# Arkansas HB1252: TO ESTABLISH THE CERTIFIED COMMUNITY-BASED DOULA CERTIFICATION ACT; AND TO CERTIFY BIRTH AND POSTPARTUM DOULAS IN THIS STATE TO IMPROVE MATERNAL AND INFANT OUTCOMES. Arkansas HB1252, TO ESTABLISH THE CERTIFIED COMMUNITY-BASED DOULA CERTIFICATION ACT; AND TO CERTIFY BIRTH AND POSTPARTUM DOULAS IN THIS STATE TO IMPROVE MATERNAL AND INFANT OUTCOMES., is a 2025 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Missy Irvin (Republican), Lee Johnson (Republican); status enacted, last action 2025-04-21 (Notification that HB1252 is now Act 965); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-16). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-HB1252-2025 - As of: 2026-10-16 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Arkansas HB1252 - State: Arkansas - Session: 2025 Regular Session - Title: TO ESTABLISH THE CERTIFIED COMMUNITY-BASED DOULA CERTIFICATION ACT; AND TO CERTIFY BIRTH AND POSTPARTUM DOULAS IN THIS STATE TO IMPROVE MATERNAL AND INFANT OUTCOMES. - Status: enacted - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-27 - Last action: 2025-04-21, Notification that HB1252 is now Act 965 - Sponsors: Missy Irvin (Republican), Lee Johnson (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (213 yes, 5 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Medicaid and health plans pay doulas: benefit, medium. Arkansas Medicaid and health benefit plans pay certified community-based doulas for covered services. Services include support during hospital delivery and before and after birth, as defined by Department of Human Services rules. Covered plans include insurers, health maintenance and managed care o… - Privacy protections for doula patients: benefit, low. Patient and personal information obtained by certified doulas under this law is exempt from Arkansas public-records requests. It is also confidential and legally protected as required by federal law. Doulas who fail to protect this information face penalties under state and federal law. - Defined service limits for certified doulas: cost, low. The law limits work under state doula certification to listed nonclinical support services, not medical care. These include childbirth education, help using the health system, advocacy before and after birth, and connections to community resources. Doulas provide continuous emotional and physical s… - State credentials and fees for doulas: mixed, low. Arkansas creates state certification and a public registry for community-based doulas. Applicants must be at least 18, maintain an approved doula credential, and pay a $50 application fee. The credential must come from a state-designated organization or the Doula Alliance of Arkansas. State certifi… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Missy Irvin (Republican), Senate - Sponsor: Lee Johnson (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-15 | House | House Vote - Tuesday, April 15, 2025 2:42:30 PM | pass | 93 | 1 | 3 | | 2025-04-10 | Senate | Senate Vote - Thursday, April 10, 2025 3:40:24 PM | pass | 32 | 1 | 1 | | 2025-03-17 | House | House Vote - Monday, March 17, 2025 2:26:53 PM | pass | 88 | 3 | 3 | ## Actions (22) - 2025-04-21: Notification that HB1252 is now Act 965 (House) - 2025-04-16: Correctly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office. (House) - 2025-04-15: TO BE ENROLLED (House) - 2025-04-15: Senate amendment # 1 read and concurred in. (House) - 2025-04-10: Returned from Senate as passed, as amended # 1 (House) - 2025-04-10: Returned to the House as passed as amended # 1 . (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Read the third time and passed. (Senate) - 2025-04-09: Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Re-referred to PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE (Senate) - 2025-04-03: REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed. (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Withdrawn from Committee and placed on 2nd reading for purpose of amendment # 1 (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Rules suspended. (Senate) - 2025-03-17: Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE (Senate) - 2025-03-17: Received from the House. (Senate) - 2025-03-17: Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. (House) - 2025-03-13: Returned by the Committee Do Pass (House) - 2025-02-13: REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED (House) - 2025-02-13: Amendment No. 1 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. (House) - 2025-02-13: Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment. (House) - 2025-01-27: Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE- HOUSE (House) - 2025-01-27: Filed (House) ## Bill text - HB1252 - Introduced, 2025-01-27: [PDF](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FHB1252.pdf) - Act Version: [PDF](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2F&file=965.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R) ## Related bills - HB1265: AN ACT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025-2026 FISCAL YEAR. (enacted) - HB1686: TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LICENSES TO CARRY CONCEALED HANDGUNS. (failed) - HB1237: TO PROHIBIT MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FROM SOLICITING INJURED INDIVIDUALS; AND TO SET PENALTIES FOR A VIOLATION OF THE PROHIBITION OF SOLICITATION OF INJURED INDIV… (failed) - SB440: TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS; TO REGULATE THE USE OF ALKALINE HYDROLYSIS; AND TO REGULATE ALKALINE HYDROLYSIS FACILITIES. (failed) - HB1695: TO CLARIFY THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS FOR PROPERTY SUBJECT TO A MUNICIPAL LIEN; TO ALLOW A MUNICIPALITY TO PETITION TO SET ASIDE THE SALE OF PROPERTY TO CERTAIN P… (failed) - HR1012: TO AMEND THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY; TO REQUIRE THAT A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BE SELECTED A… (failed) ## Sources - [HB1252 - Introduced (PDF)](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FHB1252.pdf) - [Act Version (PDF)](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2F&file=965.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R) ## Related - [HB1265: AN ACT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK APPROPRIATION FOR THE 2025…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-HB1265-2025) - [HB1686: TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LICENSES TO CARRY CONCEALED HANDGUNS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-HB1686-2025) - [HB1237: TO PROHIBIT MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FROM SOLICITING INJURED INDIVIDUALS; AND TO S…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-HB1237-2025) - [SB440: TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS; TO REGULATE THE US…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-SB440-2025) - [HB1695: TO CLARIFY THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS FOR PROPERTY SUBJECT TO A MUNICIPAL LIEN; TO…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-HB1695-2025) - [HR1012: TO AMEND THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-HR1012-2025) - [Arkansas bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/arkansas/bills) - [Arkansas state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/arkansas) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AR-HB1252-2025 (as of 2026-10-16).