On AR Watch

And that's it for this thread!

Thanks for following along.

Johnson is making an amendment to his bill, so it won't be heard today. Sen Leding asks for some kind of confirmation on when the bill will be heard; no such confirmation is forthcoming.

Deeply disrespectful to the public, to be honest; no telling how many folks have made long drives to be here.

Lawyer for Tourism says he'll check on that after this for her!

Crowell closes, and it passes.

Sen. Scott and Sen. Gilmore are following up on liability for trespassers; they're mostly protected outside of some specific instances.

One audience member actually has a question!

"Does a land owner that has a longer bike trail cross their land have to have any kind of postings?"

Sen Leding: since we're enumerating some things, can you explain "hoverboarding?"

A: few different types coming out. Essentially one-wheeled skateboards, some actually "hovering" above trails.

Sen. Scott: Q about swimming: if kids jumped the fence to swim, but couldn't, are you liable?

A: probably not, that's technically trespassing. There have been cases that may indicate common law liability in very specific instances. But swimming is in previous language.

A cont: other up and coming activities like rock climbing we're trying to encourage; specifically enumerating certain activities helps private land owners have certainty about their protections.

Sen. Gilmore: Why do we enumerate any of these actions? Why don't we just say "general recreational purposes"?

A: some folks who are into specific actions like mountain biking wanted some specific enumerations; once you enumerate one, it helps to enumerate others.

Common law tort for trespass is beyond the bill.

Hickey: so if you let kids come in and swim in a lake on your property, you have no liability.

A: there's some exemptions in federal case law for malicious or grossly negligent actions.

A cont: 3 kinds of ways people can enter property. One is trespassing, a separate legal issue. Two is invitation; three is if they're paying to enter. This statute only applies to invitation. If you're opening property up by invitation w/ no charge, this protects you from liability.

A: totally different legal issue.

Hickey: right, that's my question.

A: if they're trespassing, you don't have any liability. Existing bill only applies if landowners aren't charging a fee. In previous language.

Sen Hickey: Does the property owner have to have any kind of disclosure, or is anyone on their property?

A: original language is for private land owners who open their property up by invite. Doesn't give public right to enter on public property.

Hickey: right, but what about trespassers?

SB146 Bill Information This site is maintained by the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research, Information Systems Dept., and is the official website of the Arkansas General Assembly.

We're gaveled in!

Sen. Crowell is up first; he's presenting SB146, which updates the definition of "recreational activity" to limit the liability of private land owners.

arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail...

If you're curious what shenanigans are happening in House Education, here's your thread! #arpx

It's already standing room only; Senate Ag isn't usually a controversial committee, so the room is a bit smaller.

Sen. Leding is kindly handing out waters to folks signed up to speak.

Implementing such a moratorium would require approval from the Legislative Council, which is not a responsive body and doesn't have the expertise needed to determine how much pollution an operation might put into the watershed.

TL;dr: it's a terrible bill. Nobody wants to float a polluted river.

Good morning Arkansas! While @forarpeople.bsky.social covers House Education, we're posted up in Senate Agriculture, where they're slated to hear SB84. The bill would prohibit state agencies from implementing moratoriums on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) -industrial-scale farms.

She ends her speech, thanking everybody and says

“Now let’s get to work.”

Thanks for following this thread, stay tuned for more coverage on the 2025 legislative session.

She begins discussing the Fordyce shooting again and thanks the Dallas County Sheriff, Mike, for his quick actions on that day.

She announces the “Arkansas Medal of Freedom” that would allow Arkansans to be recognized for brave actions.

She awards this medal to Sheriff Mike.

Gov. Sanders notes that she wants to deal with the growing problem of squatters by allowing homeowners to call the sheriff’s department and have them remove squatters off of the property.

She notes that President Donald Trump will be an ally to Arkansas.

She notes she wants to remove “violent, illegal immigrants” from our state and that Donald Trump was the first President in her lifetime to “stand up to China.”

Gov. Sanders states the Phone Free School Pilot Program has created drops in physical and verbal encounters and drug offenses in schools.

She wants to ban phones in schools and enforce the Social Media Safe Act to let parents sue big tech companies under state law.

She tells the story a student named Mason, that sadly committed suicide after a relationship that went wrong and overuse of TikTok. His mother, Jenny, is watching in the gallery. Jenny has dedicated her life to prevent families from feeling that same loss.

She starts talking about the rising suicide rates and self harm among teenagers. She states the culprit is “clear”: unrestricted access to phones and social media.

She notes we have opened over 1500 new prison beds at existing facilities and mentions the brand new 3000-bed prison being built in Franklin County.

She notes we are raising state trooper starting pay by 20% and states it is long overdue.

The Good Neighbor Act give money to those who will donate food to other families.

She states she wants to use “medical marijuana money” for these programs to eliminate food insecurity.

She notes she signed Arkansas up for Summer EBT which gives parents $120 for kids that benefit from free and reduced lunch. She also states she wants to eliminate food insecurity in the state of Arkansas.

She states Arkansas ranked #1 in the country for economic growth, lowest cost of living, and inbound movers.
She also stated this in her campaign ad posted yesterday.