SB355

Senate Bill 355 amends the existing Arkansas criminal statute concerning the obstruction of governmental operations. The bill adds a new provision, codified under § 5-54-102(a)(5), which makes it a criminal offense for a person to knowingly fail to appear to testify at a trial or court hearing in a criminal matter after having received in-person service of a subpoena. The bill establishes that this specific failure to appear is classified as a Class C misdemeanor. The legislation also maintains existing provisions regarding the obstruction of governmental functions, refusal to provide information in Title IV-D child support cases, refusal to submit to paternity testing, and providing false identification to law enforcement or code enforcement officers. It clarifies the definitions and penalty classifications for these various forms of obstruction.