Governor Sanders today announced she will delay the special election for State Senate District 26 until next November. This leaves the people of that district without representation for over a year when issues critical to them will be voted on. actionnetwork.org/petitions/de...

Surprising just about nobody, Joe Profiri met with ICE agents at the site of the proposed Franklin County mega prison. Sarah wants to illegally detain and disappear our neighbors, it seems. This makes what was already a bad deal even worse. forarpeople.org/ice-detentio...

Roe v. Wade was overturned three years ago today. Things for Arkansas families have gotten much, much worse since then, but instead of trying to fix them, the Governor and her cronies are refusing to deal with the maternal and infant mortality rates. forarpeople.org/three-years-...

House Republicans, led by Fran Cavenaugh, again nixed a contract for a firm that would help state employees navigate the thorny Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, despite members of their own party begging them to help their own workers. #arleg

School lunch debt in Arkansas is a looming crisis. We spoke with four nutrition directors across the state to get a sense of the problem. It's grim. New on the website today: The scope of our school lunch debt crisis and how we've failed students. forarpeople.org/the-scope-of...

Today we're excited to announce our participation in Protect AR Rights with other stakeholders in Arkansas. Our goal is to defend direct democracy from legislative overreach, and we've got the group to do it! You can follow our efforts at www.protectarrights.org

"Two grassroots ballot question committees hoping to place measures on the 2026 ballot filed a motion Wednesday seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging several laws passed by the Arkansas Legislature to restrict the initiative process." arktimes.com/arkansas-blo...

We're pleased to be supporting this effort to overturn the unconstitutional efforts of the legislature to silence the people of Arkansas and limit our right to direct democracy.

This story gets much worse. Long story short? Someone basically stole $300k from the state to abuse kids, and the state didn't do anything to stop them until the person got caught running a child fight ring. forarpeople.org/jonesboro-fi...

NEW on the site today: Seen the White House budget proposal? Massive cuts to essential services across the board. But that's pretty familiar to Arkansans, who have been experiencing similar cuts for years. forarpeople.org/arkansas-is-...

#NEWS A few days ago, this story broke about child abuse in a special education institution in Jonesboro. www.kait8.com/2025/04/21/p... It turns out the "Delta Institute" was receiving EFA funds. Vouchers financed a child fight ring. #arpx

Abortion bans kill people, and this is one reason why: doctors don't want to train and live in states where they cannot provide the care mandated by their oaths to "Do no harm."

Got a really beautiful sight for y’all today. It’s so… quiet #arleg

In a real plot twist, the Arkansas House on Wednesday voted down an anti-democracy Republican power grab to allow the legislature to change constitutional amendments initiated and passed by the people. The issue isn't going away, though. arktimes.com/arkansas-blo...

And with the House in recess, the business of the 95th General Assembly is done. Thanks for following along, folks. We’ll have a roundup later this week.

So delighted to announce the Senate has adjourned. Almost there, y'all.

#SB569 goes down in flames. Great news for democracy.

It brings us great joy to report that #arleg is on track to finish today. It brings us great sadness to report that bad bills are still coming. #SB569, which is an unconstitutional power grab by the legislature, passed House State Agencies late last night.

#enough #arkansasstrong #arpx #ruralstrong arstrong.org/six-generati...

#SB640, to dissolve and reconstitute the State Library Board, has passed the House State Agencies subcommittee. It'll head to the full House floor next.

Good morning folks, and welcome to what we "desperately hope" will be the final three working days of this legislative session. Few things we're watching (nothing is dead till they leave town): Mary Bentley's #HB1916 targeting parents and caretakers of trans kids, is up today in Senate Judiciary.

This is a great point: there will almost certainly be a special session this summer to cut taxes (🙄) and Sanders will likely tack this onto the call. But it's still a fairly embarrassing loss for her now, and gives us lots of time to organize.

Folks, great news: it seems for now the Franklin County appropriation bill is dead. Nothing is fully dead until they leave town, but Hester and Dismang are not currently planning on bringing #SB354 up for another vote. Huge win for the people of Franklin Co and the state as a whole.

Breathe a sigh of relief, folks: members of Budget Committee were told that the Revenue Stabilization Act will be on their desks soon. Always a sign that session is winding down. #arpx #arleg

Late last night, the attack on our libraries continued. This bill would give Sanders the power to appoint every member of the library board. More to come on this, but stay aware!

Correction: they *tried* to roast you, but I fear you told the truth and it seems that the truth hurts. Is there a song about that or something? Librarians are dedicated to their patrons, despite well-funded efforts to falsely discredit them. Get your library cards and use them, y'all.

In an incredible but honestly unexpected twist, #SB536 FAILS on a roll call. Not sure exactly how Beck (vice chair) or Gazaway (chair) voted (they're somewhat protected from the public record), but library supporters HUSTLED to get these NO votes. If your rep voted no, call them and thank them.

To continue tonight's chaos, Rep. Lundstrum's awful religious discrimination bill, #HB1615, currently being debated in the senate.

Great breakdown of the fate of #HB1004

Okay update on this: starting to hear #SB354 will indeed be heard tonight sometime. No word on when. Settle in, folks!

Also quick note: #HB1004, which would have expanded postpartum Medicaid, failed this morning in the Senate Public Health Committee. Huge loss for Arkansas mothers.

In a shocking twist, the sponsors of a bill targeting the farming moratorium on the Buffalo National River pulled the bill from consideration to be amended.

Dan Sullivan currently lying about the effects of #SB536 in House State Agencies. Asked if the bill disrupts library services for Arkansans, he said "No, it's in the bill." What's in the bill, Dan? Just because the bill doesn't explicitly do something, doesn't mean it won't down the line.

Nothing confirmed yet, but two developments: First, it seems that #SB354 won't be heard today. Rumors of dealmaking abound, but members are so far being told it won't be today. Second, rumblings that #SB290, the Buffalo bill, WON'T be heard on the House floor and that sponsors pulled it.

#SB354, the Franklin County prison appropriation bill, is about to be up in the Senate. It's failed multiple times, but opponents of the project - us included - have been scrambling all morning having heard rumors than previous "No" votes may have flopped. We're gonna see how this goes, folks.

Here's the inscription on the facade of Boston Public Library's McKim Building: "The commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty." #nationallibraryweek

Happening now in House State Agencies: #SB536, which would dissolve the State Library Board and drastically reduce funding for libraries across the state. Rep. Wayne Long and Sen. "Book Ban" Dan Sullivan presenting. They continue spouting their lies about this being about protecting children.

🚨 Keep up the pressure, y'all. Tell your Senators to vote NO on SB354 RIGHT NOW. contact info in this thread 👇

URGENT: Call your Senators RIGHT NOW to tell them to continue to vote against the Franklin County prison appropriations. The Senate number is 501-682-2902 - they'll ask you who your senator is and what bill you're discussing. Say your name, your Senator, and you'd like them to vote against #SB354

Big day today: SB536, Sullivan’s library defunding bill, is up in House state agencies today at 10AM. SB633, a work around for the Franklin Co prison, is up now in joint budget. Last hours of session, it’s gonna be wild.

Here's the vote breakdown for the 5th failure of #SB354.

For a fifth time (ouch, Governor. Ouch.) the appropriations bill for the Franklin Co prison failed. 21 Yay votes - Payton flipped to yes and Sullivan again voted yes. Based on questions from Sen. Davis, it seems like supporters may add mental healthcare provisions to pass it?

As if we didn't have enough reasons to be against the Franklin Co. prison project, they're trying the same thing in South Dakota. It's... not going well. Lawmakers are forcing taxpayers to eat $50mil already spent because the project is failing. southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/04/03/w...

Here are the House Ag votes (our count) to pass #SB290, which would remove the ability of experts to impose limited moratoriums on watersheds to protect them against extreme pollution. You know: our drinking water. The chair broke the tie. The bill will head to the House floor, likely tomorrow.

Happening now: #SB290 up in House Agriculture. Another full audience as people have sat around ALL DAY to speak against this terrible bill. It would remove protections for watersheds across the state. Rep. Vaught claiming that no current moratoriums would be removed.

Here’s the breakdown - Flippo has flipped to present.

#SB354 fails yet again. Holding steady at 19 Yay votes, though Sullivan has flipped to “Present” instead of his previous “No.” Payton remained “Present.”

One of the more important calls you’ll make: save Arkansas libraries. www.arrighttoread.org/save_the_ark...

So many of these bills targeting the direct democracy process have just been explicitly based on lies or misinformation.

#SB290, the watershed moratorium bill, has passed the Senate. 22 Yays, 9 Nays, 1 NV, 1 Present, 2 on leave. It heads to the House, but time is running short. They'll have to move fast if they want to get this through, and rumors of a veto still hover over it.