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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 HOUSE BILL 1037 3
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By: Joint Budget Committee 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO MAKE AN APPROPRIATION FOR PERSONAL SERVICES 9
AND OPERATING EXPENSES FOR THE STATE BOARD OF 10
ELECTION COMMISSIONERS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING 11
JUNE 30, 2027; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
AN ACT FOR THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTION 16
COMMISSIONERS APPROPRIATION FOR THE 17
2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR. 18
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 21
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SECTION 1. REGULAR SALARIES - OPERATIONS. There is hereby established 23
for the State Board of Election Commissioners for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, 24
the following maximum number of regular employees. 25
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Maximum Annual 27
Maximum Salary Rate 28
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 29
No. Code Title Employees 2026-2027 30
(1) PBC03C ELECTION COMMISSION DIRECTOR 1 GRADE SPC08 31
(2) LAT04P ATTORNEY II 2 GRADE SPC05 32
(3) PBC04A ELECTION COORDINATOR 3 GRADE SGS08 33
(4) FFS02P FISCAL SUPPORT COORDINATOR 1 GRADE SGS06 34
(5) PAS02P ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR 1 GRADE SGS04 35
(6) CTR04P TRAINING SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 1 GRADE SGS08 36
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MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 9 1
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SECTION 2. EXTRA HELP. There is hereby authorized, for the State Board 3
of Election Commissioners for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the following 4
maximum number of part-time or temporary employees, to be known as "Extra 5
Help", payable from funds appropriated herein for such purposes: twenty (20) 6
temporary or part-time employees, when needed, at rates of pay not to exceed 7
those provided in the Uniform Classification and Compensation Act, or its 8
successor, or this act for the appropriate classification. 9
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SECTION 3. APPROPRIATION - OPERATIONS. There is hereby appropriated, 11
to the State Board of Election Commissioners, to be payable from the 12
Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, for personal services and operating 13
expenses of the State Board of Election Commissioners for the fiscal year 14
ending June 30, 2027, the following: 15
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 17
NO. 2026-2027 18
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $603,967 19
(02) EXTRA HELP 100,000 20
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 221,840 21
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 22
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 167,810 23
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 5,000 24
(C) PROF. FEES 5,000 25
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 26
(E) DATA PROC. 0 27
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $1,103,617 28
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SECTION 4. APPROPRIATION - ELECTION EXPENSES. There is hereby 30
appropriated, to the State Board of Election Commissioners, to be payable 31
from the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, for covering the costs of 32
election expenses of the State Board of Election Commissioners for the fiscal 33
year ending June 30, 2027, the sum of.............................$6,340,000. 34
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SECTION 5. APPROPRIATION - NONPARTISAN GENERAL ELECTION. There is 36
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hereby appropriated, to the State Board of Election Commissioners, to be 1
payable from the Nonpartisan Filing Fee Fund, for covering the costs of 2
election expenses of the State Board of Election Commissioners for the fiscal 3
year ending June 30, 2027, the sum of.............................$1,600,000. 4
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SECTION 6. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 6
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 7
CARRY FORWARD – ELECTION EXPENSES. At the close of the fiscal year ending 8
June 30, 2026 2027, any unexpended balance of monies provided for Election 9
Expenses, shall be transferred forward and made available for the same 10
purpose for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027 2028. 11
Any carry forward of unexpended balance of funding as authorized herein, may 12
be carried forward under the following conditions: 13
(1) Prior to June 30, 2026 2027 the Agency shall by written statement set 14
forth its reason(s) for the need to carry forward said funding to the 15
Department of Finance and Administration Office of Budget; 16
(2) The Department of Finance and Administration Office of Budget shall 17
report to the Arkansas Legislative Council all amounts carried forward by the 18
September Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee meeting 19
which report shall include the name of the Agency, Board, Commission or 20
Institution and the amount of the funding carried forward, the program name 21
or line item, the funding source of that appropriation and a copy of the 22
written request set forth in (1) above; 23
(3) Each Agency, Board, Commission or Institution shall provide a written 24
report to the Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee 25
containing all information set forth in item (2) above, along with a written 26
statement as to the current status of the project, contract, purpose etc. for 27
which the carry forward was originally requested no later than thirty (30) 28
days prior to the time the Agency, Board, Commission or Institution presents 29
its budget request to the Arkansas Legislative Council/Joint Budget 30
Committee; and 31
(4) Thereupon, the Department of Finance and Administration shall include 32
all information obtained in item (3) above in the biennial budget manuals 33
and/or a statement of non-compliance by the Agency, Board, Commission or 34
Institution. 35
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 36
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2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 1
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SECTION 7. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 3
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 4
TRANSFER. If funds are not available for the State Board of Election 5
Commissioners to perform their duties, the Director of the State Board of 6
Election Commissioners may from time to time certify to the Chief Fiscal 7
Officer of the State the amount of funds needed and the Chief Fiscal Officer 8
of the State shall transfer the certified amount from the Nonpartisan Filing 9
Fee Fund to the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund for use by the State Board of 10
Election Commissioners. 11
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 12
2025 2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 13
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SECTION 8. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds 15
authorized by this act shall be limited to the appropriation for such agency 16
and funds made available by law for the support of such appropriations; and 17
the restrictions of the State Procurement Law, the General Accounting and 18
Budgetary Procedures Law, the Revenue Stabilization Law, the Regular Salary 19
Procedures and Restrictions Act, or their successors, and other fiscal 20
control laws of this State, where applicable, and regulations promulgated by 21
the Department of Finance and Administration, as authorized by law, shall be 22
strictly complied with in disbursement of said funds. 23
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SECTION 9. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General 25
Assembly that any funds disbursed under the authority of the appropriations 26
contained in this act shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for 27
which this act was adopted, as evidenced by the Agency Requests, Executive 28
Recommendations and Legislative Recommendations contained in the budget 29
manuals prepared by the Department of Finance and Administration, letters, or 30
summarized oral testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas Legislative 31
Council or Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and adoption. 32
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SECTION 10. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 34
General Assembly, that the Constitution of the State of Arkansas prohibits 35
the appropriation of funds for more than a one (1) year period; that the 36
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effectiveness of this Act on July 1, 2026 is essential to the operation of 1
the agency for which the appropriations in this Act are provided, and that in 2
the event of an extension of the legislative session, the delay in the 3
effective date of this Act beyond July 1, 2026 could work irreparable harm 4
upon the proper administration and provision of essential governmental 5
programs. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act 6
being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health 7
and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 2026. 8
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