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HB 1955

Education; Education Leadership Oklahoma program; clarifying award coverage; increasing maximum amount; repayment; reimbursement; effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Aaron Reinhardt and 1 co-sponsor

HB1955 would repeal Arkansas' Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act, removing shielded-light rules, DEQ mercury disposal, PSC filings, penalties, and local-ordinance options.

Becomes law without Governor's signature 05/25/2025
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 1955

Summary — HB 1955 (95th Arkansas General Assembly, 2025 session)

Status: Died in committee
Introduced: January 17, 2025
Primary sponsor(s): Rep. S. Meeks; Sen. Irvin (added by amendment H1)

Note: the package of documents provided also contains an unrelated Illinois bill (also labelled HB1955) and mixed legislative actions from multiple chambers. This summary focuses on the Arkansas HB 1955 that would repeal the Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act (Ark. Code Title 8, Chapter 14).

Purpose / intent

The bill’s stated purpose was to repeal the Arkansas “Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act.” The Act (currently codified at Ark. Code Title 8, Ch. 14) established state requirements to conserve energy and reduce light pollution by requiring shielded outdoor lighting when public funds are used and by imposing related regulatory and enforcement provisions.

Key effect / provisions of the bill

  • Repeal: Section 1 of HB 1955 would repeal Arkansas Code Title 8, Chapter 14 in its entirety, thereby eliminating the Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act and all statutory provisions under that chapter.
  • By repealing the chapter, the following existing statutory requirements and provisions would be removed:
    • Requirement that public funds be used only to acquire/install “shielded” outdoor lighting fixtures (with limited cost-based exceptions for municipalities/municipally owned utilities).
    • Definitions and scope: the statutory definitions of “outdoor lighting fixture” and “shielded,” and the covered categories (architectural lighting, parking lots, landscape, billboards, street lighting, etc.).
    • DEQ rulemaking mandate regarding disposal restrictions for lamps/tubes with hazardous mercury levels (TCLP threshold specified in the Act).
    • Requirement that electric public utilities offer a shielded lighting service option, file rates with the Arkansas PSC for shielded lighting service, and inform customers about availability.
    • Specified exemptions (e.g., certain low-wattage incandescent lamps, pre‑August 12, 2005 fixtures until replacement, airport navigational lighting, farm/industrial safety lighting).
    • List of public facilities exempt from the chapter (public school districts, correctional/detention facilities, mental health facilities, state-supported higher education institutions).
    • Penalties: a warning for a first offense and a fine structure for repeat/continuing violations (including a $25 base fine minus replacement cost per offending fixture for subsequent/continuing violations).
    • Enforcement mechanism allowing towns, cities, or counties to seek injunctive relief.
    • A “supplemental” clause that allowed local ordinances that are equal or more stringent to supersede the chapter.

Who would be affected

  • Municipalities, counties, and other local government entities that purchase outdoor lighting with public funds (they would no longer be statutorily required to purchase shielded fixtures).
  • Electric public utilities and their customers (the statutory duty to offer a shielded lighting service option and related PSC filings would be removed).
  • Environmental regulators (the DEQ mercury-disposal related rulemaking requirement would be eliminated).
  • Property owners, advertisers, parking facilities, airports, farms, industrial sites, schools, detention and mental‑health facilities, and state colleges — to the extent the Act presently constrained their outdoor lighting choices or imposed exemptions.
  • Local governments: loss of the statutory enforcement/fine structure tied to the chapter (though local ordinances could still regulate lighting).

Procedural history (high level)

  • Introduced January 17, 2025 by Rep. S. Meeks. Amendment H1 added Sen. Irvin as a sponsor.
  • The bill was engrossed as of 4/10/2025, but legislative records in the package show it ultimately did not become law: the bill is listed as “Died In Committee” (at sine die adjournment). (The package contains mixed jurisdiction actions; this reflects the provided status.)

Potential implications and considerations

  • Repealing the chapter would remove a uniform state statutory approach to reducing light pollution and conserving energy via shielded fixtures; regulation would then depend on local ordinances and utility/market choices.
  • Municipalities facing higher upfront costs for shielded fixtures might gain procurement flexibility, but potential longer‑term energy and environmental costs (increased glare, light trespass, sky‑glow, wildlife impacts) could rise.
  • Removal of the DEQ disposal language would eliminate an explicit statutory prohibition on disposing of mercury‑containing lamps in landfills (where federal/state hazardous‑waste rules otherwise apply).
  • Local governments wishing to preserve lighting standards would need to enact or maintain local ordinances equal to or more stringent than the repealed statutory standards.

If you want, I can draft a short comparison showing current Chapter 14 text side‑by‑side with the statutory language that would be removed, or outline model municipal ordinance language that would preserve Shielded Outdoor Lighting standards at the local level.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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