State Capitol Week in Review

October 9, 2026

The Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC), one of the most influential bodies in state government, has quietly shaped Arkansas policy for more than 75 years. Established in 1949, the council serves as the General Assembly’s powerful interim committee, coordinating legislative work, overseeing executive branch operations, and supervising the Bureau of Legislative Research whenever the full legislature is out of session.

Created under Act 264 of 1949, the council was designed to gather information for future laws and to keep the machinery of state government running between legislative sessions. Today, it functions as the legislature’s organizing and oversight hub. It manages studies, monitors executive actions, and guides the work of dozens of interim committees.

The council is composed of 36 regular members, 20 from the House and 16 from the Senate, along with 24 ex-officio voting members and five non-voting ex-officio members. These ex‑officio positions include some of the Legislature’s top leaders, such as the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as well as past Committee co‑chairmen and leaders of the Legislative Council. Their involvement helps the broader legislative body stay connected to the committee’s work and allows the committee to utilize the ex-officio members’ particular areas of expertise. Experienced leaders can be a part of critical debates.

In recent meetings, the ALC considered the following items, among others:

• Reviewed a report that called for the state to consolidate its workforce and welfare programs into the oversight of one state agency.
• Approved a request to bolster the state’s Medicaid by $200 million in one-time state funds. This patched a deficit in Medicaid following a sudden $400 million spike in insurance claims. The legislature is coordinating with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ administration to secure a two-year extension for alternative healthcare structuring under what is now the ARHOME Medicaid program. The state recently received information from the federal government that the program will be rejected under new stricter budget neutrality rules under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
• Released $70 million in reserve funds for Educational Freedom Accounts. Lawmakers had set aside the one-time funds in this year’s fiscal session.
• Advanced a nearly $150 million, year-long extension to the Department of Correction’s contract with Wellpath LLC for inmate medical services
• Discussed surveillance procedures on private property with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
• Gave final approval to Medicaid reimbursements for doulas and lactation consultants
• Discussed data centers with representatives from Google and Entergy. Google is currently building a large data center in West Memphis and has purchased 384 acres for a potential second site at the Port of Little Rock. AVAIO, Serverfarm, and others have also announced data center projects in the state.

You can get more details of the above and watch the archived meetings at https://arkleg.state.ar.us.

The ALC will continue to meet this fall. The ALC Joint Budget Committee meets this month to review state agency budget requests ahead of the next legislative session, which begins January 11, 2027.