HB1031

House Bill 1031 amends the Arkansas Highway Revenue Distribution Law to clarify and expand the permissible uses of highway revenue funds distributed to counties and municipalities. It specifies that these funds may be used for a wide range of transportation-related projects, including the maintenance and construction of roads, bridges, public transit, and sidewalks serving public buildings and parks. The bill also explicitly authorizes the use of these funds for traffic signal maintenance and for matching federal transportation grants. Additionally, the legislation formalizes the oversight process for municipal use of these funds, empowering the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee to identify inconsistent spending. If a city or town is found to have misspent funds, the bill mandates a repayment process and authorizes the Treasurer of State to withhold future highway revenue distributions until the funds are restored to the municipal street fund.