SR37 • 2026

TO PROHIBIT THE ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE CHAMBER OF THE SENATE BY ARKANSAS GIRLS STATE FOR ITS ANNUAL MEETING.

Education

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: B. Davis
Last action: 2026-04-23
Official status: Senate -- Died on Senate Calendar at Sine Die adjournment.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official status indicates the bill died at adjournment; therefore, it has no legal effect despite being labeled 'Active' in some metadata fields.

Resolution on Senate Chamber Access for Arkansas Girls State

This resolution blocks a youth program from using the Senate chamber and bill-drafting services unless officials allow students who missed application deadlines due to administrative errors to join.

What This Bill Does

Prohibits Arkansas Girls State from entering or using the Chamber of the Senate during its 2026 meeting.
Stops Arkansas Girls State from using bill-drafting services from the Bureau of Legislative Research in 2026.
Sets a condition to remove these bans if the President Pro Tempore determines that students denied due to administrative oversights are allowed to participate.
Urges program leaders to reconsider decisions preventing qualified young women selected by their schools from participating.

Who It Names or Affects

Arkansas Girls State organizers and participants
The American Legion Auxiliary, which runs the program
Young women selected as delegates who were denied participation due to administrative oversights

Terms To Know

Chamber of the Senate: The main room where Arkansas senators meet.
Bureau of Legislative Research: A state office that provides bill-drafting services to lawmakers and programs.
Rescinded: To officially cancel or take back a rule, decision, or resolution.

Limits and Unknowns

The resolution died on the Senate calendar at adjournment and did not become an official law.
It only applies to the year 2026 meeting of Arkansas Girls State.
The text does not specify how or when the President Pro Tempore will make a determination about student participation.

Bill History

No action history is stored for this bill yet.

Official Summary Text

TO PROHIBIT THE ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE CHAMBER OF THE SENATE BY ARKANSAS GIRLS STATE FOR ITS ANNUAL MEETING.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

*ZRC216* 04/23/2026 4:24:39 PM ZRC216
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 SR 37 3
4
By: Senator B. Davis 5
6
7
SENATE RESOLUTION 8
TO PROHIBIT THE ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE CHAMBER OF 9
THE SENATE BY ARKANSAS GIRLS STATE FOR ITS ANNUAL 10
MEETING. 11
12
13
Subtitle 14
TO PROHIBIT THE ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE 15
CHAMBER OF THE SENATE BY ARKANSAS GIRLS 16
STATE FOR ITS ANNUAL MEETING. 17
18
WHEREAS, Arkansas Girls State regularly requests access to and use of 19
the Chamber of the Senate for their sessions that take place in the State 20
Capitol Building; and 21
22
WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of the members of the Senate that 23
several outstanding young women, who are both qualified to participate and 24
who were chosen by their schools to be delegates, have been denied the 25
opportunity to participate in Arkansas Girls State due to inadvertent 26
administrative oversights in the application process; and 27
28
WHEREAS, the denial of these outstanding young women is based upon the 29
actions of schools and educators who, despite their best intentions and 30
diligent efforts, missed the application deadline for Arkansas Girls State; 31
and 32
33
WHEREAS, the adults responsible for missing deadlines have taken full 34
responsibility for their errors; and 35
36
SR37

2 04/23/2026 4:24:39 PM ZRC216
WHEREAS, Arkansas Girls State embodies the ideas of civic engagement, 1
leadership, and public service and is a source of pride for communities and a 2
formative experience for young women across Arkansas; and 3
4
WHEREAS, it would be both a profound disappointment and a loss for the 5
people of Arkansas to deny deserving students the ability to participate in 6
Arkansas Girls State when that program has proven to be transformative for 7
many future leaders, 8
9
NOW THEREFORE, 10
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 11
STATE OF ARKANSAS: 12
13
THAT the Senate prohibit access to and use of the Chamber of the Senate 14
for the 2026 meeting of Arkansas Girls State. 15
16
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Arkansas Girls State shall not utilize the bill 17
drafting services of the Bureau of Legislative Research during the 2026 18
meeting of Arkansas Girls State. 19
20
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT if the President Pro Tempore of the Senate 21
determines that the American Legion Auxiliary has allowed the young women 22
denied participation due to administrative oversights to participate in the 23
2026 meeting of Arkansas Girls State, this resolution shall be rescinded, 24
Arkansas Girls State shall be permitted access to and use of the Chamber of 25
the Senate for the 2026 meeting of Arkansas Girls State, and Arkansas Girls 26
State shall have access to the bill drafting services of the Bureau of 27
Legislative Research during the 2026 meeting of Arkansas Girls State. 28
29
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Senate strongly urges the American Legion 30
Auxiliary to reconsider any decision that would prevent the participation of 31
those young women who, despite both being qualified to participate and being 32
selected by their schools as delegates, have been denied the opportunity to 33
participate in Arkansas Girls State. 34
35
36