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*BSS039* 03/30/2026 3:24:35 PM BSS039
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 SENATE BILL 38 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 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 10
AFFAIRS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2027; AND 11
FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 16
AFFAIRS APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 17
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 Department of Veterans Affairs for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the 24
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) ESE15A SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 1 GRADE EXE04 31
(2) EEX09A CHIEF OF STAFF I 1 GRADE EXE01 32
(3) FAC08C CHIEF FISCAL OFFICER I 1 GRADE SPC09 33
(4) MHA03C NURSING HOME DIRECTOR 1 GRADE SPC09 34
(5) MHA01C NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATOR 2 GRADE SPC08 35
(6) MHA02C NURSING HOME ASSISTANT ADMIN 2 GRADE SPC06 36
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(7) CPR03C GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SPECIALIST 1 GRADE SPC05 1
(8) HDH02C HR ADMINISTRATOR I 1 GRADE SPC05 2
(9) FAC05P ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 1 GRADE SPC04 3
(10) FAC03P ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR 1 GRADE SPC03 4
(11) SCM04P LICENSED MASTER SOCIAL WORKER 1 GRADE SPC02 5
(12) SCM06P LICENSED SOCIAL WORKER 1 GRADE SPC01 6
(13) PVC02C CEMETERY SERVICE ADMINISTRATOR 1 GRADE SGS12 7
(14) PVS01C VETERANS SERVICE ADMINISTRATOR 1 GRADE SGS12 8
(15) CPR06C PUBLIC INFORMATION MANAGER 1 GRADE SGS09 9
(16) HDH08P HR SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 1 GRADE SGS08 10
(17) PPR05P PROCUREMENT SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 1 GRADE SGS08 11
(18) PVS03P VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER SUPV/EXP 1 GRADE SGS08 12
(19) PVC01C CEMETERY MANAGER 2 GRADE SGS07 13
(20) HDH05P HR COORDINATOR 1 GRADE SGS07 14
(21) PQA01P QUALITY ASSURANCE COORDINATOR 2 GRADE SGS07 15
(22) PVS02P VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER 13 GRADE SGS07 16
(23) RRE01C FOOD & BEVERAGE MANAGER 2 GRADE SGS06 17
(24) FFS02P FISCAL SUPPORT COORDINATOR 4 GRADE SGS06 18
(25) TMA04P MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 4 GRADE SGS06 19
(26) CPR07P PUBLIC INFORMATION SPECIALIST 1 GRADE SGS06 20
(27) PAS01P ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST 1 GRADE SGS05 21
(28) PPR04P PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST 3 GRADE SGS05 22
(29) PAS02P ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR 3 GRADE SGS04 23
(30) FFS04P FISCAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST 1 GRADE SGS04 24
(31) HDH07P HR SPECIALIST 3 GRADE SGS04 25
(32) PRC05P RESIDENTIAL CARE SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 3 GRADE SGS04 26
(33) THT01I CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT 146 GRADE SGS03 27
(34) TFS05P KITCHEN SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 4 GRADE SGS03 28
(35) TMA05P MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN 13 GRADE SGS03 29
(36) PAS03P ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST 4 GRADE SGS02 30
(37) TFS01P COOK 9 GRADE SGS01 31
(38) MNU05C NURSING ADMINISTRATOR 2 GRADE MED08 32
(39) MNU04P NURSE PRACTITIONER 1 GRADE MED08 33
(40) MNU07C REGISTERED NURSE MANAGER 1 GRADE MED07 34
(41) MNU08P REG. NURSE SUPERVISOR/EXPERT 2 GRADE MED06 35
(42) MNU06P REGISTERED NURSE 18 GRADE MED05 36
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(43) MNU02P LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE SUPV/EXP 1 GRADE MED03 1
(44) MNU01P LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE 39 GRADE MED02 2
(45) IIA01C CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER I 1 GRADE IST10 3
(46) IUS04P USER SUPPORT SPECIALIST 1 GRADE IST02 4
MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 305 5
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SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION - STATE OPERATIONS. There is hereby 7
appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable from the 8
Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, for personal services and operating 9
expenses of the Department of Veterans Affairs - State Operations for the 10
fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 11
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 13
NO. 2026-2027 14
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $1,328,091 15
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 476,999 16
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 17
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 197,906 18
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 69,594 19
(C) PROF. FEES 0 20
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 21
(E) DATA PROC. 0 22
(04) AID TO COUNTY VETERANS' SERVICE 23
OFFICES 516,000 24
(05) PROMOTIONAL ITEMS 4,000 25
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $2,592,590 26
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SECTION 3. EXTRA HELP - VETERANS' HOMES. There is hereby authorized, 28
for the Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans' Homes for the 2026-2027 29
fiscal year, the following maximum number of part-time or temporary 30
employees, to be known as "Extra Help", payable from funds appropriated 31
herein for such purposes: thirty (30) temporary or part-time employees, when 32
needed, at rates of pay not to exceed those provided in the Uniform 33
Classification and Compensation Act, or its successor, or this act for the 34
appropriate classification. 35
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SECTION 4. APPROPRIATION - VETERANS' HOMES - CASH. There is hereby 1
appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable from the 2
cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief Fiscal 3
Officer of the State, for personal services and operating expenses of the 4
Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans' Homes - Cash for the fiscal year 5
ending June 30, 2027, the following: 6
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 8
NO. 2026-2027 9
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $11,204,827 10
(02) EXTRA HELP 45,339 11
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 4,811,875 12
(04) OVERTIME 550,000 13
(05) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 14
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 14,903,703 15
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 52,500 16
(C) PROF. FEES 1,176,000 17
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 313,000 18
(E) DATA PROC. 0 19
(06) PROMOTIONAL ITEMS 6,000 20
(07) SPECIAL MAINTENANCE 72,831 21
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $33,136,075 22
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SECTION 5. APPROPRIATION - NW AR STATE VETERANS' HOME - CASH. There is 24
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable 25
from the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief 26
Fiscal Officer of the State, for matching funds for land acquisition, 27
improvements, construction, renovation, and purchase of equipment for a State 28
Veterans' Home in Northwest Arkansas for the Department of Veterans Affairs - 29
NW AR State Veterans' Home - Cash for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, 30
the following: 31
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 33
NO. 2026-2027 34
(01) NW AR STATE VETERANS HOME $15,000,000 35
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SECTION 6. APPROPRIATION - NW AR STATE VETERANS' HOME - FEDERAL. There 1
is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable 2
from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the 3
State, for land acquisition, improvements, construction, renovation, and 4
purchase of equipment for a State Veterans' Home in Northwest Arkansas for 5
the Department of Veterans Affairs - NW AR State Veterans' Home - Federal for 6
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 7
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 9
NO. 2026-2027 10
(01) NW AR STATE VETERANS HOME - FEDERAL $30,000,000 11
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SECTION 7. APPROPRIATION - VETERANS' CEMETERIES - STATE. There is 13
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable 14
from the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, for personal services and 15
operating expenses of the Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans' 16
Cemeteries - State for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 17
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 19
NO. 2026-2027 20
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $689,586 21
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 287,096 22
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 23
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 158,350 24
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 25
(C) PROF. FEES 0 26
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 27
(E) DATA PROC. 0 28
(04) CEMETERY REALIGNMENT AND MAINTENANCE 50,000 29
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $1,185,032 30
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SECTION 8. EXTRA HELP - VETERANS' CEMETERIES - CASH. There is hereby 32
authorized, for the Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans' Cemeteries - 33
Cash for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the following maximum number of part-time 34
or temporary employees, to be known as "Extra Help", payable from funds 35
appropriated herein for such purposes: five (5) temporary or part-time 36
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employees, when needed, at rates of pay not to exceed those provided in the 1
Uniform Classification and Compensation Act, or its successor, or this act 2
for the appropriate classification. 3
4
SECTION 9. APPROPRIATION - VETERANS' CEMETERIES - CASH. There is 5
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable 6
from the cash fund deposited in the State Treasury as determined by the Chief 7
Fiscal Officer of the State, for personal services and operating expenses of 8
the Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans' Cemeteries - Cash for the 9
fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 10
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 12
NO. 2026-2027 13
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $28,020 14
(02) EXTRA HELP 24,000 15
(03) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 14,213 16
(04) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 17
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 453,475 18
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 17,600 19
(C) PROF. FEES 0 20
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 125,000 21
(E) DATA PROC. 0 22
(05) PROMOTIONAL ITEMS 6,500 23
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $668,808 24
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SECTION 10. APPROPRIATION - MILITARY FUNERAL HONORS PROGRAM. There is 26
hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable 27
from the Military Funeral Honors Fund, for operating expenses of the 28
Department of Veterans Affairs - Military Funeral Honors Program for the 29
fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the following: 30
31
ITEM FISCAL YEAR 32
NO. 2026-2027 33
(01) MILITARY FUNERAL HONORS EXPENSES $45,900 34
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SECTION 11. APPROPRIATION - NLR CEMETERY EXPANSION 2 - FEDERAL. There 36
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is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, to be payable 1
from the federal funds as designated by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the 2
State, for construction and expansion expenses for the North Little Rock 3
Veterans' Cemetery of the Department of Veterans Affairs - NLR Cemetery 4
Expansion 2 - Federal for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the 5
following: 6
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 8
NO. 2026-2027 9
(01) CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION EXPENSES $2,000,000 10
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SECTION 12. APPROPRIATION - OPERATIONS - DISABLED VETERANS' SERVICES 12
OFFICE. There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 13
to be payable from the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, for personal 14
services and operating expenses of the Department of Veterans Affairs - 15
Disabled Veterans' Services Office for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, 16
the following: 17
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 19
NO. 2026-2027 20
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $33,205 21
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 15,547 22
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 23
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 3,000 24
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 25
(C) PROF. FEES 0 26
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 27
(E) DATA PROC. 0 28
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $51,752 29
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SECTION 13. APPROPRIATION - OPERATIONS - ARKANSAS VETERANS' CHILD 31
WELFARE SERVICE. There is hereby appropriated, to the Department of Veterans 32
Affairs, to be payable from the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account, for 33
personal services and operating expenses of the Department of Veterans 34
Affairs - Arkansas Veterans' Child Welfare Service for the fiscal year ending 35
June 30, 2027, the following: 36
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 2
NO. 2026-2027 3
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $48,400 4
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 19,037 5
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 6
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 4,182 7
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 0 8
(C) PROF. FEES 0 9
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 10
(E) DATA PROC. 0 11
(04) GRANTS/AID-ASSISTANCE TO MINOR 12
CHILDREN 107,762 13
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $179,381 14
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SECTION 14. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 16
36 CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 17
ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. At the close of the fiscal year 18
ending June 30, 2025 2026, the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall 19
authorize up to $50,000 of the balance of funds remaining in the 20
Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account for the Department of Veterans Affairs 21
for operations to be transferred into a sub-fund created within the 22
Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account to support the state veteran cemetery 23
realignment and maintenance expenses in the appropriation entitled "Cemetery 24
Realignment and Maintenance Expenses". 25
Any carry forward of unexpended balance of funding as authorized herein, may 26
be carried forward under the following conditions: 27
(1) Prior to June 30, 2025 2026 the Agency shall by written statement set 28
forth its reason(s) for the need to carry forward said funding to the 29
Department of Finance and Administration Office of Budget; 30
(2) The Department of Finance and Administration Office of Budget shall 31
report to the Arkansas Legislative Council all amounts carried forward by the 32
September Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee meeting 33
which report shall include the name of the Agency, Board, Commission or 34
Institution and the amount of the funding carried forward from the first 35
fiscal year to the second fiscal year, the program name or line item, the 36
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funding source of that appropriation and a copy of the written request set 1
forth in (1) above; 2
(3) Each Agency, Board, Commission or Institution shall provide a written 3
report to the Arkansas Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee 4
containing all information set forth in item (2) above, along with a written 5
statement as to the current status of the project, contract, purpose etc. for 6
which the carry forward was originally requested no later than thirty (30) 7
days prior to the time the Agency, Board, Commission or Institution presents 8
its budget request to the Arkansas Legislative Council/Joint Budget 9
Committee; and 10
(4) Thereupon, the Department of Finance and Administration shall include 11
all information obtained in item (3) above in the budget manuals and/or a 12
statement of non-compliance by the Agency, Board, Commission or Institution. 13
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 2026 14
through June 30, 2026 2027. 15
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SECTION 15. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds 17
authorized by this act shall be limited to the appropriation for such agency 18
and funds made available by law for the support of such appropriations; and 19
the restrictions of the State Procurement Law, the General Accounting and 20
Budgetary Procedures Law, the Revenue Stabilization Law, the Regular Salary 21
Procedures and Restrictions Act, or their successors, and other fiscal 22
control laws of this State, where applicable, and regulations promulgated by 23
the Department of Finance and Administration, as authorized by law, shall be 24
strictly complied with in disbursement of said funds. 25
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SECTION 16. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General 27
Assembly that any funds disbursed under the authority of the appropriations 28
contained in this act shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for 29
which this act was adopted, as evidenced by the Agency Requests, Executive 30
Recommendations and Legislative Recommendations contained in the budget 31
manuals prepared by the Department of Finance and Administration, letters, or 32
summarized oral testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas Legislative 33
Council or Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and adoption. 34
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SECTION 17. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 36
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General Assembly, that the Constitution of the State of Arkansas prohibits 1
the appropriation of funds for more than a one (1) year period; that the 2
effectiveness of this Act on July 1, 2026 is essential to the operation of 3
the agency for which the appropriations in this Act are provided, and that in 4
the event of an extension of the legislative session, the delay in the 5
effective date of this Act beyond July 1, 2026 could work irreparable harm 6
upon the proper administration and provision of essential governmental 7
programs. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act 8
being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health 9
and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 2026. 10
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