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*CJW014* 03/30/2026 11:26:35 AM CJW014
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 SENATE BILL 5 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 9
SERVICES, OPERATING EXPENSES AND GRANTS FOR THE 10
PURPOSE OF MONITORING AND EVALUATING PROGRAM 11
EXPENDITURES FROM THE PROGRAM ACCOUNTS OF THE TOBACCO 12
SETTLEMENT PROGRAM FUND FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 13
- ARKANSAS TOBACCO SETTLEMENT COMMISSION FOR THE 14
FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2027; AND FOR OTHER 15
PURPOSES. 16
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Subtitle 19
AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - 20
ARKANSAS TOBACCO SETTLEMENT COMMISSION 21
APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2026-2027 FISCAL 22
YEAR. 23
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 26
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SECTION 1. REGULAR SALARIES - OPERATIONS. There is hereby established 28
for the Department of Health - Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission for the 29
2026-2027 fiscal year, the following maximum number of regular employees. 30
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Maximum Annual 32
Maximum Salary Rate 33
Item Class No. of Fiscal Year 34
No. Code Title Employees 2026-2027 35
(1) PAS01P ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST 1 GRADE SGS05 36
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MAX. NO. OF EMPLOYEES 1 1
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SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION - OPERATIONS. There is hereby appropriated, 3
to the Department of Health, to be payable from the Tobacco Settlement 4
Commission Fund, for personal services and operating expenses necessary to 5
monitor and evaluate the various program accounts established within the 6
Tobacco Settlement Program Fund, and to provide grants as authorized in 7
Section 17 of Initiated Act 1 of 2000 of the Department of Health - Arkansas 8
Tobacco Settlement Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, the 9
following: 10
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ITEM FISCAL YEAR 12
NO. 2026-2027 13
(01) REGULAR SALARIES $43,881 14
(02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING 18,000 15
(03) MAINT. & GEN. OPERATION 16
(A) OPER. EXPENSE 42,575 17
(B) CONF. & TRAVEL 3,000 18
(C) PROF. FEES 250,000 19
(D) CAP. OUTLAY 0 20
(E) DATA PROC. 0 21
(04) TOBACCO SETTLEMENT GRANTS 0 22
TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED $357,456 23
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SECTION 3. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 25
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. TRANSFER 26
RESTRICTIONS. The appropriations provided in this act shall not be 27
transferred under the provisions of Arkansas Code 19-4-513, but only as 28
provided by this act. 29
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 30
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 31
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SECTION 4. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 33
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. TRANSFERS 34
OF APPROPRIATIONS. In the event the amount of any of the budget 35
classifications of maintenance and general operation in this act are found by 36
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the administrative head of the agency to be inadequate, then the agency head 1
may request, upon forms provided for such purpose by the Chief Fiscal Officer 2
of the State, a modification of the amounts of the budget classification. In 3
that event, he shall set out on the forms the particular classifications for 4
which he is requesting an increase or decrease, the amounts thereof, and his 5
reasons therefor. In no event shall the total amount of the budget exceed 6
either the amount of the appropriation or the amount of the funds available, 7
nor shall any transfer be made from the capital outlay or data processing 8
subclassifications unless specific authority for such transfers is provided 9
by law, except for transfers from capital outlay to data processing when 10
determined by the Department of Shared Administrative Services - Office of 11
State Technology that data processing services for a state agency can be 12
performed on a more cost-efficient basis by the Department of Shared 13
Administrative Services - Office of State Technology than through the 14
purchase of data processing equipment by that state agency. In considering 15
the proposed modification as prepared and submitted by each state agency, the 16
Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall make such studies as he deems 17
necessary. The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall, after obtaining the 18
approval of the Legislative Council, approve the requested transfer if in his 19
opinion it is in the best interest of the state. 20
The General Assembly has determined that the agency in this act could be 21
operated more efficiently if some flexibility is given to that agency and 22
that flexibility is being accomplished by providing authority to transfer 23
between certain items of appropriation made by this act. Since the General 24
Assembly has granted the agency broad powers under the transfer of 25
appropriations, it is both necessary and appropriate that the General 26
Assembly maintain oversight of the utilization of the transfers by requiring 27
prior approval of the Legislative Council in the utilization of the transfer 28
authority. Therefore, the requirement of approval by the Legislative Council 29
is not a severable part of this section. If the requirement of approval by 30
the Legislative Council is ruled unconstitutional by a court of competent 31
jurisdiction, this entire section is void. 32
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 33
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 34
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SECTION 5. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 36
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CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 1
POSITIONS. (a) Nothing in this act shall be construed as a commitment of the 2
State of Arkansas or any of its agencies or institutions to continue funding 3
any position paid from the proceeds of the Tobacco Settlement in the event 4
that Tobacco Settlement funds are not sufficient to finance the position. 5
(b) State funds will not be used to replace Tobacco Settlement funds when 6
such funds expire, unless appropriated by the General Assembly and authorized 7
by the Governor. 8
(c) A disclosure of the language contained in (a) and (b) of this Section 9
shall be made available to all new hire and current positions paid from the 10
proceeds of the Tobacco Settlement by the Tobacco Settlement Commission. 11
(d) Whenever applicable the information contained in (a) and (b) of this 12
Section shall be included in the employee handbook and/or Professional 13
Services Contract paid from the proceeds of the Tobacco Settlement. 14
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 15
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 16
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SECTION 6. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 18
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 19
COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS. Disbursement of funds authorized by this act 20
shall be limited to the appropriation for such agency and funds made 21
available by law for the support of such appropriations; and the restrictions 22
of the State Purchasing Law, the General Accounting and Budgetary Procedures 23
Law, the Regular Salary Procedures and Restrictions Act, or their successors, 24
and other fiscal control laws of this State, where applicable, and 25
regulations promulgated by the Department of Finance and Administration, as 26
authorized by law, shall be strictly complied with in disbursement of said 27
funds. 28
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 29
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 30
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SECTION 7. SPECIAL LANGUAGE. NOT TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ARKANSAS 32
CODE NOR PUBLISHED SEPARATELY AS SPECIAL, LOCAL AND TEMPORARY LAW. 33
LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the General Assembly that any funds 34
disbursed under the authority of the appropriations contained in this act 35
shall be in compliance with the stated reasons for which this act was 36
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adopted, as evidenced by Initiated Act 1 of 2000, the Agency Requests, 1
Executive Recommendations and Legislative Recommendations contained in the 2
budget manuals prepared by the Department of Finance and Administration, 3
letters, or summarized oral testimony in the official minutes of the Arkansas 4
Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee which relate to its passage and 5
adoption. 6
The provisions of this section shall be in effect only from July 1, 2025 7
2026 through June 30, 2026 2027. 8
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SECTION 8. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the General 10
Assembly, that the Constitution of the State of Arkansas prohibits the 11
appropriation of funds for more than a one (1) year period; that the 12
effectiveness of this Act on July 1, 2026 is essential to the operation of 13
the agency for which the appropriations in this Act are provided, and that in 14
the event of an extension of the legislative session, the delay in the 15
effective date of this Act beyond July 1, 2026 could work irreparable harm 16
upon the proper administration and provision of essential governmental 17
programs. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act 18
being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health 19
and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 2026. 20
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