---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO CREATE AN ENHANCED PENALTY FOR RECRUITING TRAFFICKED PERSONS FROM CERTAIN PLACES; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
description: "TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO CREATE AN ENHANCED PENALTY FOR RECRUITING TRAFFICKED PERSONS FROM CERTAIN PLACES; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 1609"
citation: "Arkansas HB 1609 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["B. Davis", "Lundstrum"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 22
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2025-02-26T21:48:48+00:00"
last_action: "2025-03-20T15:47:29+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8f85928f-c727-4a12-996c-26053cb2aebe"
source_url: "https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument/?path=%2fSessionInformation%2LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "ae2073a2f0116e27039a95f6e32ef8de95f521cc3e8ef69a9ccb855ae57b7819"
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 HB 1609 (2025) — TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING HUMAN TRAFFICKING; TO CREATE AN ENHANCED PENALTY FOR RECRUITING TRAFFICKED PERSONS FROM CERTAIN PLACES; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

## Version chain

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

1. **Act 366** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2F&file=366.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R)
2. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FHB1609-S1.pdf)
3. **HB 1609** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2025/2025R/Bills/HB1609.pdf)

## Sponsors

- B. Davis — primary (person)
- Lundstrum — primary (person)
- A. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- Barker — cosponsor (person)
- Bentley — cosponsor (person)
- Cavenaugh — cosponsor (person)
- Crawford — cosponsor (person)
- Dalby — cosponsor (person)
- Duke — cosponsor (person)
- Henley — cosponsor (person)
- Irvin — cosponsor (person)
- J. English — cosponsor (person)
- J. Mayberry — cosponsor (person)
- K. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- K. Moore — cosponsor (person)
- McAlindon — cosponsor (person)
- R. Burkes — cosponsor (person)
- Vaught — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-02-26T21:48:48+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2025-02-26T23:35:57+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE `reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-04T18:30:44+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-05T20:54:26+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-05T20:54:29+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2025-03-05T23:26:12+00:00** Received from the House.
- **2025-03-05T23:26:23+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-10T13:02:24+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee and placed on 2nd reading for purpose of amendment # 1
- **2025-03-10T13:02:36+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2025-03-10T18:37:41+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2025-03-10T18:37:49+00:00** Re-referred to JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-11T00:02:59+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-11T20:58:33+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-11T20:58:40+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2025-03-11T20:58:54+00:00** Returned to the House as passed as amended # 1 .
- **2025-03-11T21:37:54+00:00** Returned from Senate as passed, as amended # 1
- **2025-03-11T21:38:01+00:00** Re-referred to the Committee on JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-13T18:14:45+00:00** Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it do pass, concur in Senate Amendment No. 1 `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-17T18:43:27+00:00** Senate amendment #1 read and concurred in, and the Emergency Clause
- **2025-03-17T18:43:30+00:00** TO BE ENROLLED
- **2025-03-18T16:18:33+00:00** Correctly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office.
- **2025-03-20T15:47:29+00:00** Notification that HB1609 is now Act 366 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/8f85928f-c727-4a12-996c-26053cb2aebe`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).