AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM - STATE PARKS AND TOURISM DIVISIONS REAPPROPRIATION.
HB1098 is a fiscal-session reappropriation bill for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, specifically the State Parks and Tourism Divisions. It carries forward up to $20 million from a prior appropriation in Act 297 of 2025 for the acquisition, management, stewardship, or preservation of state-owned lands, historic sites, buildings, structures, or objects. The bill is tied to the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Grant and Trust Fund and is effective July 1, 2026.
The measure is primarily administrative and budgetary rather than policy-changing. It authorizes the continued availability of previously appropriated capital improvement funds, while requiring that spending comply with state purchasing, accounting, budgetary, and revenue stabilization laws. It also allows the agency to supplement state funds with grants, donations, federal funds, and unobligated cash income, but prohibits using general maintenance and operations funds for the reappropriated purposes.
HB1098 extends the life of an existing capital improvement appropriation for the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, preserving up to $20 million for preservation- and acquisition-related projects. It does not create a new program or expand eligibility; instead, it keeps prior funding available for state parks, tourism-related heritage assets, and other state-owned cultural resources. The bill affects the department, the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Grant and Trust Fund, and any projects funded under the reappropriated balance.
The available voting history suggests the bill was not controversial in final passage, with later third-reading votes passing unanimously in both chambers after an earlier failed third-reading vote in the House. No committee transcript is available, but the final outcome indicates broad support for the reappropriation and the underlying parks and heritage funding purpose. The emergency clause and July 1, 2026 effective date also suggest the legislature viewed the measure as routine and necessary for agency operations.
There is little evidence of substantive policy contention in the bill text or available discussion. The only notable procedural issue is the earlier House third-reading vote that failed 85-0 before the bill later passed 92-0, which may indicate a timing, procedural, or reconsideration issue rather than disagreement over the substance. Because the bill is a reappropriation measure, any concerns would likely have centered on budget timing, fiscal controls, or the use of carry-forward funds rather than on the merits of parks and historic preservation funding.