SB43 is the annual appropriation act for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture for fiscal year 2026-2027. It authorizes funding for personal services and operating expenses across the division, including state operations, cash funds, and the Soil Testing and Research Program. The bill sets maximum numbers of regular and temporary employees, establishes salary caps for a wide range of administrative, technical, extension, research, and faculty positions, and provides specific line-item appropriations for salaries, overtime, benefits, operating expenses, travel, professional fees, capital outlay, capital improvements, debt service, and promotional items.
In addition to the budget authority, the bill includes a special language provision concerning the Pine Tree Research Station in St. Francis County. That section restricts sale of the property to private entities or individuals, allows a sale only to a qualifying nonprofit with a public-use mission and at least five years of operation, and requires the property to remain open for public recreation such as fishing, hunting, biking, bird watching, and hiking, with an exemption for land in row crop cultivation in 2020. The act also contains standard fiscal-control, legislative-intent, and emergency-clause language, making it effective July 1, 2026.
The bill’s impact on state law is primarily budgetary: it appropriates a total of $87,285,395 from the University of Arkansas Fund for state operations, $149,540,000 from cash funds for division operations, and $3,113,000 for the Soil Testing and Research Program. It also temporarily constrains how the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees may dispose of the Pine Tree Research Station property during the act’s effective period, thereby affecting property-use and public-access policy for that site. Because it is an appropriation act, it does not broadly rewrite substantive law, but it does control spending and impose specific conditions on use of funds and property disposition.
The general sentiment around SB43 appears strongly favorable and routine, consistent with a must-pass budget measure. The voting history shows broad support in both chambers, with a 32-0 Senate third-reading vote and a 94-1 House third-reading vote. The bill was approved and became Act 136, indicating little opposition overall.
The main point of contention suggested by the text is the Pine Tree Research Station provision. The restriction on sale to private parties and the requirement that the land remain open for public use reflect an interest in preserving public access and conservation uses, while the exemption for row crop cultivation land suggests a compromise to preserve existing agricultural operations. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate in the provided materials beyond the statutory language and the near-unanimous floor votes.
SB43 appropriates operating and capital funds for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and its Soil Testing and Research Program, establishes staffing and salary limits, and imposes a temporary restriction on the disposition and public-use status of the Pine Tree Research Station property. It affects the University of Arkansas, the Division of Agriculture, the Board of Trustees, and users of the Pine Tree Research Station, while operating as a one-year fiscal authorization effective for FY2026-2027.
The only notable substantive issue in the bill is the Pine Tree Research Station language. That provision limits sale of the property to a nonprofit with a public-access mission and requires continued public recreational access, which may reflect concern about privatization or loss of public use. At the same time, the exemption for land used in row crop cultivation in 2020 suggests an accommodation for agricultural operations. No committee testimony is provided, so the specific advocates or opponents of these provisions are not identified in the record supplied.