AR SB1093

Requires racial impact statements for bills that create new offenses, significantly change existing offenses, change penalties for existing offenses, or change sentencing, parole, or probation procedures.

Statements must be prepared by the Office of Economic and Tax Policy with assistance from the Department of Criminal Justice at University of Arkansas at Little Rock; bills affecting minors also require input from the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice.

Required statements must include estimated number of criminal cases affected annually, impact on minorities, impact on correctional facilities and services, and other relevant matters.

If a statement shows disparate impact on minorities, the bill sponsor must either amend the bill to lessen the impact, withdraw the bill, or provide written reasoning for proceeding despite the disparate impact.

Statements must be filed with the committee chair before committee hearing; if not provided before final passage, the presiding officer must refer the bill for statement preparation at least 5 days before final passage is considered.