---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS MILITARY AFFAIRS COUNCIL ACT; TO ESTABLISH THE MILITARY AFFAIRS GRANT PROGRAM; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
description: "TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS MILITARY AFFAIRS COUNCIL ACT; TO ESTABLISH THE MILITARY AFFAIRS GRANT PROGRAM; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 163"
citation: "Arkansas SB 163 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["J. English", "M. Berry"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 26
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-01-20T19:24:05+00:00"
last_action: "2021-04-05T16:28:26+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/148a0178-72ba-4978-b863-1fbe72ce0b1d"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "5f1176ebb0b9cc9a5c77ce73158387405a0e21773b5dc4280d429ceb8c71b2fa"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ar"]
---

# Arkansas SB 163 (2021) — TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS MILITARY AFFAIRS COUNCIL ACT; TO ESTABLISH THE MILITARY AFFAIRS GRANT PROGRAM; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FSB163-S1.pdf)
2. **Amendment S2** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FSB163-S2.pdf)
3. **SB 163** (committee substitute) — [source](ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/2021R/Public/Searchable/SB163.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **94–0** (pass) · lower
- Read the third time and passed. — **35–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- J. English — primary (person)
- M. Berry — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-20T19:24:05+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2021-01-20T19:46:52+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-23T23:18:15+00:00** Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it Do Pass as amended, Amendment # 1 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-24T19:12:27+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2021-02-24T19:13:10+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2021-02-24T21:52:30+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2021-02-25T19:25:15+00:00** Re-referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-01T14:38:56+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee for purpose of amendment # 2
- **2021-03-01T14:39:05+00:00** Amendment # 2 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2021-03-01T19:13:40+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2021-03-01T19:13:51+00:00** Re-referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-09T23:11:44+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-10T19:31:51+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-10T19:32:27+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2021-03-10T19:32:47+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2021-03-10T22:31:31+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2021-03-10T23:47:59+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on AGING, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, LEGISLATIVE & MILITARY AFFAIRS- HOUSE `reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-22T23:01:10+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-30T18:24:17+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-30T18:24:19+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2021-03-30T18:24:34+00:00** Returned To the Senate as passed.
- **2021-03-30T19:35:26+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2021-03-30T19:35:32+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2021-03-31T17:24:32+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2021-03-31T17:24:37+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2021-04-05T16:28:26+00:00** Notification that SB163 is now Act 522 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/148a0178-72ba-4978-b863-1fbe72ce0b1d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).