---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS STATE CAPITOL AND HISTORICAL MONUMENT PROTECTION ACT; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
description: "TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS STATE CAPITOL AND HISTORICAL MONUMENT PROTECTION ACT; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 553"
citation: "Arkansas SB 553 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["M. Johnson", "Payton"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 33
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-03-16T20:33:25+00:00"
last_action: "2021-04-29T18:08:35+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/eecdcac1-41f5-4515-8a1e-64d4ffc3c25f"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "216fb0a9de8627387cc888c7142495161c825d48fa99fe2e798196deff52d58d"
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 553 (2021) — TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS STATE CAPITOL AND HISTORICAL MONUMENT PROTECTION ACT; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

## 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%2FSB553-H1.pdf)
2. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FSB553-S1.pdf)
3. **SB 553** (committee substitute) — [source](ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/2021R/Public/Searchable/SB553.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed. — **27–5** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed. — **23–8** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **72–16** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- M. Johnson — primary (person)
- Payton — primary (person)
- A. Clark — cosponsor (person)
- B. Ballinger — cosponsor (person)
- B. Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- Beck — cosponsor (person)
- Beckham — cosponsor (person)
- Caldwell — cosponsor (person)
- Cozart — cosponsor (person)
- D. Sullivan — cosponsor (person)
- D. Wallace — cosponsor (person)
- G. Stubblefield — cosponsor (person)
- Gilmore — cosponsor (person)
- Hill — cosponsor (person)
- J. English — cosponsor (person)
- K. Hammer — cosponsor (person)
- Lowery — cosponsor (person)
- Rapert — cosponsor (person)
- Ray — cosponsor (person)
- T. Garner — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-03-16T20:33:25+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2021-03-16T21:23:41+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-29T13:10:39+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee for purpose of amendment # 1
- **2021-03-29T13:11:15+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2021-03-29T18:12:50+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2021-03-29T18:13:03+00:00** Re-referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-05T18:15:35+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-06T18:52:36+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-06T18:52:55+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2021-04-06T21:31:40+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2021-04-06T22:34:25+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS- HOUSE `reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2021-04-13T13:35:01+00:00** Placed on second reading for the purpose of amendment.
- **2021-04-13T13:37:59+00:00** Amendment No. 1 read and adopted and the bill ordered engrossed. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2021-04-13T15:25:32+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2021-04-14T18:09:15+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2021-04-20T19:17:34+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-20T19:17:37+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2021-04-20T19:17:46+00:00** Returned To Senate as passed, as amended # 1
- **2021-04-20T23:20:10+00:00** Returned from the House as passed, as amended #1.
- **2021-04-20T23:21:07+00:00** Re-referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2021-04-23T02:46:48+00:00** Returned by the committee with the recommendation that it Do Pass, Concur in house, Amendment #1
- **2021-04-26T18:55:58+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2021-04-26T18:56:19+00:00** House Amendment No. 1 read first time, rule suspended, read second time and concurred in.
- **2021-04-26T18:56:31+00:00** Rules suspended.
- **2021-04-26T18:57:19+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-26T18:57:30+00:00** Emergency Clause failed of adoption.
- **2021-04-26T18:57:32+00:00** Motion to Expunge the Vote by which the Emergency Clause failed of adoption. Motion passed.
- **2021-04-26T18:57:35+00:00** The vote by which SB553 Failed to Pass was expunged.
- **2021-04-26T18:57:40+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2021-04-26T18:57:47+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2021-04-27T13:31:34+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2021-04-27T13:31:37+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2021-04-29T18:08:35+00:00** Notification that SB553 is now Act 1003 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/eecdcac1-41f5-4515-8a1e-64d4ffc3c25f`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).