---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO CREATE THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT."
description: "TO CREATE THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 289"
citation: "Arkansas SB 289 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["B. Smith", "K. Hammer"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 28
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2021-02-04T20:36:13+00:00"
last_action: "2021-03-29T18:11:48+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7b8ea5a6-dcb9-4c8d-980c-8f225f717bf8"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "f4f4bc739c288b92ead156d84ccda37645b74405c096512b5e676a4f900f6f22"
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 289 (2021) — TO CREATE THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment H1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FSB289-H1.pdf)
2. **SB 289** (committee substitute) — [source](ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/2021R/Public/Searchable/SB289.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed. — **27–6** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **72–20** (pass) · lower
- Read the third time and passed. — **32–1** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed. — **25–6** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- B. Smith — primary (person)
- K. Hammer — primary (person)
- B. Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- Beck — cosponsor (person)
- Beckham — cosponsor (person)
- Bentley — cosponsor (person)
- Bledsoe — cosponsor (person)
- Breaux — cosponsor (person)
- Brown — cosponsor (person)
- Cloud — cosponsor (person)
- D. Sullivan — cosponsor (person)
- Flippo — cosponsor (person)
- G. Stubblefield — cosponsor (person)
- Gazaway — cosponsor (person)
- Gilmore — cosponsor (person)
- Hester — cosponsor (person)
- Irvin — cosponsor (person)
- Ladyman — cosponsor (person)
- Lowery — cosponsor (person)
- Lundstrum — cosponsor (person)
- M. Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- McCollum — cosponsor (person)
- Payton — cosponsor (person)
- Penzo — cosponsor (person)
- Rapert — cosponsor (person)
- Richmond — cosponsor (person)
- Rye — cosponsor (person)
- Speaks — cosponsor (person)
- T. Garner — cosponsor (person)
- Womack — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-02-04T20:36:13+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2021-02-04T20:42:58+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-08T23:04:07+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-10T20:21:29+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-10T20:21:50+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2021-02-10T22:15:53+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2021-02-10T23:33:51+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE- HOUSE `reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-09T14:33:09+00:00** Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- **2021-03-09T14:33:12+00:00** Amendment No. 1 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2021-03-09T18:55:03+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2021-03-12T00:05:49+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-15T19:48:52+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-15T19:49:04+00:00** Returned To Senate as passed, as amended # 1
- **2021-03-15T21:29:11+00:00** Returned From the House as passed as amended.
- **2021-03-15T21:30:39+00:00** Re-referred to PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-17T22:52:37+00:00** Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it Do Pass concur in House Amendment No. 1 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-18T06:15:52+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2021-03-18T18:15:54+00:00** House Amendment No. 1 read first time, rule suspended, read second time and concurred in.
- **2021-03-18T18:16:15+00:00** Rules suspended.
- **2021-03-18T18:16:38+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-18T18:16:54+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2021-03-18T19:51:58+00:00** The vote by which SB289 passed and was ordered enrolled was expunged.
- **2021-03-18T19:52:23+00:00** Rules suspended.
- **2021-03-18T19:53:00+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-18T19:53:11+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2021-03-22T17:45:37+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2021-03-22T17:45:44+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2021-03-29T18:11:48+00:00** Notification that SB289 is now Act 462 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7b8ea5a6-dcb9-4c8d-980c-8f225f717bf8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).