According to Henley, the acts she summarized for the Lions do the following:

·       Ends the state grocery tax in Arkansas starting January 1st of next year.

·       Raises the Homestead Property Tax credit by $100 effective January of this year.

·       Amends the income tax liability for contributions to the Arkansas Brighter Future program that roll over to a Roth IRA if the student the contributions are for does not opt for college.

·       Allows the Arkansas Public Service Commission to continue to regulate electric and gas companies’ recovery construction and allows for the collection of payments from residents in advance for potential construction later.  “So you will see on upcoming bills a small percentage or set amount, where we'll be able to pay in advance for some of these electric companies and gas companies, because we know in Arkansas that we're going to be short on power and gas into the future,” Henley said. “So it's a futuristic approach, but one that everyone is very, very pleased with.”

·       Bans Pharmacy Benefit Managers from selling retail at pharmacies.

·       Expands Medicaid coverage for pregnant women. “You may know that in Arkansas, we're among the highest infant deaths. And we just have moms that are unable to take care of themselves and take care of their babies, and this is certainly good legislation for all of us in Arkansas,” Henley said.

·       Requires work for ARHome recipients, tracks pharmacy rebates ensuring the pharmacies pay the state when rebates are used and also increases the medical loss ratio on ARHome from 80 to 85 percent. ARHome will sunset as a program December 31st, 2031.

·       Changes election law to include restrictions so that only state residents can canvas for petition signatures, requirements of canvassers to verify a signer’s voting registration and photo ID and have signers read the amendment title and hear of the penalty for signers committing fraud. Amendment titles must be understandable for those with no more than an eighth-grade reading level. Arkansas’ Department of Finance Administration information on the costs to the state of each amendment would appear on the ballot.

·       Changes dates on primary elections and the General Assembly’s fiscal sessions.

·       Provides scholarships for use in vocational and technical schools. 

·       Allows the formula by which public schools are given grades to be adjusted.

·       Allows public schools to provide student data to colleges and universities.

·       Prohibits state-supported schools from taking action based on diversity, equity and inclusion factors.

·       Prohibits the granting of excuses for missed classes at schools for participation in political protests with exceptions for that participation meeting certain conditions.

·       Prohibits the use of cell phones at state-supported elementary and secondary schools except for health reasons or during school activities not considered classes.

·       Funds free breakfast for all elementary and secondary students. Henley said here, “I just got back from a homelessness conference in Minneapolis, and it's amazing nationwide how homelessness and food insecurity is a major, major problem.”

·       Provides for the merging of the Arkansas School for the Deaf and the Arkansas School for the Blind. 

·       Funds schools to an increase of $8,162 in 2025.  In 2026 the funding goes down to $8,037, “and it does that because employees, insurance packages will be funded in another place,” Henley said.

·       Prohibits moratoriums by state agencies in issuing permits on watersheds that would expire four years after the effective date of February 1st, 2026. “I probably got more calls from Hempstead County farmers and Howard County farmers on that moratorium bill that that was up that Farm Bureau was pushing and but there is a bill passed,” Henley said. “People were concerned about watershed on the Buffalo River, so that one is not included in this.”

·       Requires notice of government meetings to be published on websites and social media and requires physical presence for the counting of a quorum or voting.  Exceptions to the latter include city and county boards. Reasons for executive session meeting (meetings whose discussions are not made public) must be stated prior to the session.

·       Establishes a state employee’s student loan program.

·       Prohibitions of unfair treatment based on diversity, equity and inclusion guidelines.

·       Restriction of use for male and female-designated restrooms and other facilities to those born to the sexes male or female respectively. “What is happening is you can go to the restroom of the sex that you are not the sex that you want to be,” Henley said. “And that became some heated discussions at times. Shelters are specifically highlighted in that bill that girls will stay with girls and boys will stay with [boys].”

·       Makes efforts to improve social media safety for minors.  As Henley explained, one act “reduces the age of a minor in the social media safety act from 18 to 16 and requires private privacy and safety settings for an Arkansas minor.  Another one in social media is act 901 to create a private right of action against a social media platform that causes harm or to impose a civil penalty on a social media platform that knowingly and willfully contributes to the minor suicide and suicide attempts.” Another act prohibits social media company from gathering and sharing private information acquired from minors.

·       Requires minors age 13 or older who make money sharing content on the internet would to have their earnings placed in a trust fund until the minor reaches age 18.

·       Increases penalties for being an undocumented immigrant in Arkansas.

·       Makes third offense for living in homes and buildings unauthorized by their owner a felony. 

·       Creates a recidivism reduction program in the state Department of Corrections.

·       Increases penalties for human trafficking.

·       Increases the overall state budget to $6.5 billion.  Henley brought handouts showing the distribution of one dollar in state revenue.  That handout is shown below this article and its pictures.

Henley invited members to call her if they had any questions or concerns.  She said she found the part of her work helping constituents with problems with state government was among the most gratifying aspects of her job.  

Asked if the Arkansas budget was balanced for the year, Henley said it isn’t, but that there is a surplus of unspent revenues that will go toward education. 

Among the questions she was asked was one concerning whether state funds meeting Americans With Disabilities Act requirements to help the disabled were being cut because of anti-DEI legislation.  Henley said “No.  Folks with disabilities are funded.”  She added that the legislation prohibiting discrimination toward people because of DEI requirements protected the disabled.  A member suggested the state find out the costs of providing funds for a nonworking disabled person versus the costs of training that person and that technology be used to help the disabled when it can cut the costs that disabled person places on the state.

Henley said that during the session the legislators heard testimony about the difficulties of dentists working on disabled folk who could not be still in their chairs which resulted in the passage of the provision of Medicaid funds allowed for that situation. The Medicaid allowance for dentists was increased for the first time in 18 years, she added.

A question was asked whether the state was providing funds for the new veterinary school at Lyons College.  Henley said this is the case.

Henley presented a coin commemorating the 95th Arkansas General Assembly to the Lions.

A member suggested that a veterans cemetery be set up in southern Arkansas.  Henley said she would reach out to the chairman of the House Veterans Committee.  When a question was asked about potentially locating near Hope a Department of Corrections halfway house for inmates about to emerge into the free population, Henley said she would look into it.

In closing, Henley again stressed the importance of constituents contacting her regarding issues.  “If you know something I need to know, call me. We may not win, but I'll certainly go after it,” she said.