AN ACT FOR THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.
HB1065 is an annual appropriation act for Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027. It authorizes funding for the college’s regular salaries and operating expenses, sets maximum numbers of employees and salary rates for a wide range of administrative, academic, support, public safety, and auxiliary positions, and authorizes extra-help staffing for temporary or part-time workers. The bill also includes a separate appropriation for the NWACC Child Protection Training Center.
The measure provides specific spending authority from both the Northwest Arkansas Community College Fund and cash funds, including amounts for salaries, benefits, operating expenses, travel, professional fees, capital outlay, capital improvements, debt service, and promotional items. It also contains standard fiscal-control language requiring compliance with state procurement, accounting, budgetary, and salary laws, and includes an emergency clause so the act takes effect on July 1, 2026.
HB1065 does not change substantive education policy; instead, it establishes the legal spending authority and staffing framework for NWACC for FY2026-2027. It sets a maximum authorized employee count of 1,137, permits up to 360 extra-help workers, and appropriates $14,221,641 in state operations funding, $96,557,111 in cash-fund spending authority, and $274,075 for the Child Protection Training Center. The act also ties disbursements to existing state fiscal and procurement laws and becomes effective immediately for the new fiscal year.
The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and strongly supported. It passed the House and Senate unanimously on third reading, with votes of 97-0 and 32-0, respectively. The lack of committee transcript discussion and the unanimous floor votes suggest broad bipartisan agreement on the need for the college’s annual operating appropriation.
No notable points of contention are reflected in the available record. Because this is a routine appropriation bill, any discussion would likely have focused on budget levels, staffing ceilings, or the inclusion of the Child Protection Training Center, but no objections, amendments, or dissenting views are shown in the provided materials. The unanimous votes indicate that any issues were either resolved in committee or were not significant enough to generate opposition.