Arkansas
Arkansas lawmakers approve emergency rule to grant SNAP benefits to Marshallese migrants • Arkansas Advocate
A legislative subcommittee on Thursday approved an emergency rule to comply with a new federal law that extends certain public assistance program benefits to migrants from the Marshall Islands.
Arkansas is home to the largest Marshallese community in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
The emergency rule the Department of Human Services presented to the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Executive Subcommittee Thursday afternoon updates eligibility provisions contained in the DHS Division of County Operations (DCO) rules to comply with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.
The Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law on March 9, contains changes to the renegotiated Compacts of Free Association (COFA), which extend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) eligibility to citizens from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.
Immigrants in Arkansas struggle to achieve better life they came to the U.S. to find
COFA allows the United States to operate military bases in these Pacific Island nations in exchange for guarantees and economic assistance. Migrants from these Freely Associated States can live and work in the U.S. as lawful non-immigrants.
According to documents submitted to the committee, an emergency rule is required because the Pacific Islander community has the highest poverty rate in Arkansas and “there exists imminent peril to the public health, safety and welfare of the state.”
More than 32% of the state’s Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population live below the poverty rate, according to American Community Survey census data.
“We’ve just now received the guidance from [USDA Food and Nutrition Service] and we have been asked repeatedly by some of the Marshallese for the need of this, so we bring it to you as an emergency rule to have it implemented,” said Janet Mann, DHS deputy secretary for programs and the state Medicaid director.
With no discussion from members, the committee quickly approved the rule, which co-chair Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, said would become effective upon adjournment of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s meeting Friday.
A permanent rule will be promulgated to be effective by Dec. 1, according to documents submitted by DHS.
A report released last year by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese recommended granting Marshallese migrants SNAP eligibility through legislation like the Compact Impact Fairness Act to address the community’s struggles with food insecurity.
Co-sponsored by Arkansas U.S. Rep. Steve Womack and Sen. John Boozman, the Compact Impact Fairness Act proposed allowing COFA migrants to qualify for most safety net programs, including SNAP. Language from that bill was incorporated into the amended compact with the Marshall Islands, which was agreed to last October.
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Compensation for past nuclear weapons testing by the U.S. was a sticking point in COFA negotiations and it delayed the renewal process. From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests on and near the Marshall Islands, including the largest bomb ever detonated by the United States.
The original compact with the Republic of the Marshall Islands became effective in 1986, with economic assistance beginning in 1987. The RMI signed agreements in 2003 to renew compact assistance, and Congress passed legislation amending the compacts and extending economic assistance for 20 years.
But Marshallese migrants lost access to programs like Medicaid and SNAP two decades ago when their unique immigration status was not accounted for in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a 1996 welfare reform law. Congress restored Medicaid access in 2020, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 amended the 1996 law to restore SNAP access this year.
Under the updated compact, COFA citizens are not subject to a waiting period and are immediately eligible for benefits as long as they meet all other SNAP requirements, according to guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in July.
COFA citizens who applied on or after March 9, 2024, and were denied SNAP benefits prior to the USDA issuing guidance may reapply or request a fair hearing within 90 days of the denial date. If an official determines the household was eligible for SNAP at the time of application, the state agency should issue retroactive benefits from the date of application, according to the guidance.
The USDA also encouraged state agencies to track COFA citizens who have been denied SNAP benefits since March and encourage them to reapply or request a fair hearing.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – New updates from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture are now giving Arkansas residents an option to take preventative action against New World Screwworm.
Though no detections have been reported in Arkansas, livestock and animal owners can now submit suspected reports of New World Screwworm using the department’s online reporting form.
Users will be able to upload photos and location information. After submission, staff will follow up with instructions for next steps. Suspect cases may also be reported through a veterinarian or by calling the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
Department officials recommend isolating affected animals and avoid moving any animals off the premises if New World Screwworm is suspected.
The department also updated animal entry requirements in Arkansas, requiring all warm-blooded animals entering the state from an infested state to be accompanied by an Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection dated within seven days of entry.
Officials said the certificate must include the statement: “All animals in shipment were inspected and found free of evidence of NWS infestation.”
The department encourages animal owners to watch for wounds that fail to heal, foul-smelling discharge, tissue damage or visible maggots in or around a wound.
Livestock animals are also encouraged to get a valid Premises Identification Number (PIN). It is required for interstate and intrastate animal movement from a New World Screwworm Infested Zone.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is backing a half-million-dollar funding request to help keep the state’s public television network on the air. And despite months of debate over Arkansas TV’s future, lawmakers didn’t waste time moving the request forward today.
The request sailed through a legislative panel Tuesday without a single question or objection.
The $500,000 in one-time state funds would help Arkansas TV tackle aging infrastructure, including transmitters that reach nearly three-quarters of the state’s population.
Arkansas TV leaders say some of the equipment is so old it can no longer be repaired, meaning if it fails, parts of the state could lose service.
The vote comes just weeks after lawmakers rejected a separate proposal to help cover PBS-related costs, but supporters say this plan focuses on protecting the network’s long-term operations and keeping Arkansas viewers connected.
Senator Bart Hester framed the moment as a shift in priorities, saying, “We believe in the direction things are headed. Focus more on what Arkansans are doing, what’s happening in Arkansas.”
And on the question of whether smooth sailing will continue when the full Legislative Council takes it up Friday, Hester didn’t dodge the reality of politics, saying, “You always expect some push back anytime you spend a significant amount of money. I suspect there may be some Friday, but debate is good. Democracy is good. This is a good thing for the state of Arkansas and I’m glad we’re doing it.”
The Governor’s Office released the following statement tying the funding to both partnership and direction
“Governor Sanders is grateful to the legislature for partnering with outside supporters to support Arkansas TV, and she looks forward to working with Arkansas TV leadership to ensure the broadcaster highlights the Natural State and aligns with Arkansas values.”
The funding request now heads to the full Legislative Council Friday.
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — The State Board of Election Commissioners is planning to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case regarding its rule prohibiting electronic signatures on Arkansas voter registrations.
When the State Board of Election Commissioners banned electronic signatures on voter registrations in 2024, Get Loud Arkansas, a nonprofit that had been using an online platform to register voters, was quick to sue.
Get Loud said it had initially received the green light from state officials to register voters with e-signatures before the rule change. The group believes the state’s shifting stance to be politically motivated.
“After saying multiple times that this was okay? Why did they change their mind? I can speculate, but that’s a question best answered by them,” Kathy Webb, executive director of Get Loud Arkansas and a Little Rock City Board member, said.
But the SBEC says it implemented its ban on e-signatures because of fraud concerns as well as equality, as most Arkansas counties did not accept e-signatures on voter registrations. The board says the rule change addressed that ambiguity.
“Some county clerks were accepting them, some county clerks were not accepting them. So, you had differences in how registrants were treated depending on which county you were in. So the board took the position to adopt a rule to require the wet signature on a piece of paper,” Chris Madison, director of the State Board of Election Commissioners, told KATV.
But the legal battle has not gone the state’s way. Courts have sided with Get Loud and allowed it to use its online voter registration tool. In May, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals refused the state’s request to hear the case. As a result, the board was left with three options: accept defeat, go to trial in district court, or try to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We’ve had similar cases in two other circuits, in the Fifth Circuit and the 11th Circuit, where those circuits found that the signature requirement was material, meaning it serves a legitimate purpose. The trial court and the 8th Circuit’s two-to-one decision said that the rule that was adopted by the State Board is not material. So, there’s a circuit split. And those are the types of cases that the Supreme Court takes up,” Madison said.
So far, the board has spent $90,000 fighting the lawsuit out of $250,000 allocated by the Legislature. If the Supreme Court takes up the case, more money will likely need to be allocated.
“It’s the Super Bowl. It’s the Supreme Court. I mean, you get the good lawyers that do those types of cases and, you know, there’s a potential for more costs,” Madison said.
“I don’t understand why we want to spend more taxpayer dollars to fight making it easier to help people register to vote,” Webb told KATV.
The deadline for the State Board of Election Commissioners to file its petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case is in August.
Arkansas is one of eight states that does not have online voter registration.
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