---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT."
description: "TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 444"
citation: "Arkansas SB 444 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["K. Hammer", "L. Johnson"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 19
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2025-03-12T18:41:34+00:00"
last_action: "2025-04-22T21:47:10+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e8c7d8c0-8fab-4389-8837-163034d51f71"
source_url: "https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument/?path=%2fSessionInformation%2LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "aed9746e27ce0913c0263934d9127e6497a3b07404259f7dcbad98274bc93519"
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 444 (2025) — TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT.

## Version chain

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

1. **Act 970** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2F&file=970.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R)
2. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FSB444-S1.pdf)
3. **SB 444** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2025/2025R/Bills/SB444.pdf)

## Sponsors

- K. Hammer — primary (person)
- L. Johnson — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-03-12T18:41:34+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2025-03-12T21:31:24+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-20T13:00:58+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee and placed on 2nd reading for purpose of amendment # 1
- **2025-03-20T13:01:10+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2025-03-20T18:44:06+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2025-03-20T18:44:15+00:00** Re-referred to PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2025-04-02T18:27:24+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-03T20:14:04+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-03T20:14:14+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2025-04-03T22:02:30+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2025-04-04T00:13:58+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`
- **2025-04-15T18:29:50+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2025-04-16T16:18:17+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-16T16:18:22+00:00** Returned to the Senate as passed.
- **2025-04-16T17:59:00+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2025-04-16T17:59:04+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2025-04-16T19:19:19+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2025-04-16T19:19:23+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-22T21:47:10+00:00** Notification that SB444 is now Act 970 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/e8c7d8c0-8fab-4389-8837-163034d51f71`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).