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ArkansasHB19582025 Regular SessionHouse

TO REQUIRE PUBLIC ENTITIES TO CREATE A POLICY CONCERNING THE AUTHORIZED USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Sponsored By: Jane English (Republican), Stephen Meeks (Republican)

Enacted

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.

Public access to state technology policies

Arkansas state entities must provide their technology, artificial intelligence, and automated decision tool policies when the public requests them. The Department of Education must develop model policies for each type of state educational institution. It must work with the State Cybersecurity Office and make those model policies available upon request. No response deadline is specified.

Public workers face training and discipline rules

Arkansas public entities must develop training for all employees on technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and automated decision tool policies. Training must cover proper use of these tools when making work-related decisions. Political subdivisions are exempt only from the cybersecurity training requirement. Each public entity must create a discipline process for violations of its technology and artificial intelligence policies. The law does not set specific penalties.

New technology safeguards and public worker limits

Taxpayer-funded Arkansas public entities, including schools and local governments, must set rules for technology, artificial intelligence, and automated decision tools. An authorized human employee or designee must make final work-related decisions, regardless of a tool’s recommendation. Cybersecurity policies must follow State Cybersecurity Office standards and guidelines; political subdivisions are exempt from this requirement. The rules must ban illegal activity and intentional efforts to bypass security or system safeguards. Employees cannot use these resources to express personal political opinions to elected officials, except for regular job duties or requested statements. Those requests must come from an elected official or public entity. Lobbying elected officials on personal opinions is barred unless the employee is a registered lobbyist for the public entity.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsors

  • Jane English

    Republican • Senate

  • Stephen Meeks

    Republican • House

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 227 • No: 0

House vote • 4/14/2025

House Vote - Monday, April 14, 2025 2:56:31 PM

Yes: 99 • No: 0

Senate vote • 4/10/2025

Senate Vote - Thursday, April 10, 2025 4:10:31 PM

Yes: 35 • No: 0

House vote • 4/7/2025

House Vote - Monday, April 7, 2025 4:39:12 PM

Yes: 93 • No: 0 • Other: 2

Actions Timeline

  1. Notification that HB1958 is now Act 848

    4/17/2025House

  2. Correctly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office.

    4/15/2025House

  3. TO BE ENROLLED

    4/14/2025House

  4. Senate amendment # 1 read and concurred in.

    4/14/2025House

  5. Returned from Senate as passed, as amended # 1

    4/10/2025House

  6. Returned to the House as passed as amended # 1 .

    4/10/2025Senate

  7. Read the third time and passed.

    4/10/2025Senate

  8. REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED

    4/9/2025Senate

  9. Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.

    4/9/2025Senate

  10. Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.

    4/9/2025Senate

  11. Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it Do Pass as amended, Amendment # 1

    4/8/2025Senate

  12. Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE

    4/7/2025Senate

  13. Received from the House.

    4/7/2025Senate

  14. Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate.

    4/7/2025House

  15. Returned by the Committee Do Pass

    4/3/2025House

  16. Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - HOUSE

    4/1/2025House

  17. Filed

    4/1/2025House

Bill Text

  • HB1958 - Introduced

    4/1/2025

    PDF

  • Act Version

    PDF

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