Arkansas bill aims to end affirmative action in state

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) – A bill aiming to ban affirmative action in the Natural State has made it to the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 71 was filed on Wednesday, Jan. 18, and focuses on prohibiting “discrimination or preferential treatment by the state of Arkansas and other entities.”

The bill is sponsored by Senator Dan Sullivan for District 20 and Representative Marcus Richard for District 21.

Under Senate Bill 71, the following measures would be proposed:

Alcoholic Beverage Control shall no longer consider diversity in ownership in the issuance of a permit application.
The requirement for public school districts and open enrollment to prepare a recruitment plan aimed to hire teachers of minority races is repealed
The requirement for state-supported colleges and universities to offer minority retention programs is repealed
The requirement for state-supported colleges and universities to prepare plans to recruit African Americans and other minorities is repealed
The Critical Needs Minority Scholarship would be renamed as ‘The Critical Needs Scholarship’ and no longer be exclusive to minority students
State departments, agencies, boards, commissions, and institutions of higher education would no longer be required to achieve the goal to hire a percentage of minority employees

The bill states anyone who violates these measures would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.

You can read more about the bill by clicking here.