ALC Rules: Dec. 18, 2025

Senator Tyler Dees All right, members, we will call this to order. Welcome to the Administrative Rules Subcommittee. I want to remind everyone that those who wish to comment on a rule can go ahead and sign in. Be sure to specify which rule you wish to comment on. We’ll be taking that sheet up momentarily. So please make your way over there if you wish to comment on a rule. 

But members, if you’ll stand, let’s go ahead and pray and kick off our meeting together. God, thank you for your wisdom. We know that you will grant it to us if we just ask for it. So Lord, we come to you asking for your wisdom and protection. And we know you’re the same God that sent your Son over 2,000 years ago for us, and the same God that has been with us 250 years ago to form this country, and 189 years ago with this state and today. You’re the same before and today. 

And so we ask for your wisdom and guidance for all as we head into a wonderful Merry Christmas season that you’ll just be with everybody as they get to be with their families and keep them safe. And thank you for the honor to get to serve those great people here today. And just ask that you be with us. In Jesus name I pray, amen. 

All right, members, we’re called to order. You’ll look at the agenda. We’ll move to item B on the agenda, which is a report from the Executive Subcommittee concerning emergency rules. That report is in your packet. You’ll see the details there. And without any questions or objections, that report will be filed. All right. That will be filed. 

Moving on to C in your packet. We’ll call these agencies to the table. And so let’s see, this is the agency’s rules for the month. So let’s first have the Public Service Commission make their way down. Members, while they’re making their way down, there are five rules for review in this section. So you can look ahead if you’d like to plan any questions. Otherwise, they’ll be presenting their rules for our review. Alright, welcome to the table. If you’ll introduce yourself for the record, you’ll be recognized. 

Pipeline Safety rules

Danny Hofer Sorry. Good morning. Danny Hofer, Chief of Staff of the Public Service Commission. 

Dawn Kelleher Morning, Dawn Kelleher, staff attorney. 

Jason Donham Good morning. Jason Donham, Director of Pipeline Safety for the state of Arkansas, PSC. 

Senator Tyler Dees Thank you for being here. You can present your rule. 

Danny Hofer Thank you so much for this opportunity. So we are here to present our amendments to our Arkansas gas pipeline code for design, construction, operation, inspection, and maintenance of natural gas systems. Part of the Public Service Commission includes a Pipeline Safety Office. And the Pipeline Safety Officer is responsible for the inspection, safety, and maintenance, and oversight of natural gas pipelines throughout the state of Arkansas. 

Part of the Pipeline Safety Office is that it comes under the oversight of Federal PHMSA. And every year PHMSA makes different changes to its own rules that we must then make amendments to our rules to comply with so that we’re in compliance with the Federal PHMSA guidelines. 

So the changes that we have made here in this rulemaking docket are all just compliance changes to comply with the federal PHMSA rules. During the process, we opened the docket, so our rulemaking process is fully litigated at the PSC. And we received comments from a number of gas utilities. Those utilities made some recommendations on our initial straw man rules. We adopted those changes. 

And those utilities then filed letters in the dockets stating that they had no comment or had no further comment, that they were good with the way the rules ended up. They did not appear at the public hearing because they had filed those letters in the docket. So that’s what we’re here to present before you today. 

Senator Tyler Dees Thank you. Members, any questions? All right. Seeing none, appreciate what you’ve done in working with alignment with the federal codes and laws and through the public comment process. Without objection, this rule is reviewed and approved. Thank you. 

Danny Hofer Thank you so much. 

Senator Tyler Dees All right, members, we’re moving to number two, C2. This is Department of Corrections. You’re welcome to come down. Members, we have two rules for review, A and B. And so we’re going to ask them to present both together, and then any action will be technically separate. But we’re going to have them review both together. So if you’ll introduce yourself for the record. 

Lona McCastlain Lona McCastlain, Chairwoman, Post Prison Transfer Board. 

Kevin Smith Kevin Smith, Administrator, Post Prison Transfer Board. 

Senator Tyler Dees Welcome. You can present your rules. 

Post-Prison Transfer rules

Lona McCastlain Thank you. We’re here presenting, or seeking approval for our Arkansas Post Prison Transfer Board transfer to parole or post release supervision rule. It is 16 CAR part 23. This will replace outdated policies and procedures and overhaul and implement some substantive changes in statute for all the different statutes that have been done in the last couple of years. 

Key changes include implementation of court imposed post release supervision, inclusion of transfer procedures for felonies ineligible to receive earned release credit and restricted release felonies, implementation of mandatory hearing offenses as they relate to transfer to post-release supervision, procedures for discharge for early release for offenders who committed crimes as a minor, and also outlines the research-based criteria the board uses to make transfer decisions. So the other rule is a 16 CAR part 20. And it will repeal the old policy and just make way for this new policy. And I’ll take any questions. 

Senator Tyler Dees Members, this is page 25, 26, if you’re trying to stay up where we’re at. Any questions from members? Seeing none, without objection, both these rules, rule A and B on the agenda, will be reviewed and approved. All right, members, going to number 3 on our list, Department of Energy and Environment, Oil and Gas Commission. You’re welcome to the table. Page 30 in your packet, members. All right, if you’ll introduce yourself, you’ll be recognized. 

Amanda Land Amanda Land, Chief Legal Counsel of Energy and Environment. 

Alan York Alan York, Director, Oil and Gas Commission. 

Senator Tyler Dees Thank you. You are recognized. 

Oil and Gas Commission rules

Amanda Land We are here today seeking review and approval of the Oil and Gas Commission rule regarding permitting and operation standards for pipelines that are used for transporting hazardous liquids. It is pursuant to Act 150 of 2025, and it is necessary to receive delegated authority from the Department of Transportation on PHMSA. And there was a public comment available. And we did not receive any public comments on this. 

Senator Tyler Dees Thank you. Members, any questions? Seeing none, this is reviewed and approved. Thank you for being here today. Members, moving to number 4, Department of Finance and Administration. You are called to the table. Page 32 in your packet, members. Thank you for being here. If you’ll introduce yourself for the record. 

Dora Smith Good morning. I’m Dora Smith, Administrator of Intergovernmental Services. 

Paul Gehring Good morning, committee. Paul Gehring, Chief Counsel, DFA. 

Jim Phillips Good morning. I’m Jim Phillips, Assistant General Counsel, DFA. 

Senator Tyler Dees Welcome. You can present your rule. 

Pregnancy help organization rules

Paul Gehring Thank you, Mr. Chair. DFA, Office of Intergovernmental Services, is seeking the subcommittee’s approval of amendments to the Pregnancy Help Organization’s Grant program rules. The General Assembly, in Act 1006 of 2025, extended the program and also made changes to the definition of an authorized pregnancy help organization. 

We held a public comment hearing on November 13 of this year, and the public comment summary was made available to BLR and posted on the IGS website. We’re happy to answer any questions about the proposed changes to the rules. 

Senator Tyler Dees Thank you. Members, any questions? Not seeing any. The majority of this was around matching definitions and we appreciate the work on review of their– without objection, this rule is reviewed and approved. Thank you. All right, members, we’re going to number 5, second page of your agenda with the Secretary of State’s office. Hold on, hold on. I’m sorry. If we can pause here. Let’s stay here. DFA, if you’ll wait for second. I believe Senator Irvin’s got a question. Senator Irvin, let me try to get you here. Hold up. It’s not working here. One second. 

Senator Missy Irvin Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I apologize. Just quickly. I approve of the rule, but is there any additional allowance for a hospital to participate in something like this, for ultrasounds where we don’t have pregnancy crisis centers? I’m wondering if there was a way to extend that to other communities where there possibly could be a rural hospital that could provide the same level of assistance. 

Dora Smith So the program is available to any entity that offers. 

Senator Tyler Dees I’m sorry, can you turn your microphone on? Thank you. 

Dora Smith So the program is available to any organization that offers care to pregnant females in effort to keep them from having an abortion, so it would be open to them. We have had the application period, so in future programs we can do maybe an extended outreach to invite others who may not have known that they are eligible to apply. 

Senator Missy Irvin Yeah, so I just think, for an example, you have a health center, you may not have a pregnancy crisis center in Clinton, Arkansas, but you do have an ultrasound there. You do have ultrasound technicians at the hospital there, which is affiliated with Conway Regional Hospital. So but they’re not going to deliver babies there. But they would, by definition, care for a pregnant woman if she came into the emergency room or whatever. 

I would just like to see this opportunity or I would like to see this grow. Because there’s a lot of women Mountain View, Arkansas, for example. We don’t have a pregnancy crisis center, but we have Stone County Medical Center, which has an ultrasound and ultrasound technician that could possibly say, hey, we’re going to be able to try to offer these type of same services for these expecting moms so they don’t have to travel an hour and a half to two hours to receive something like this. 

So, just something I wanted to throw out there, if you don’t mind considering that and looking at that and maybe having some communication with and looking at a map of the state of Arkansas to see where these things are offered and who’s taking advantage of it. And then let’s figure out how we can fill the map, fill it up. 

Dora Smith Absolutely. 

Senator Missy Irvin And I think it would be really good. And we could see this program grow and it’ll be beneficial to the expecting moms. 

Dora Smith Absolutely. 

Senator Missy Irvin Thank you. 

Paul Gehring Appreciate that. Thank you. 

Senator Tyler Dees Thank you, Senator. Any other questions? Seeing none, thank you again for your time today. All right, members, we’ll go to number 5, Secretary of State’s office. You’re welcome to the table. Welcome. As you get situated, if you’ll turn your mic on and introduce yourself for the record. 

Nathan Lee Morning, Nathan Lee, Chief Counsel, Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office. 

Tanner Thomas Good morning, Tanner Thomas, Senior Counsel, Secretary of State. 

Senator Tyler Dees Welcome. You can present your rule. 

Hostile foreign nations activities

Tanner Thomas Thank you, Senator. Senators, Representatives, thank you all for being here today and reviewing this rule with us. Act 998 was passed this previous session in order to ensure transparency for politically active organizations that take money from hostile foreign nations like China, Iran, and it lists in the Act itself. 

The Secretary of State in that Act was given the mandate to implement these rules or implement the statute by rule and to implement forms to make it easy for those parties involved to register with our office on that. And our focus on this was to make it easy, efficient, and fair for all parties involved and to make it practical on this. 

When we opened it up for public comment for 30 days, we received zero public comments. And we’re here today to answer any questions. We appreciate your time and review. 

Senator Tyler Dees Thank you. Members, any questions? Seeing none, appreciate your work on this. This is going to really help us. Thank you. Sounds like the public agrees that you’ve done a great job with no comments as well. So without objection, this will be reviewed and approved. Alright, members, we are going to D on your agenda. T

his is the evaluation of the rule review group 3 and those agencies. So we will now continue to review those reports under Act 781. Today we have the Division of Elementary and Secretary of Education, and its report is in your packet. The report outlines each agency’s rules, and it categorizes those into rules that are recommending to repeal and those they are recommending to keep or continue to enforce. 

Can we have Department of Education come present those, please? Members, there’s only two that they’re requesting to repeal. So we’ll have them come to the table. All right, if you’ll introduce yourself for the record. 

Education repealed rules

Courtney Salas Ford Good morning, Courtney Salas Ford, Department of Education. Yes, so as you stated, we do have two rules that we are proposing to repeal. And then that would leave us with 99 rules that we would be requesting to continue. Sorry, I should have said my name first. Courtney Salas Ford, Department of Education. Or I think I did, sorry. I’m just not with it this morning. 

The first rule that we were asking to repeal is governing professional learning communities. This originally was promulgated pursuant to Act 427 of 2017 as a mandatory rule. Then in 2025, it was amended by Act 791, which removed not only the statutory requirement for funding for PLCs, but also the rule making requirement. And so we are requesting that those rules be repealed. You want me to go to the second one? 

Senator Tyler Dees Yeah, let’s go ahead and do both. Thank you. 

Courtney Salas Ford The second one is rules governing payments under the Arkansas Children’s Education Freedom Account program. These were temporary rules put in place until the full and final version of the rules could be promulgated because they were just temporary in nature to facilitate funding until the final rules were done. 

These are no longer needed. All relevant provisions were included in the full and final version of rules. And so we are requesting as well that these be repealed. And as I stated, that would leave us with 99 remaining rules that are necessary to satisfy our statutory requirements, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act requirements. And so we would ask for the continuation of those rules. 

Senator Tyler Dees Is it fair to state that a large part of the request to repeal these is to match current state law with LEARNS Acts and other acts that have been passed as of late? 

Courtney Salas Ford That is correct. 

Senator Tyler Dees Okay, thank you. Members, any questions? Okay, we’re going to need a motion to accept the recommendation from the agency on the repeal of these two and the continuance of the others. We got a motion and a second. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor, signal by saying aye. Opposed, like sign. All right, it has passed. Thank you for your time. Appreciate you being here today. 

All right, members, we’re going to E on your agenda. And E is updates on the status of outstanding rulemaking. So we will have in person updates concerning the rulemaking from the 2023 regular session. One second here. But if you’ve got any questions, you can see those in your packet. The agencies stand ready for any questions if we light up anything. But otherwise, we will move forward. Your updates are in the agenda too as well. 

All right, seeing no questions, we will move to F. This is our agency monthly report pursuant to the Act 595 of 2021 concerning the rulemaking of the 2025 session. There’s no action required at this time. But do we have any questions on those? Any discussion? All right. Seeing none, those reports will be filed. 

Members, that’s all we have in front of us. Any other further business? Seeing none, thank you for being here today. Safe travels. Merry Christmas to all.