include funding for medical marijuana implementation, reproductive health monitoring at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and large discretionary transfer authorities for federal funds and temporary appropriations. Even so, the recorded votes suggest these issues did not generate significant opposition in final passage.
HB1064 establishes the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration – Disbursing Officer appropriation framework for fiscal year 2026-2027, authorizing billions of dollars in spending authority across state contributions, grants, transfers, and contingency funds. It also amends Arkansas Code § 27-22-11209(d) to direct motor vehicle registration reinstatement fees into the State Treasury as general revenue for distribution under the Revenue Stabilization Law. The act further creates or renews special-language controls for fund transfers, reporting, and legislative review, including rules for ARPA, IIJA, CARES, medical marijuana, and temporary appropriations.
The overall sentiment appears highly supportive and routine, consistent with a must-pass fiscal session appropriation bill. HB1064 passed both chambers by wide margins, 96-1 in the House and 33-0 in the Senate, and was enacted as Act 168. No committee transcript was provided, but the voting history suggests broad agreement on the budget package and little organized opposition at final passage.
The most notable contention points are policy-specific appropriations embedded in the budget, especially the Pregnancy Help Organization Grants section, which funds organizations that encourage childbirth and excludes entities that perform or support abortion. Other potentially debated items include funding for reproductive health monitoring, medical marijuana implementation and regulation, and the large transfer authorities for federal and temporary appropriations that give the Chief Fiscal Officer and DFA significant discretion subject to legislative review. Despite these issues, the final votes indicate that any disagreement was limited and did not materially impede passage.