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HB 1760

Revenue and taxation; Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act; tax credit; foundations; cap; contribution; eligibility; rules.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Dell Kerbs and 1 co-sponsor

Shifts select property-tax appeals from county boards to county court, impacting owners seeking homestead relief and other valuations.

Second Reading referred to Revenue and Taxation Committee then to Appropriations Committee
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Bill Summary · HB 1760

HB 1760 — Summary (composite document)

Note up front: the materials provided for “HB 1760” include text and fiscal notes from multiple, unrelated drafts and amendments from different jurisdictions (an Arkansas property-assessment jurisdiction amendment and a separate appropriation/companion text involving prosecutors/district attorneys). The bill as listed in your metadata is classified as “Appropriation; District attorneys and staff” and its recorded status is “Died In Conference.” Below is a clear, organized summary of the distinct substantive elements found in the document bundle and the overall procedural status.

Purpose / Intent

  • Two separate intents appear in the documents:
    1. An Arkansas-focused measure to change where certain property-assessment disputes (including homestead tax-relief eligibility for the elderly/disabled) are adjudicated — moving those appeals out of county equalization boards and into county courts.
    2. An appropriation measure (text and amendments consistent with a Mississippi-style fiscal appropriation) to fund salaries, travel, and office expenses of district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and related staff for FY2026.

Key provisions — Arkansas property-assessment jurisdiction

  • Amends Ark. Code § 26-27-317(a) to state that county equalization boards:
    • Do not have jurisdiction to accept or consider petitions to adjust assessments that concern:
    • Tax-exempt status under Ark. Const. art. XVI, § 5(b);
    • Valuation of agricultural land, pastureland, or timberland (per ACD guidelines);
    • Valuation of producing mineral rights (per Assessment Coordination Division directions);
    • Whether a property qualifies for homestead property tax relief for persons 65+ or disabled (Amendment 79 and § 26-26-1124).
  • Adds that petitions contesting those determinations must be filed in the county court where the property is located (county court given exclusive original jurisdiction).
  • DFA fiscal note: no net fiscal impact to state; procedural impacts include need for training (county clerks, assessors, equalization board members) and updating ACD training materials. County clerks will file exception appeals with county court instead of equalization boards.

Key provisions — Appropriation for district attorneys (appropriation/committee amendment text)

  • Appropriates funds for FY2026 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) for:
    • A state General Fund appropriation of $31,391,612.00 (as shown in the amendment) for salaries, travel, tort assessments, criminal investigators, and office expenses of district attorneys (language consistent with a state-level DA appropriation).
    • $489,367.00 appropriated from a “Prosecutor Compensation Fund” for assistant district attorney salaries (per cited statutory fund).
    • Office expenses line item: $1,682,000.00 specifically authorized.
    • A set-aside of $371,679.00 for two full-time assistant DAs and one full-time criminal investigator (pursuant to a prior bill reference).
  • Policy/administrative provisions:
    • Prohibits use of these funds to reimburse taxable meals incurred within a district.
    • Requires district attorneys to maintain complete accounting and personnel records in the same format/detail as FY2025.
    • Directs submission of Five-Year Strategic Plans and prescribes budgeting/reporting formats.
    • Standard warrant/requisition payment language; effective date language referencing July 1, 2025.

Fiscal Impact

  • Arkansas DFA: “None” to state fiscal accounts for the jurisdiction change; implementation requires training and materials updates.
  • Appropriation text: explicit dollar amounts listed above; net fiscal effects depend on enactment (the appropriation language would authorize the stated expenditures from specified funds).

Who is affected

  • Arkansas measure: county assessors, county equalization boards, county courts, property owners (particularly owners of agricultural/forest/mineral-producing property and elderly/disabled homeowners seeking homestead tax relief), county clerks.
  • Appropriation measure: district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, criminal investigators, and related DA office staff in the affected state; state treasury/funds from which salaries and expenses are paid.

Procedural / Timeline notes and final status

  • The document bundle contains many legislative actions from different sequences. The metadata you provided lists the bill status as “Died In Conference.” The actions included show movement through readings, committee reports, amendments, and a conference process with conferees named — ultimately ending with “Died In Conference” (i.e., the House and Senate conferees did not resolve differences into an enrolled, enacted law).
  • Effective dates included in appropriation text: intended to fund FY2026 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) if enacted.

Additional notes

  • Multiple sponsors are present across the disparate drafts: Rep. Milligan and Sen. Boyd are listed for the Arkansas jurisdiction bill; Rep. Jay Hoffman appears tied to another jurisdiction’s HB1760. The presence of Illinois and Mississippi-style language indicates the package mixes different states’ materials that share the same bill number.
  • If you need a focused summary for one specific jurisdiction (e.g., only the Arkansas jurisdiction-change bill or only the appropriation for district attorneys in the other state), tell me which one and I will produce a single-jurisdiction, detailed summary and isolate relevant procedural history.

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

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