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Read. Follow. Verify.Arkansas enacts Senate Bill 20, appropriating $10.4 billion for the Department of Human Services Division of Medical Services for fiscal year 2026-2027
Last action · April 29, 2026: Notification that SB20 is now Act 132
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What This Bill Does
Arkansas enacted Senate Bill 20 (Act 132), providing $10.4 billion in grants and $12.8 million in operations funding for the Department of Human Services - Division of Medical Services for the ending June 30, 2027. The legislation establishes a maximum of 911 regular employees, funds major healthcare programs including Medicaid and , and places strict prohibitions on state-funded promotional activities for the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace.
The measure determines state funding levels and operational rules for public healthcare programs serving low-income residents, children, and individuals with disabilities across Arkansas.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Human Services - Division of Medical Services
Receives operational and grant appropriations and must comply with spending restrictions and reporting requirements.
Medicaid and ARKids B recipients
Receive medical services, prescription drugs, and healthcare coverage funded through the appropriated grant lines.
Arkansas Children's Hospital
Eligible to request the retention of up to $2,100,000 from the Child and Family Life Institute line item to match federal funds for supplemental payments.
Long-term care facilities and nursing homes
Subject to quality grants, receivership provisions, and funding allocations for closure or resident relocation costs.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much total funding is appropriated by Senate Bill 20?
Can Department of Human Services funds be used to advertise the health insurance marketplace?
What is the funding allocation for home and community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
19 actions- Apr 29, 2026SenateEnrolledNotification that SB20 is now Act 132
- Apr 28, 2026SenateEnrolledDELIVERED TO GOVERNOR.
- Apr 28, 2026SenateReported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- Apr 27, 2026SenateORDERED ENROLLED
- Apr 27, 2026SenateReturned from the House as passed.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseReturned To Senate as Passed.
Show 13 earlier actions
- Apr 27, 2026HouseEMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- Apr 27, 2026HouseFloorRead the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseConsidered in the Committee of the Whole, and recommended do pass.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseRULES SUSPENDED
- Apr 23, 2026HouseIntroducedRead the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and placed on the CALENDAR.
- Apr 23, 2026HouseRECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- Apr 23, 2026SenateOrdered Immediately transmitted to the House.
- Apr 23, 2026SenateEMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- Apr 23, 2026SenateFloorRead the third time and passed.
- Apr 23, 2026SenateRules suspended.
- Apr 23, 2026SenateCommitteeReturned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass
- Apr 8, 2026SenateIntroducedRead first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE
- Apr 1, 2026SenateIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Strict Advertising Prohibitions on Health Insurance Marketplaces
The act explicitly forbids the Department of Human Services from expending state or federal funds on advertising or promotion for the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace or Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me.
Connected Entities
Sources
arkleg.state.ar.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance90How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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