SB36
An Act For The Department Of Agriculture Appropriation For The 2026-2027 Fiscal Year.
Last Action (April 1, 2026): Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE
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AI-Generated Summary
Senate Bill 36 of the Arkansas 95th General Assembly, Fiscal Session 2026, serves as the annual appropriations act for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027. The bill establishes maximum employee headcounts for various divisions, including shared services and operational departments, and defines maximum salary grades for those positions. It authorizes funding for personal services, extra help (part-time/temporary staff), and operating expenses across multiple specific funds. Appropriations are designated for distinct departmental functions such as animal health disease control, egg grading, laboratory testing, equine infectious anemia control, and plant board operations. The total funding provided covers salaries, matching services, maintenance, professional fees, and capital outlays. This legislation is a routine budgetary measure required to maintain the administrative and operational capacity of the state's agricultural regulatory and service body.
Potential Impact Analysis
Who Might Benefit?
The primary beneficiaries are the employees of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, as the bill provides funding for their salaries, benefits, and operational support. Additionally, the agricultural industry in Arkansas, including farmers, livestock owners, and poultry producers, benefits from the continued funding of essential regulatory, inspection, and disease-control programs, such as the egg grading program, pest eradication, and animal health surveillance, which ensure market standards and biological safety.
Who Might Suffer?
There are no groups directly or negatively impacted by the passage of this bill in a punitive or exclusionary manner. As an appropriations act, the legislation functions to maintain existing government services; therefore, any potential negative impact would be strictly limited to the broader taxpayer base, as the funding requires the allocation of public financial resources that might otherwise be utilized for other state priorities.
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