AN ACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - HEALTH SERVICES PERMIT AGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025-2026 FISCAL YEAR.

Arkansas funds its health permit agency

Beginning July 1, 2025, the law provides $480,500 for Arkansas’s Health Services Permit Agency through June 30, 2026. It allows up to four regular full-time staff. The budget includes $307,688 for salaries, $94,436 for related staff costs, and $60,835 for operating costs. It also provides $1,274 for conferences and travel and $16,267 for professional fees. No money is budgeted for capital purchases or data processing. Spending must stay within the approved budget and available lawful funds, follow state financial rules, and serve the approved purposes. The law also allows unspent fee and fine money to carry into the next budget year for its original purposes. This authority applies July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, replacing the prior June 30, 2025 carryover date. The agency must first give the state budget office a written explanation. That office must report carryovers at the Legislative Council’s or Joint Budget Committee’s September meeting. Reports must identify the agency, program or budget item, funding source, and written explanation. The agency must also submit this information and a project update at least 30 days before budget hearings. The finance department must include that report in budget manuals or state that the agency did not comply. This funding supports agency operations, not direct household payments.