The 2026 Fiscal Session began Wednesday afternoon with an address from Governor Sanders outlining her budget priorities for the year ahead.

The Governor emphasized fully funding the LEARNS Act, along with targeted investments such as the state employee pay plan and the 10:33 Initiative, which is designed to help individuals move from crisis to stable employment and long-term careers.

She also made clear that if the General Assembly passes a budget that limits the growth of government—specifically with no new Medicaid coverage mandates and no additional long-term expenses—she intends to call a special session to pursue further income tax relief.

According to the Governor, that proposal could reduce income taxes by an additional two-tenths of a percent and return more than $180 million to Arkansas taxpayers this year.

Despite the relatively light agenda, this week has proven to be both productive and successful as we begin this fiscal session.

On Thursday, the House passed HB1002, the General Appropriation Act. By law, this legislation must be the first bill passed during every session.

Legislators have filed a number of resolutions requesting consideration of non-appropriation legislation. These resolutions have been referred to the House Rules Committee for review. The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday immediately following the adjournment of the House.  If advanced by the House Rules committee, a resolution to introduce a non-appropriation bill in a Fiscal Session requires a 2/3 majority vote in both chambers before such a bill can be filed. The topics of the resolutions filed range from increasing the homestead tax credit to legislation regarding digital asset mining.

During the Fiscal Session, the House plans to meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with all House proceedings and committee meetings streamed live and archived at arkansashouse.org.