Arkansas income and taxes

Wages and cash benefits can be components of household money income. Census income is measured before taxes, so tax relief alone is not an increase in this statistic; the provision does not determine the statewide median. This connection does not establish causation. Actions after the measurement period cannot explain the earlier observed value.

Retained Arkansas evidence context: Median household income. This record’s connection to the topic does not establish an effect on the measured result.

(2)(A) As used in this section, "immediate family member" means the father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, child, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, in-laws, or any individual acting as parent or guardian of the employee. (B) As used in subdivision (c)(2)(A) of this section, "child" means: (i) A biological child; (ii) An unborn child; (iii) A stepchild; (iv) An adoptive child; or (v) A child in foster care who has been placed in the home of the employee. […] (C)(i) An employee on catastrophic leave for maternity purposes or for the death of an immediate family member is not required to exhaust sick or annual leave before being granted catastrophic leave. (ii) An employee on catastrophic leave for maternity purposes or for the death of an immediate family member does not accrue any leave; (4) An acceptable medical certificate from […] the treating physician or acceptable documentation of the death of an immediate family member supporting the continued absence is on file; and (5) The employee has not been disciplined for any leave abuse during the past year from the time of application. […] (f)(1)(A) If the administrator of a catastrophic leave program elects to grant catastrophic leave to an employee under subsection (c)(1)(B) of this section, the employee shall be eligible for up to forty (40) hours of catastrophic leave with pay each calendar year for the death of an immediate family member. (B) An employee shall be eligible for leave under subdivision (f)(1) of this section only within the first four (4) weeks after the death of an immediate family member. (C) After the expiration of the forty (40) hours of leave under subdivision (f)(1) of this section, an employee may use his or her accrued sick leave for the death of an immediate family member. (2) Catastrophic leave for the death of an immediate family member under subdivision (f)(1) of this section shall run concurrently with leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-3, if applicable. (3)(A) Unused catastrophic leave granted under this subsection shall not be carried over to the next calendar year. (B) Upon termination or retirement, catastrophic leave granted under this subsection is not compensable to the employee.

Wages and cash benefits can be components of household money income. Census income is measured before taxes, so tax relief alone is not an increase in this statistic; the provision does not determine the statewide median. This connection does not establish causation. Actions after the measurement period cannot explain the earlier observed value.

Retained Arkansas evidence context: Median household income. This record’s connection to the topic does not establish an effect on the measured result.

SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 6-17-122 is amended to read as follows: 6-17-122. Paid maternity leave — Definitions. (a)(1) […] An employee of a public school district or an open-enrollment public charter school […] shall be eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks of paid maternity leave when the employee: (A) Has been employed by a public school district or an open-33 enrollment public charter school for one (1) year or more; (B) Is female, and the leave is to be used for maternity purposes following the: As Engrossed: H1/16/25 H1/23/25 H3/31/25 HB1017 2 03-31-2025 12:22:16 TNL026 (i) Birth of the employee's biological child; (ii) Placement of an adopted child under one (1) year of age in the home of the employee; or (iii) Foster placement of an infant under one (1) year of age; and (C) Has not been disciplined for any leave abuse during the past year from the time of application. (2) An employee shall not be eligible for an additional twelve (12) weeks of paid maternity leave under this section following the adoption of a child if the employee took twelve (12) weeks of paid maternity leave under this section after the initial foster placement of the same child in the employee's home. (b) As used in this section: […] (2)(1) […] "Employee" means an individual employed full-time by a public school district or an open-enrollment public charter school in Arkansas for more than one (1) year; and (3)(2) “Maternity leave” means partially or fully compensated time away from work within the first twelve (12) weeks following the: (A) Birth of a biological child to an […] employee; or (B) Placement of an […] adopted child under one (1) year of age in the home of an […] employee; or (C) Foster placement of an infant under one (1) year of age in the home of an employee. (c)(1) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall create and sign a standard […] agreement for paid maternity leave expenses […] paid by the division […] to a public school district or an open-32 enrollment public charter school […] (2) […] The agreement required under subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall obligate the […] division to pay one hundred percent (100%) of incurred costs for approved paid maternity leave. (3) The division shall promulgate rules outlining: (A) Management of […] the agreement required under subdivision (c)(1) of this section; (B) Reimbursement processes; and (C) Other related procedures required to implement this section.

Gross rent includes contract rent and tenant-paid utilities. Rental protections, assistance, and housing supply concern components of rental-market conditions; they do not set Arkansas’s median rent. The provision concerns valuation rules for properties with qualifying affordable-housing restrictions, a potential owner-cost component. It does not impose new tenant rent limits. This connection does not establish causation or a change in the earlier measured value.

Retained Arkansas evidence context: Median gross rent. This record’s connection to the topic does not establish an effect on the measured result.

SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 26-26-1202, concerning valuation procedures for property, is amended to add an additional subsection to read as follows: (j) The Assessment Coordination Division shall promulgate rules, including guidelines, for the fair and equitable assessment of real property that has federally imposed or state-imposed restrictions that use rent limitations, operations requirements, or any other restrictions on the real As Engrossed: H4/8/25 HB1894 2 04-08-2025 09:46:36 JLL321 property that are connected to: (1) The real property being eligible for an income tax credit under 26 U.S.C. § 42; (2) Real property constructed with the use of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME Investment Partnerships Program; or (3) Real property constructed with the use of incentives provided by the United States Department of Agriculture under 42 U.S.C. § 1485. SECTION 3. DO NOT CODIFY. Rules. (a) When adopting the initial rules required under this act, the Assessment Coordination Division shall file the final rules with the Secretary of State for adoption under § 25-15-204(f): (1) On or before January 1, 2026; or (2) If approval under § 10-3-309 has not occurred by January 1, 2026, as soon as practicable after approval under § 10-3-309. (b) The division shall file the proposed rules with the Legislative Council under § 10-3-309(c) sufficiently in advance of January 1, 2026, so that the Legislative Council may consider the rules for approval before January 1, 2026.

Gross rent includes contract rent and tenant-paid utilities. Rental protections, assistance, and housing supply concern components of rental-market conditions; they do not set Arkansas’s median rent. This connection does not establish causation. Actions after the measurement period cannot explain the earlier observed value.

Retained Arkansas evidence context: Median gross rent. This record’s connection to the topic does not establish an effect on the measured result.

SEC. 405. CHOICE IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT.(a) Satisfaction of Inspection Requirements Through Participation in Other Housing Programs.—Section 8(o)(8) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)) is amended by adding at the end the following:“(I) Time period.Satisfaction of inspection requirements through participation in other housing programs.—“(i) Low-income housing tax credit-financed buildings.—A dwelling unit shall be deemed to meet the inspection requirements under this paragraph if—“(I) the dwelling unit is in a building, the acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction of which was done by a building owner who may be eligible for low-income housing credits because the building had been allocated a housing credit dollar amount under section 42(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or is described in section 42(h)(4) of such Code (concerning buildings that meet a criterion for a certain amount of tax-exempt financing); “(II) the dwelling unit, during the preceding 12-month period, was physically inspected and satisfied the suitability-for-occupancy requirement in section 42(i)(3)(B)(ii) of such Code; and “(III) the applicable public housing agency performed the inspection itself or is able to obtain the results of the inspection described in subclause (II). “(ii) Home investment partnerships program.—A dwelling shall be deemed to meet the inspection requirements under this paragraph if—“(I) the dwelling unit is assisted under the HOME Investment Partnerships Program under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.); “(II) the dwelling unit was physically inspected and passed inspection as part of the program described in subclause (I) during the preceding 12-month period; and “(III) the applicable public housing agency is able to obtain the results of the inspection described in subclause (II). “(iii) Rural housing service.—A dwelling unit shall be deemed to meet the inspection requirements under this paragraph if—“(I) the dwelling unit is assisted by the Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture; “(II) the dwelling unit was physically inspected and passed inspection in connection with the assistance described in subclause (I) during the preceding 12-month period; and140 STAT. 906 “(III) the applicable public housing agency is able to obtain the results of the inspection described in subclause (II). “(iv) Remote or video inspections.—When complying with inspection requirements for a housing unit located in a rural or small area using assistance under this section, the Secretary may allow a grantee to conduct a remote or video inspection of a unit if the remote or video inspection—“(I) is thorough; “(II) does not misrepresent the condition of the unit; and “(III) provides the information necessary to fully and accurately evaluate the conditions of the unit to ensure that the unit meets the relevant standards. “(v) Rule of construction.—Nothing in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) shall be construed to affect the operation of a housing program described in, or authorized under a provision of law described in, that clause.” . (b) Pre-approval of Units.—Section 8(o)(8)(A) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the following:“(iv) Initial inspection prior to lease agreement.—“(I) Definition.—In this clause, the term ‘new landlord’ means an owner of a dwelling unit who has not previously entered into a housing assistance payment contract with a public housing agency under this subsection for any dwelling unit. “(II) Determination.Early inspection.—Upon the request of a new landlord, a public housing agency may inspect the dwelling unit owned by the new landlord to determine whether the unit meets the housing quality standards under subparagraph (B) before the unit is selected by a tenant assisted under this subsection. “(III) Contracts.Deadline.Effect.—An inspection conducted under subclause (II) that determines that the dwelling unit meets the housing quality standards under subparagraph (B) shall satisfy this subparagraph and subparagraph (C) if the new landlord enters into a lease agreement with a tenant assisted under this subsection not later than 60 days after the date of the inspection. “(IV) Information when family is selected.—WhenList. a public housing agency selects a family to participate in the tenant-based assistance program under this subsection, the public housing agency shall include in the information provided to the family a list of dwelling units that have been inspected under subclause (II) and determined to meet the housing quality standards under subparagraph (B).” .140 STAT. 907

The fact counts Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries in current-payment status. Benefit administration concerns a component of that population; SSI, Medicare, and state pensions are separate programs. The outreach concerns the Title II disability component of OASDI; the separately covered SSI population is outside this fact. It does not increase benefit amounts or cover every retiree. This connection does not establish causation or a change in the earlier measured value.

Retained Arkansas evidence context: Social Security beneficiaries. This record’s connection to the topic does not establish an effect on the measured result.

2.Ticket to work program advertisementSection 1148(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–19(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:(8)Program advertisementNot later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and for each 6-month period thereafter, the Commissioner of Social Security shall disseminate to each disabled beneficiary information relating to participation in the Program..

Natural-gas share is the portion of electricity generated at Arkansas facilities supplied by natural gas. Natural-gas output is the numerator and total in-state generation is the denominator. Policies concerning natural-gas or competing generation technologies can concern this mix; in-state generation differs from electricity consumed in the state. Procurement targets and authorizations are distinct from operating plants or measured output. This connection does not establish causation. Actions after the measurement period cannot explain the earlier observed value.

Retained Arkansas evidence context: Natural-gas share of in-state electricity generation. This record’s connection to the topic does not establish an effect on the measured result.

23-18-1302. Definitions. As used in this subchapter: (1) “Dispatchable” means a source of electrical power generation or biomass energy that is: (A) Available on demand; (B) Not intermittent; and (C) Can either: (i) Be adjusted to increase or decrease its power output upon request of a power grid operator or otherwise upon demand or request of a power grid operator; or (ii) Have its power output adjusted in response to market or system needs; (2) "Dispatchable electric generation facility" means a facility that uses water, coal, natural gas, geothermal, biomass, or nuclear power, or a combination of equivalent fuels and technologies to generate dispatchable, reliable electricity to provide to end users; (3) "Electric generation asset" means a plant, facility, As Engrossed: S4/7/25 S4/14/25 SB596 5 04-14-2025 19:32:40 ANS459 equipment, or system that converts nonelectrical energy into electricity; (4) "Intermittent" means: (A) A source of electrical power generation from a solar photovoltaic, solar thermal heating, concentrating solar thermal collector, or other solar energy collection or generation system; (B) A source of electrical power that generates energy by harnessing wind power or energy, whether through a turbine or other device; (C) Anaerobic digestion or combined heat and power from solar, wind, or anaerobic digestion sources; (D) Any short-duration energy storage, which includes any method of storing generated electricity for later dispatch to the power grid, whether alone or in conjunction with any other intermittent sources described in this subdivision (4), that is equivalent to less than forty-eight (48) hours of the average peak generation of the unit the short-duration energy storage is used to offset; and (E) Conventional hydropower and pumped storage hydropower, unless they are capable of providing energy on demand, in which case they shall be deemed to be dispatchable; (5) “Public utility” means the same as defined in § 23-1-101; (6) "Reliability" means having adequate dispatchable electric generation capacity to safely deliver electrical energy in the quantity, with the quality, and at a time that public utility customers demand; (7) "Resilience" means having the ability to quickly and effectively respond to and recover from events that compromise power grid reliability; (8) "Retirement" means the closure or the complete and permanent cessation of operations of a dispatchable electric generation facility; and (9) "Secure" means to harden to a reasonable extent against an attack, including a cyberattack or a kinetic attack, or an extreme weather event. 23-18-1303. Retirement of dispatchable electric generation facilities. (a)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Arkansas Public Service Commission may approve or deny the retirement of a dispatchable electric generation facility owned by a public utility. (2) Before retiring a dispatchable electric generation facility, As Engrossed: S4/7/25 S4/14/25 SB596 6 04-14-2025 19:32:40 ANS459 a public utility shall: (A) Apply to the commission for an order approving the retirement; and (B) Give the commission thirty-days' notice of the application. (3) The application shall include a statement certifying the applicant's compliance with the requirements of this subchapter. (4) The commission shall enter an order within one hundred eighty (180) days of receiving an administratively complete application to approve the application for retirement to: (A) Approve the application for retirement; (B) Approve the application for retirement with conditions; or (C) Deny the application for retirement. (b)(1) There is a rebuttable presumption against the retirement of a dispatchable electric generation facility. (2) The commission shall not approve the retirement of a dispatchable electric generation facility, authorize a surcharge for the decommissioning of the dispatchable electric generation facility, or take any other action that authorizes or allows for the recovery of costs for the retirement of a dispatchable electric generation facility, including without limitation any stranded asset recovery, unless the presumption under subdivision (b)(1) of this section is rebutted by evidence sufficient for the commission to find that the retirement is in the public interest, including without limitation evidence that: (A) The public utility will replace the retired dispatchable electric generation facility with new electric generation assets that: (i) Are dispatchable by either the public utility or the regional transmission organization or independent system operator responsible for balancing load within the public utility's service area; (ii) Maintain or improve the reliability and resilience of the power grid; (iii) Maintain the minimum reserve capacity requirement established by the public utility's reliability coordinator; and (iv) Have the same or higher capacity value and net As Engrossed: S4/7/25 S4/14/25 SB596 7 04-14-2025 19:32:40 ANS459 capability, unless the public utility can demonstrate that the capacity value and net capability is not necessary to provide reliable service; (B) The retirement will not harm the public utility's ratepayers by causing the public utility to incur any net incremental costs to be recovered from ratepayers that could be avoided by continuing to operate the dispatchable electric generation facility proposed for retirement in compliance with applicable law; (C) The decision to retire the dispatchable electric generation facility is not the result of any financial incentives or benefits offered by a United States Government agency; and (D) The public utility will not commence retirement or decommissioning of the electric generating unit until the replacement generating capacity meeting the requirements of subdivision (b)(2)(A) of this section is fully constructed, permitted, and in operation, unless the public utility can demonstrate that it is necessary under the circumstances to commence retirement or decommissioning of the existing electric generating unit earlier. (c) At a minimum, the public utility shall provide the commission with evidence of all known direct and indirect costs of retiring the dispatchable electric generation facility and demonstrate that cost savings will result to customers as a result of the retirement of the dispatchable electric generation facility. (d)(1) Under the commission's report under § 23-18-1104, the commission shall prepare and submit an annual supplemental report to the Joint Committee on Energy no later than December 1 of each year in which the commission issues an order on an application under this subchapter. (2) The annual supplemental report required under subdivision (d)(1) of this section shall include: (A) The number of applications by public utilities to retire dispatchable electric generation facilities, the nameplate capacity of each of the dispatchable electric generation facilities, and whether the application was approved, approved with conditions, or denied; (B) The impact of any commission-approved retirement or retirement with conditions of a dispatchable electric generation facility on the: (i) State's electric generation fuel mix; As Engrossed: S4/7/25 S4/14/25 SB596 8 04-14-2025 19:32:40 ANS459 (ii) Required capacity reserve margins for the public utility; (iii) Need for capacity additions or expansions at new or existing facilities as a result of the retirement; and (iv) Need for additional purchase power or capacity reserve arrangements; and (C) Whether or not the retirement or retirement with conditions resulted in stranded costs for the ratepayer that will be recovered by the public utility through a surcharge or some other separate charge on the ratepayer's bill. (e) This section is applicable to a dispatchable electric generation facility that is one hundred megawatts (100 MW) or larger located in Arkansas. (f) This subchapter does not apply to the retirement or repowering of a dispatchable electric generation facility under any settlement, consent decree, or other resolution of any litigation or legal proceeding executed or ordered before the effective date of this subchapter. SECTION 3. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the continued unabated retirement of needed electric generating resources threatens to harm employment, tax revenue, and utility rates and is creating a crisis with respect to the state's ability to meet current and projected future energy demands; that this act will manage the retirement of needed electric generating resources for this state; and that this act is immediately necessary because continued electric generating resources are necessary for employment, tax revenue, and regular utility rates. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become effective on: (1) The date of its approval by the Governor; (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the bill; or (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto. As Engrossed: S4/7/25 S4/14/25 SB596 9 04-14-2025 19:32:40 ANS459

Wages and cash benefits can be components of household money income. Census income is measured before taxes, so tax relief alone is not an increase in this statistic; the provision does not determine the statewide median. This connection does not establish causation. Actions after the measurement period cannot explain the earlier observed value.

Retained Arkansas evidence context: Median household income. This record’s connection to the topic does not establish an effect on the measured result.

2.Tipped employeesSection 3(t) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(t)) is amended—(1)by striking (t) and inserting (t)(1); (2)by striking engaged in an occupation in which he customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. and inserting , without regard to the duties of the employee, who receives tips and other cash wages for a work period described in paragraph (2) at a rate that, when combined with the cash wage required under subsection (m)(2)(A)(i), is not less than the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1).; and(3)by adding at the end the following:(2)A work period described in this paragraph is a work period that is determined by the employer of the employee, such as a work period of 1 day, 1 week, every 2 weeks, every 28 days, or every pay period..