---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM PLAN REGARDING SURVIVOR BENEFITS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
description: "TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM PLAN REGARDING SURVIVOR BENEFITS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 126"
citation: "Arkansas SB 126 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hickey", "Maddox"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 21
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-01-25T21:47:44+00:00"
last_action: "2023-03-14T18:23:47+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1a1703d5-9554-4b9c-81ae-eb391676017b"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "7b65009a5768da762488f5ccd0ece80df9b2803adc19290f2ea920402e4a1e46"
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 126 (2023) — TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM PLAN REGARDING SURVIVOR BENEFITS; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

## Version chain

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

1. **Act 247** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2F&file=247.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R)
2. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FSB126-S1.pdf)
3. **SB 126** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2023/2023R/Bills/SB126.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **95–1** (pass) · lower
- Read the third time and passed. — **34–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Hickey — primary (person)
- Maddox — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-25T21:47:44+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2023-01-25T22:12:10+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to PUBLIC RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS-JOINT `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2023-02-21T14:25:59+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee for purpose of amendment # 1
- **2023-02-21T14:26:03+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2023-02-21T14:26:10+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2023-02-21T19:20:51+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2023-02-21T19:20:58+00:00** Re-referred to PUBLIC RETIREMENT & SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS-JOINT `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-27T19:32:06+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-28T19:40:15+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-28T19:40:18+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2023-02-28T19:40:25+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2023-02-28T21:38:39+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2023-02-28T22:34:09+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and placed on the CALENDAR. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2023-03-07T20:05:43+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-07T20:05:50+00:00** EMERGENCY CLAUSE ADOPTED
- **2023-03-07T20:06:12+00:00** Returned To the Senate as passed.
- **2023-03-07T21:57:49+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2023-03-07T21:57:53+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2023-03-07T22:01:19+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2023-03-07T22:01:22+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-03-14T18:23:47+00:00** Notification that SB126 is now Act 247 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1a1703d5-9554-4b9c-81ae-eb391676017b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).