AN ACT FOR THE ARKANSAS STATE GAME AND FISH COMMISSION APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR.

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 SENATE BILL 14 3
4
By: Joint Budget Committee 5
6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO MAKE AN APPROPRIATION FOR PERSONAL SERVICES 9
AND OPERATING EXPENSES FOR THE ARKANSAS STATE GAME 10
AND FISH COMMISSION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 11
30, 2027; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
13
14
Subtitle 15
AN ACT FOR THE ARKANSAS STATE GAME AND 16
FISH COMMISSION APPROPRIATION FOR THE 17
2026-2027 FISCAL YEAR. 18
19
20
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 21
22
SECTION 1. REGULAR SALARIES. There is hereby established for the 23
Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the 24
following maximum number of regular employees. 25
26
Maximum Annual 27
Maximum Salary Rate 28
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 29
No. Code Title Employees 2026-2027 30
(1) Q249U AGFC DIRECTOR 1 $170,437 31
(2) Q250U AGFC CHIEF OF STAFF 1 $136,703 32
(3) Q251U AGFC DEPUTY DIRECTOR 3 $135,253 33
(4) Q255U AGFC CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER 1 $132,292 34
(5) Q252U AGFC VETERINARIAN 1 $130,050 35
(6) Q256U AGFC COLONEL 1 $128,282 36
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(7) Q266U AGFC IT ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR 1 $127,986 1
(8) Q371U AGFC CHIEF OF HUMAN RESOURCES 1 $125,049 2
(9) Q370U AGFC CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 1 $125,049 3
(10) Q254U AGFC GENERAL COUNSEL 1 $125,049 4
(11) Q404U AGFC LIEUTENANT COLONEL 1 $121,923 5
(12) Q375U AGFC CHIEF OF FISHERIES 1 $121,321 6
(13) Q374U AGFC CHIEF OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 1 $121,321 7
(14) Q373U AGFC CHIEF OF EDUCATION 1 $121,321 8
(15) Q372U AGFC CHIEF OF OPERATIONS 1 $121,321 9
(16) Q393U AGFC DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL 1 $117,593 10
(17) Q392U AGFC CONTROLLER 1 $117,593 11
(18) Q381U AGFC CHIEF OF RESEARCH 1 $117,593 12
(19) Q380U AGFC CHIEF OF SHOOTING SPORTS 1 $117,593 13
(20) Q379U AGFC CHIEF OF PRIVATE LANDS MGMT 1 $117,593 14
(21) Q378U AGFC CHIEF OF ENVIRONMENTAL COORDTN 1 $117,593 15
(22) Q377U AGFC CHIEF OF GIS 1 $117,593 16
(23) Q376U AGFC CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS 1 $117,593 17
(24) Q261U AGFC MAJOR 3 $115,563 18
(25) Q265U AGFC IT SOFTWARE ENGINEER LEAD 1 $113,591 19
(26) Q258U AGFC GIS LEAD 1 $113,591 20
(27) AGFC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POOL 13 $113,591 21
Q383U AGFC IT SECURITY SPECIALIST $113,591 22
Q382U AGFC IT DATA SCIENTIST $113,591 23
Q384U AGFC IT SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR $113,591 24
Q386U AGFC IT SENIOR SOFTWARE SUP SPEC $98,718 25
Q385U AGFC IT DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR $98,718 26
Q283U AGFC IT SENIOR SOFTWARE SUP ANALYST $95,269 27
Q387U AGFC IT PROJECT MANAGER $95,269 28
Q388U AGFC IT NETWORK SUPPORT ANALYST $95,269 29
Q389U AGFC IT SYSTEMS SPECIALIST $95,269 30
Q410U AGFC IT PROJECT COORDINATOR $90,064 31
Q390U AGFC IT COMPUTER SUPPORT SPECIALIST $90,064 32
Q308U AGFC IT WEBSITE DEVELOPER $78,575 33
Q391U AGFC IT ASSET MANAGER $78,575 34
Q365U AGFC IT SOFTWARE SUPPORT ANALYST $72,345 35
Q311U AGFC IT COMPUTER SUPPORT ANALYST $72,345 36
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Q409U AGFC IT DATA ANALYST $67,267 1
Q364U AGFC IT SOFTWARE SUPPORT SPECIALIST $66,316 2
(28) Q267U AGFC CAPTAIN 14 $107,692 3
(29) Q260U AGFC DIVISION ASST CHIEF 24 $105,933 4
(30) Q276U AGFC LIEUTENANT 15 $103,930 5
(31) Q284U AGFC SERGEANT 26 $100,285 6
(32) AGFC CONS PROGRAM BIOLOGIST POOL 90 $99,107 7
Q394U AGFC CONS PROGRAM BIOLOGIST III $99,107 8
Q402U AGFC CONS PROGRAM BIOLOGIST II $89,744 9
Q403U AGFC CONS PROGRAM BIOLOGIST I $86,609 10
(33) Q268U AGFC ASSISTANT CONTROLLER 1 $98,718 11
(34) AGFC ATTORNEY POOL 2 $98,718 12
Q452U AGFC ATTORNEY SPECIALIST $98,718 13
Q269U AGFC ATTORNEY $89,744 14
(35) AGFC GIS POOL 6 $98,718 15
Q271U AGFC SENIOR GIS ANALYST $98,718 16
Q279U AGFC GIS ANALYST $95,269 17
Q356U AGFC GIS TECHNICIAN $68,354 18
(36) Q368U AGFC STATEWIDE PROJECT MANAGER 8 $98,718 19
(37) AGFC ENFORCEMENT POOL 126 $96,748 20
Q288U AGFC CORPORAL $96,748 21
Q299U AGFC GAME WARDEN 1ST CLASS $90,004 22
Q309U AGFC GAME WARDEN $85,718 23
(38) AGFC SKILLED TRADES POOL 28 $89,744 24
Q278U AGFC OPERATIONS & FACILITY MANAGER $89,744 25
Q396U AGFC FLEET MANAGER $86,609 26
Q307U AGFC SURVEYOR $78,576 27
Q306U AGFC REAL ESTATE OFFICER $75,004 28
Q285U AGFC CONSTRUCTION MANAGER $71,432 29
Q315U AGFC MAINTENANCE COORDINATOR $71,432 30
Q400U AGFC REGIONAL FACILITY MANAGER $71,432 31
Q319U AGFC COMMUNICATIONS SYS SUPERVISOR $68,031 32
Q326U AGFC SKILLED TRADESMAN $68,031 33
Q304U AGFC CENTRAL WAREHOUSE OPER MGR $61,706 34
Q327U AGFC AUTO/DIESEL MECHANIC $61,706 35
Q335U AGFC MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN $61,706 36
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Q329U AGFC CALIBRATION TECHNICIAN $58,767 1
Q331U AGFC FIRING RANGE SPECIALIST $58,767 2
(39) AGFC HR POOL 4 $89,744 3
Q408U AGFC PAYROLL MANAGER $89,744 4
Q292U AGFC PERSONNEL MANAGER $89,081 5
Q301U AGFC ASSISTANT PERSONNEL MANAGER $75,004 6
Q313U AGFC HUMAN RESOURCE ANALYST $68,031 7
(40) AGFC EDUCATION PROGRAM POOL 51 $86,609 8
Q277U AGFC NAT CENTER/SHOOTING FAC MGR II $86,609 9
Q296U AGFC EDU STATEWIDE COORDINATOR $75,004 10
Q353U AGFC NAT CENTER/SHOOTING FAC MGR I $75,004 11
Q302U AGFC EDUCATION PROGRAM SPECIALIST $71,432 12
(41) AGFC GRANTS MANAGEMENT POOL 4 $86,609 13
Q291U AGFC GRANTS MANAGER $86,609 14
Q398U AGFC GRANTS COORDINATOR II $75,004 15
Q297U AGFC GRANTS COORDINATOR I $71,432 16
(42) Q354U AGFC ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR 1 $86,609 17
(43) AGFC BIOLOGIST POOL 109 $80,624 18
Q395U AGFC BIOLOGIST II $80,624 19
Q294U AGFC BIOLOGIST I $75,004 20
Q310U AGFC BIOLOGICAL TECHNICIAN II $68,031 21
Q337U AGFC BIOLOGICAL TECHNICIAN I $61,706 22
(44) Q450U AGFC FOI COORDINATOR 1 $75,004 23
(45) Q294U AGFC BIOLOGIST I 3 $75,004 24
(46) Q303U AGFC EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 1 $75,004 25
(47) AGFC ADMIN SUPPORT POOL 37 $75,004 26
Q318U AGFC REGIONAL OFFICES ADMINISTRATOR $75,004 27
Q323U AGFC ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST $68,031 28
Q328U AGFC ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE COORD $64,644 29
Q339U AGFC ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST $58,767 30
(48) AGFC ACCOUNTING POOL 3 $75,004 31
Q357U AGFC ACCOUNTANT II $75,004 32
Q406U AGFC ACCOUNTANT I $71,432 33
(49) AGFC COMMUNICATIONS POOL 10 $75,004 34
Q397U AGFC CREATIVE ARTIST $75,004 35
Q399U AGFC COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR $71,432 36
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Q316U AGFC PHOTOGRAPHER $71,432 1
Q330U AGFC COMMERCIAL GRAPHIC ARTIST $64,444 2
Q336U AGFC MULTIMEDIA SPECIALIST $61,706 3
(50) Q435U AGFC TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGER 1 $75,004 4
(51) Q300U AGFC LICENSING SUPERVISOR 2 $75,004 5
(52) Q298U AGFC PROCUREMENT COORDINATOR 1 $75,004 6
(53) Q322U AGFC TELECOMMUNICATIONS SUPERVISOR 1 $68,031 7
(54) Q314U AGFC LEGAL SERVICES SPECIALIST 1 $68,031 8
(55) Q305U AGFC FISCAL SUPPORT SUPERVISOR 1 $67,877 9
(56) AGFC FISCAL SUPPORT POOL 12 $61,706 10
Q324U AGFC FISCAL SUPPORT ANALYST $61,706 11
Q340U AGFC FISCAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST $58,767 12
(57) Q333U AGFC TELECOMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST 9 $61,706 13
(58) Q401U AGFC PRINTER/MAIL SERVICES SPEC 1 $58,767 14
(59) Q343U AGFC LICENSING SPECIALIST 8 $58,767 15
(60) Q334U AGFC INVENTORY CONTROL MANAGER 1 $58,767 16
(61) Q332U AGFC FOOD PREPARATION MANAGER 1 $58,767 17
(62) Q341U AGFC FOOD PREPARATION SUPERVISOR 1 $50,131 18
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 647 19
20
SECTION 2. EXTRA HELP. There is hereby authorized, for the Arkansas 21
State Game and Fish Commission for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the following 22
maximum number of part-time or temporary employees, to be known as "Extra 23
Help", payable from funds appropriated herein for such purposes: one hundred 24
eighty-five (185) temporary or part-time employees, when needed, at rates of 25
pay not to exceed those provided in the Uniform Classification and 26
Compensation Act, or its successor, or this act for the appropriate 27
classification. 28
29
SECTION 3. APPROPRIATION - OPERATIONS. There is hereby appropriated, 30
to the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to be payable from the Game 31
Protection Fund, for personal services and operating expenses of the Arkansas 32
State Game and Fish Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the 33
following: 34
35
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 36
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NO. 2026-2027 1
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $46,698,077 2
(02) EXTRA HELP 1,891,500 3
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 16,826,509 4
(04) OVERTIME 250,000 5
(05) UNIFORM ALLOWANCE 1,000,000 6
(06) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 7
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 54,907,780 8
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 517,727 9
(C) PROF. FEES 4,070,553 10
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 8,764,000 11
(E) DATA PROC. 0 12
(07) GRANTS AND AID 9,558,644 13
(08) CONSTRUCTION 17,738,903 14
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $162,223,693 15
16
SECTION 4. APPROPRIATION - GAS LEASE REVENUES. There is hereby 17
appropriated, to the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to be payable 18
from the Game Protection Fund, for maintenance and general operations, 19
capital projects, acquisition of land and conservation easements, grants, and 20
expenses associated with Disaster Response of the Arkansas State Game and 21
Fish Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 22
23
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 24
NO. 2026-2027 25
(01) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 26
(A) OPER. EXPENSE $850,000 27
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 28
(C) PROF. FEES 350,000 29
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 750,000 30
(E) DATA PROC. 0 31
(02) GAS LEASE GRANTS 50,000 32
(03) DISASTER RESPONSE 3,000,000 33
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $5,000,000 34
35
SECTION 5. APPROPRIATION - FARM BILL BIOLOGISTS. There is hereby 36
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appropriated, to the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to be payable 1
from the Game Protection Fund, for personal services and operating expenses 2
associated with implementing Farm Bill Programs of the Arkansas State Game 3
and Fish Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 4
5
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 6
NO. 2026-2027 7
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $479,508 8
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 164,143 9
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 10
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 1,350 11
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 14,580 12
(C) PROF. FEES 0 13
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 14
(E) DATA PROC. 0 15
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $659,581 16
17
SECTION 6. APPROPRIATION - CONSERVATION PARTNERS PROGRAM GRANTS. There 18
is hereby appropriated, to the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to be 19
payable from the Game Protection Fund, for grants to conservation partners, 20
or other eligible entities for operating, equipment, and maintenance expenses 21
associated with addressing statewide hunger needs of the Arkansas State Game 22
and Fish Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 23
24
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 25
NO. 2026-2027 26
(01) CONSERVATION PARTNERS PROGRAM GRANTS $150,000 27
28
SECTION 7. APPROPRIATION - BLACK RIVER SETTLEMENT FUNDS. There is 29
hereby appropriated, to the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to be 30
payable from the Game Protection Fund, for all expenses associated with the 31
mitigation to the hardwood timber destruction in the Wildlife Management 32
Area, inclusive of Regular Salaries and Personal Services Matching of the 33
Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 34
2027, the following: 35
36
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 1
NO. 2026-2027 2
(01) RESTORATION OF BLACK RIVER WMA 3
EXPENSES $13,250,000 4
5
SECTION 8. APPROPRIATION - MARINE FUEL TAX PROGRAM. There is hereby 6
appropriated, to the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to be payable 7
from the Game Protection Fund, for personal services, operating expenses and 8
expenditures associated with increasing and improving access to waterways of 9
the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission for the fiscal year ending June 10
30, 2027, the following: 11
12
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 13
NO. 2026-2027 14
(01) MARINE FUEL TAX PROGRAM $6,000,000 15
16
SECTION 9. APPROPRIATION - GTR AND WETLAND HABITAT RESTORATION. There 17
is hereby appropriated, to the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, to be 18
payable from the Game Protection Fund, for all expenses associated with 19
Greentree reservoir renovation and other wetland habitat restoration of the 20
Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 21
2027, the following: 22
23
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 24
NO. 2026-2027 25
(01) GTR & WETLAND HABITAT RENOVATION $20,000,000 26
27
SECTION 10. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 28
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. PAYMENT OF 29
REWARDS. Payment of rewards shall be from the Game Protection Fund from the 30
Commission's Maintenance and General Operation appropriation as herein 31
appropriated in the Operating Expenses line item of the Operations 32
appropriation. 33
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 34
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 35
36
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SECTION 11. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 1
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. TRANSFER 2
PROVISION. After receiving approval from the Chief Fiscal Officer of the 3
State, and prior review by the Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget 4
Committee, the Agency is authorized to transfer appropriation from any line 5
item authorized in the Operations appropriation to any other line item 6
authorized in the Operations appropriation and the Agency is authorized to 7
transfer appropriation from any line item authorized in the Gas Lease 8
Revenues appropriation to any other line item authorized in the same section. 9
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 10
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 11
12
SECTION 12. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 13
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 14
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS. The Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission is hereby 15
authorized to purchase from the Maintenance & General Operation 16
Classifications in the Operations Appropriation provided by this Act for 17
promotional items in an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars 18
($50,000), as authorized by the Director of the Commission to meet fish and 19
wildlife conservations and education needs. 20
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 21
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 22
23
SECTION 13. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 24
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. DIRECTOR 25
SALARY INCREASE RESTRICTION. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director 26
shall not receive any salary adjustment that exceeds their June 17, 2025 2026 27
actual salary by more than five percent (5%) without first receiving prior 28
approval from the Legislative Council or if the General Assembly is in 29
regular session, fiscal session, or extraordinary session, the Joint Budget 30
Committee. 31
It is both necessary and appropriate that the General Assembly maintain 32
oversight by requiring prior approval of the Legislative Council or Joint 33
Budget Committee as provided by this section. The requirement of approval by 34
the Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee is not a severable part of 35
this section. If the requirement of approval by the Legislative Council or 36
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Joint Budget Committee is ruled unconstitutional by a court of competent 1
jurisdiction, this entire section is void. 2
The provisions of this section shall be in effect through June 30, 2026 3
2027. 4
5
SECTION 14. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds 6
authorized by this act shall be limited to the appropriation for such agency 7
and funds made available by law for the support of such appropriations; and 8
the restrictions of the State Procurement Law, the General Accounting and 9
Budgetary Procedures Law, the Revenue Stabilization Law, the Regular Salary 10
Procedures and Restrictions Act, or their successors, and other fiscal 11
control laws of this State, where applicable, and regulations promulgated by 12
the Department of Finance and Administration, as authorized by law, shall be 13
strictly complied with in disbursement of said funds. 14
15
SECTION 15. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General 16
Assembly that any funds disbursed under the authority of the appropriations 17
contained in this act shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for 18
which this act was adopted, as evidenced by the Agency Requests, Executive 19
Recommendations and Legislative Recommendations contained in the budget 20
manuals prepared by the Department of Finance and Administration, letters, or 21
summarized oral testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas Legislative 22
Council or Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and adoption. 23
24
SECTION 16. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 25
General Assembly, that the Constitution of the State of Arkansas prohibits 26
the appropriation of funds for more than a one (1) year period; that the 27
effectiveness of this Act on July 1, 2026 is essential to the operation of 28
the agency for which the appropriations in this Act are provided, and that in 29
the event of an extension of the legislative session, the delay in the 30
effective date of this Act beyond July 1, 2026 could work irreparable harm 31
upon the proper administration and provision of essential governmental 32
programs. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act 33
being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health 34
and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 2026. 35
36