Ark. Code Ann. § 27-16-606 (2020)

Subchapter 7 — Application and Examination

Effective Dates. Acts 1943, No. 128, § 2: Feb. 26, 1943. Emergency clause provided: “This act being necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety of the State, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this act shall be in full force and effect immediately from and after its passage and approval.”

Acts 1961, No. 495, § 3: Mar. 17, 1961. Emergency clause provided: “It is hereby found and declared by the General Assembly that the present laws pertaining to the responsibility of parents for minors under the age of eighteen (18) years who drive automobiles is inadequately defined and that the immediate passage of this Act is necessary to remedy such situation. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act being necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety and welfare shall be in effect from and after the date of its passage and approval.”

Acts 1987, No. 274, § 5: Mar. 17, 1987. Emergency clause provided: “It is hereby found and determined by the General Assembly that drivers' license numbers should be the same as Social Security numbers to the extent possible; that in order to accomplish this conversion approximately $150,000 will be required to cover the cost of the conversion; that this act levies an additional license renewal fee in order to generate these revenues; the additional fee should become effective at the beginning of the next fiscal year and unless this emergency clause is adopted this act may not go into effect until after the beginning of the next fiscal year. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval.”

Acts 1989, No. 193, § 12: July 1, 1989. Emergency clause provided: “It is hereby found and determined by the Seventy-Seventh Arkansas General Assembly that Arkansas does not currently have any specific standards for testing the eyesight of motor vehicle and motorcycle operators; that after the initial eyesight test of an applicant for a motor vehicle or motorcycle operator's license, Arkansas does not require on renewal of the license any subsequent examination of any driver's eyesight; and therefore all drivers on the public streets and highways are endangered since many drivers with less than adequate visual acuity are able to receive or renew their motor vehicle or motorcycle operator's license. Further, it is found and determined that Arkansas driver's licenses can be renewed for a two year period or for a four year period; that this dual option for renewal of driver's licenses requires an excessive amount of administrative resources and therefore the renewal period for Arkansas driver's licenses should be limited to a single four year period for all drivers. In order to prevent any further endangerment of the driving public and to reduce the administrative cost of issuing driver's licenses, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this act being necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety shall be in full force from and after July 1, 1989.”

Acts 1993, No. 445, § 37: Sections 1-36 effective on and after Jan. 1, 1994.

Acts 1993, No. 445, § 46: Mar. 10, 1993. Emergency clause provided: “It is hereby found and determined by the Seventy-Ninth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the terms ‘operator's license’ and ‘chauffeur's license’ are obsolete and should be replaced with the term ‘driver's license’; that the chauffeur's license is no longer issued and has been replaced with the commercial driver's license; that federal law governing commercial driver's license authorizes the use of an assigned number on a commercial driver's license instead of the applicant's social security number; and that this act is necessary to eliminate obsolete references in the Arkansas Code and to be in compliance with federal law governing commercial driver's license. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this act being necessary for the preservation of public peace, health and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval.”

Identical Acts 1994 (2nd Ex. Sess.), Nos. 30 and 31, § 9: Aug. 24, 1994. Emergency clause provided: “It is hereby found and determined by the Seventy-Ninth General Assembly, meeting in Second Extraordinary Session, that under current law, sixteen and seventeen year olds can no longer enroll in adult education and attend a GED program, and the GED programs are more suitable than the public schools in meeting the educational needs of some sixteen and seventeen year olds. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this act being necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval.”

Acts 1997, No. 400, § 11: Mar. 7, 1997. Emergency clause provided: “It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the immediate implementation of this Act is necessary to clarify testing requirements for home-schooled students and is further necessary to efficient operation of the Arkansas Department of Education. Therefore an emergency is declared to exist and this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety shall become effective on the date of its approval by the Governor. If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, it shall become effective on the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the bill. If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is overridden, it shall become effective on the date the last house overrides the veto.”

Acts 2001, No. 1609, § 2: Apr. 16, 2001. Emergency clause provided: “It is hereby found and determined by the Eighty-third General Assembly that under present law students who are sixteen or seventeen years of age may not obtain a driver's license unless they have maintained at least a ‘C’ average for the previous semester; that the law has proven to be too restrictive; that this act will allow a student with less than a ‘C’ average to obtain a restricted driver's license to drive to and from work; and that until this act goes into effect, some students may unnecessarily suffer an undue hardship. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist and this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety shall become effective on the date of its approval by the Governor. If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, it shall become effective on the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the bill. If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is overridden, it shall become effective on the date the last house overrides the veto.”

Acts 2001, No. 1694, § 9: July 1, 2002.

Acts 2019, No. 910, § 6346(b): July 1, 2019. Emergency clause provided: “It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that this act revises the duties of certain state entities; that this act establishes new departments of the state; that these revisions impact the expenses and operations of state government; and that the sections of this act other than the two uncodified sections of this act preceding the emergency clause titled ‘Funding and classification of cabinet-level department secretaries’ and ‘Transformation and Efficiencies Act transition team’ should become effective at the beginning of the fiscal year to allow for implementation of the new provisions at the beginning of the fiscal year. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and Sections 1 through 6343 of this act being necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become effective on July 1, 2019”.