Arkansas 2025 Regular Session Status: Enacted

HB 1609 — TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO CREATE AN ENHANCED PENALTY FOR RECRUITING TRAFFICKED PERSONS FROM CERTAIN PLACES; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

Last action — Notification that HB1609 is now Act 366

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 26, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Republican) on March 20, 2025.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 60% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 18 sponsors

    2 primary, 16 co-sponsors signed on.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

1 added · 2 removed

Plain-language change summary

The changes to Bill HB 1609 include the addition of a new provision that wasn't there before. It also removes a previous reference to Act 366, which means this bill now stands on its own without linking to that earlier act. This matters because these changes help clarify the current legislation and make it easier to understand how it functions without relying on older laws.

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Latest
Act 366 of the Regular Session State of Arkansas As Engrossed:
State of Arkansas As Engrossed:
/s/Lundstrum APPROVED:
/s/Lundstrum 2 03-10-2025 10:28:46 TNL215
3/20/25 2 03-10-2025 10:28:46 TNL215
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Amendments

1 amendment

Click Show changes on an amendment above to see how it modifies the bill.

Action History

  1. Notification that HB1609 is now Act 366

  2. Correctly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office.

  3. TO BE ENROLLED

  4. Senate amendment #1 read and concurred in, and the Emergency Clause

  5. Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it do pass, concur in Senate Amendment No. 1

  6. Re-referred to the Committee on JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE

  7. Returned from Senate as passed, as amended # 1

  8. Returned to the House as passed as amended # 1 .

  9. EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED

  10. Read the third time and passed.

  11. Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass

  12. Re-referred to JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE

  13. REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED

  14. Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.

  15. Withdrawn from Committee and placed on 2nd reading for purpose of amendment # 1

  16. Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE

  17. Received from the House.

  18. EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED

  19. Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate.

  20. Returned by the Committee Do Pass

  21. Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE

  22. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 16 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (16)

Not signed on (120)

120 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 120 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 1609?
HB 1609 is sponsored by Jane English, Missy Irvin, Mindy McAlindon, Julie Mayberry, Carol Dalby, Cindy Crawford, Frances Cavenaugh, Rebecca Burkes, Karilyn Brown, Alyssa Brown, Mary Bentley, Sonia Eubanks Barker, Hope Duke, DeAnn Vaught, Dolly Henley, Kendra Moore, Breanne Davis, and Robin Lundstrum.
What is the current status of HB 1609?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 26, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 1609?
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