Concerning vehicle and operator requirements for autonomous vehicles.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Liz Berry and 11 co-sponsors

Requires Arkansas DMV to mark driver’s licenses/IDs for sex offenders Level 3-4 to help police identify high-risk registrants.

Public hearing in the House Committee on Transportation at 1:30 PM.

Summary — HB 1984 (2025) — “Designation for a Registered Sex Offender on a Driver’s License or Identification Card”

Status: Died in Committee (per provided status).
Introduced: January 22, 2025.
Primary sponsors (Arkansas text): Representatives Hudson, Evans, Gazaway; Senators B. Davis, J. Scott.
Relevant statutes amended/added (Arkansas): Ark. Code § 12-12-913(a) and proposed new § 27-16-819 (Title 27, Ch.16, Subch.8).

Purpose
- To require the Arkansas Office of Driver Services (Office of Motor Vehicle) to place a visible designation on a driver’s license or state identification card identifying certain registrants of the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997 (Ark. Code § 12-12-901 et seq.). The purpose is to enable law enforcement to identify license/ID holders who are registered sex offenders and who meet specified risk-classification criteria.

Key provisions
- Access to registration records: Amends Ark. Code § 12-12-913(a) to expressly allow sex-offender registration records to be open to the Office of Motor Vehicle for issuance of driver’s licenses/IDs (§ 27-16-819).
- New designation requirement (§ 27-16-819):
- Applicant disclosure: Before issuing a license/ID, applicants must provide information regarding whether they are required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act, currently registered, and whether they are classified as Level 3 or Level 4 by the Community Notification Assessment.
- Mandatory designation: The Office must place a designation on the driver’s license/ID if the applicant (a) is required to register as a sex offender and (b) is classified as Level 3 or Level 4.
- Proof of registration: If the applicant has not previously had a designation, they must supply proof of sex-offender registration compliance before issuance.
- Administrative authority: The Office may determine placement/design of the designation and promulgate rules to administer the requirement.

Who would be affected
- Primary: Individuals required to register under Arkansas’s Sex Offender Registration Act who are classified as Level 3 or Level 4.
- Secondary: Arkansas Office of Driver Services (administration, record checks, rulemaking), law enforcement (use of designation for identification), and affected registrants’ privacy and civil-rights stakeholders.

Potential impacts and considerations
- Intended benefit: Facilitate rapid identification of higher-risk registered sex offenders by law enforcement from a person’s state-issued ID.
- Concerns: Privacy and public-safety tradeoffs (risk of stigmatization or vigilantism), administrative burdens on DMV for verification and reissuance, and potential legal challenges (e.g., due process, safety, or discrimination claims).
- Implementation details left to agency rulemaking: exact wording, placement, and visual format of designation.

Procedural note
- The provided record includes mixed or conflicting entries (some items appear to reference an Illinois bill with the same number). Based on the supplied “Status” field, the Arkansas version of HB 1984 did not advance out of committee. Verify current status and official text on the Arkansas General Assembly website or the Office of the Secretary of State for authoritative records.