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HB 1837

Poor persons; Achieving a Better Life Experience Program account; exemption; effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Avery Frix and 1 co-sponsor

Arkansas HB 1837 bans foreign funding of ballot measures and expands prohibitions, plus donor/treasurer attestations and stricter reporting to curb foreign influence.

Second Reading referred to Health and Human Services
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 1837

Summary — HB 1837 (2025)

Note: The supplied materials include text from more than one draft and appear to combine Arkansas and Illinois bill content. The central substantive material in the document (including amendments H1 and S1) relates to an Arkansas bill titled to amend disclosure for matters referred to voters and to ban foreign funding for ballot measures. The top-level bill status given to me is "Died In Committee" (filed Jan 14, 2025). The legislative-action log in the document contains conflicting entries (some showing passage and enactment), so readers should verify current official status with the appropriate legislative clerk. This summary focuses on the Arkansas bill content in the packet.

Purpose and intent

  • To strengthen disclosure and prohibit foreign influence in ballot measures by banning contributions or expenditures from certain foreign sources and by increasing certification, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements for committees and independent spenders involved in ballot questions and legislative questions.
  • To amend portions of Arkansas law that derived from Initiated Act 1 of 1996 to incorporate these new restrictions and definitions.

Key provisions

  • New/expanded definitions (Ark. Code § 7-9-402 and § 7-6-201):

    • "Prohibited sources" and an expanded definition of “foreign national,” which includes non‑citizens/non‑permanent residents, foreign governments or parties, and entities organized under foreign law or majority foreign-owned entities (with a narrow exception if funds derive wholly from the entity’s operations and decisions are made by U.S. citizens/permanent residents).
    • “Preliminary activity” is defined to include polling, drafting ballot or legislative question language, focus groups, telephone calls, and travel associated with ballot/legislative question activity.

  • Certification and affirmations:

    • Ballot question committees and legislative question committees must affirm upon registration that no preliminary activity was directly funded by prohibited sources (Ark. Code § 7-9-416).
    • Treasurers must affirm, to the best of their knowledge, that donors are not foreign nationals and that donors have not accepted, solicited, or received aggregate donations/expenditures from prohibited sources exceeding $10,000 within the preceding four-year period (proposed additions to reporting rules, § 7-9-407 and § 7-6-220).

  • Contribution limits and recordkeeping:

    • Committees are prohibited from knowingly accepting contributions or expenditures from prohibited sources, directly or indirectly (§ 7-9-416).
    • Persons making independent expenditures exceeding $10,000 in the aggregate must maintain records and retain them per § 7-9-410.
    • On receipt of contributions in excess of $10,000, treasurers must obtain donor affirmations that the donor is not a foreign national and has not accepted >$10,000 aggregate from prohibited sources in the past four years (§ 7-9-417).

  • Scope includes ballot question committees, legislative question committees, political action committees, tax-exempt organizations (501(c) orgs referenced), and independent spenders.

  • Amendment H1: adjusts wording in multiple places (e.g., replacing “funds” with “donations,” clarifying treasurer affirmations as “to the best of the treasurer's knowledge,” and narrowing some reporting triggers to expenditures/donations in excess of $10,000).

Who would be affected

  • Ballot question committees, legislative question committees, and their treasurers.
  • Political action committees, tax-exempt organizations, independent expenditure entities, and donors (including corporations and foreign-related entities).
  • Individuals or organizations making independent expenditures (especially over $10,000).
  • Vendors or consultants engaged in “preliminary activity” may be implicated by recordkeeping/ disclosure obligations.

Potential impacts

  • Increased compliance and documentation obligations for committees and independent spenders.
  • A formal prohibition preventing foreign nationals and certain foreign-organized entities from funding ballot measures or associated activities.
  • Additional due-diligence burdens on treasurers and donors (donor certifications and treasurer attestations).
  • Enforcement and penalties are not detailed in the excerpt; existing enforcement mechanisms under Arkansas campaign finance and disclosure law would likely apply or be referenced elsewhere in statute.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Document states filing/intro date: Jan 14, 2025.
  • Multiple amendments (H1, S1) were filed; H1 changes wording around “donations” and the $10,000 threshold.
  • The materials show conflicting procedural history (committee referrals, readings, and entries suggesting both committee death and enactment as “Act 999”). The user-supplied status is “Died In Committee” (2025-02-26). Verify final status with the Arkansas legislative records or legislative counsel for the definitive outcome.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a side-by-side list of the exact statutory text changes proposed;
- Flag enforcement provisions elsewhere in the Arkansas Code that would apply; or
- Check the official legislative website for definitive status and the enrolled text.

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

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