Mark Perry

Voted to pass House Bill 1965. It sets up a state program to help food shops open or grow where fresh food is hard to buy. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission runs it and may award grants, loans or both. Money can pay for building or fixing up a grocery store, for farmers' markets, food cooperatives, mobile markets and delivery, and for equipment, staff training and start-up stock. To apply, a shop must serve an underserved area, show it is committed to selling fresh produce, and take both food stamp and WIC benefits. Restaurants cannot apply. The act sets aside no money of its own, and the program runs only so far as funds are available. The Arkansas House passed it 58-28 and it became Act 870 of 2025.

April 7, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted to pass House Bill 1627. Arkansas property tax bills must now tell the taxpayer about the tax relief older and disabled homeowners can claim. That relief freezes the value a home is taxed on, and comes with the homestead credit in the state constitution. The notice has to be in bold or highlighted on the bill, or sent as an insert with it. It must spell out who qualifies. The act does not change who is eligible, how much relief they get, or how to apply. It sets no penalty for a county that leaves the notice off. The Arkansas House passed it 58-17 and it became Act 877 of 2025.

April 8, 2025Supports Cost of Living Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Sponsored HB1157, which became Act 225 and amended survivor-annuity benefits for dependent children under the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.

February 27, 2025Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: arkleg.state.ar.us · researched August 7, 2026

Voted to pass Senate Bill 366. It creates a state program that pays grants to strengthen homes against wind and hail damage, using a national building standard. Only a detached single-family home that the owner lives in and holds a homestead exemption on can qualify; mobile homes and condominiums cannot. The owner must pay for a certified inspector out of pocket, get bids from three certified builders, and hold wind insurance. Grant money goes straight to the builder once the work passes. Insurers must give a premium discount on a home that meets the standard where the discount can be justified by the figures, from July 2026. The papers a homeowner files are secret and cannot be used in a private lawsuit. The Arkansas House passed it 56-25 and it became Act 427 of 2025.

April 1, 2025Supports Housing Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted to pass House Bill 1503. Arkansas cities and towns must now allow at least one accessory dwelling unit on a lot that has a single-family house. An accessory dwelling unit is a smaller separate home on the same lot. It must be approved without a public hearing or a special permit. A separate or attached unit may not be larger than seventy-five percent of the house or a thousand square feet, whichever is smaller. Cities may not demand extra parking, matching exterior design, that an owner live on site, or separate water and sewer. Impact fees are capped at two hundred fifty dollars and the review fee at the same amount. Cities may still regulate short-term rentals. The Arkansas House passed it 67-19 and it became Act 313 of 2025.

March 6, 2025Supports Housing Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted to pass House Bill 1017. It changes paid maternity leave for Arkansas public school staff. The state now pays the whole cost of the 12 weeks of leave. Before, the state and the school each paid half, and a school could choose not to take part. The leave now also covers taking in a foster baby under one year old. The act also narrows who can get the leave. The worker must be female, and must not have been disciplined for misusing leave in the past year. The old law had neither limit. As before, the worker must have worked for a school for at least a year. The Arkansas House passed it 68-19 and it became Act 904 of 2025.

April 9, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted to pass Senate Bill 551. It adds new rules to petitions for a local vote on whether alcohol may be sold. A canvasser is the person who collects names. The canvasser must warn each signer that petition fraud is a crime. The canvasser must also check a copy of the signer's photo ID, and may not take a name if identity cannot be confirmed. The signer must read the ballot title in front of the canvasser. Skipping the warning or the reading step is now a crime. The county clerk must throw out all of a canvasser's names if the clerk finds it more likely than not that the canvasser broke these laws. The Arkansas House passed it 71-20 and it became Act 764 of 2025.

April 14, 2025Supports Election Integrity

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted to pass Senate Bill 584. It takes the rules that already govern statewide ballot petitions and applies them to county and city petitions as well. Sponsors of a local measure must now file the wording with the county clerk first, and the clerk may reject it as misleading or as conflicting with federal law. Paid canvassers, the people paid to collect names, must be listed with the clerk, and paying by the signature stays banned. The clerk must throw out a canvasser's names if the clerk finds it more likely than not that the canvasser broke the canvassing or fraud laws. The Arkansas House passed it 73-20 and it became Act 768 of 2025.

April 14, 2025Supports Election Integrity

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted to pass House Bill 1866. Eli's Law requires every public school and open-enrollment charter school in Arkansas to put an audio recording device in each locker room and changing room. It starts with the 2027-2028 school year. A sign must be posted in each room saying a recording device is there. A recording must be kept at least ninety days and no more than twelve months, unless someone has alleged wrongdoing it could help prove. The school must post notice on its website ten days before destroying a recording. Only a school administrator, or a parent or guardian raising an allegation, may ask for one. The act provides no money. The Arkansas House passed it 71-21 and it became Act 908 of 2025.

April 14, 2025Opposes Data Privacy

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted to pass House Bill 1017. It changes paid maternity leave for Arkansas public school staff. The state now pays the whole cost of the 12 weeks of leave. Before, the state and the school each paid half, and a school could choose not to take part. The leave now also covers taking in a foster baby under one year old. The act also narrows who can get the leave. The worker must be female, and must not have been disciplined for misusing leave in the past year. The old law had neither limit. As before, the worker must have worked for a school for at least a year. The Arkansas House passed it 68-19 and it became Act 904 of 2025.

April 9, 2025Opposes Civil Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Sponsored HB1771, which became Act 651 and required monthly insurer reporting and disclosures to policyholders.

April 16, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: arkleg.state.ar.us · researched August 7, 2026

Voted to pass Senate Joint Resolution 15. It would change the state constitution to let lawmakers set up economic development districts. It would also let them hand out public loans and grants to build up the economy. A district could borrow money without that debt counting toward the limits the constitution sets. Land inside a district would pay no ordinary taxes, only charges the district itself sets. Cities and counties could lend their credit to a district. The constitution otherwise bars them from doing that for a private firm. Anything in the constitution that clashes with the change would be wiped out. This is not law. It goes to Arkansas voters in November 2026. The Arkansas House adopted it 74-21. Both chambers agreed, so it goes on the November 2026 ballot.

April 16, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 640. It ends the term of every sitting member of the State Library Board on the day the act takes effect. The Governor then appoints all seven replacements at once and must call their first meeting within thirty days. At that meeting the new members draw lots for staggered terms: one serves a year, two serve three years, two serve five and two serve seven. Everyone appointed after them serves seven years. A short term drawn by lot does not count against the limit on how many terms a member may serve. The Arkansas House passed it 60-29 and it became Act 903 of 2025.

April 15, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing House Bill 1945. It widens public school choice in Arkansas. A student may now transfer to another public school inside their own district, not just to a school in a different district. Under the Opportunity Act a family no longer needs the school to be failing or the district to be under intensive support: believing the move is in the student's best interest is enough on its own. Districts must write a transfer policy, post it, and report each year how many applications they took, accepted and refused, with a reason for each refusal. A district may refuse for lack of room only when the school hits the teacher-to-student limit or ninety-five percent of seats are filled. The Arkansas House passed it 59-30 and it became Act 913 of 2025.

April 9, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing House Bill 1222. The Attorney General may now turn down a proposed ballot measure if its text clashes with the United States Constitution or a federal law. That is a new reason, on top of the old power to reject wording that misleads. It stays the Attorney General's choice. The act also bars a sponsor from having two clashing versions of the same idea before the Attorney General at once. A sponsor may file a new version after one is rejected, or, once one is certified, after the next general election. Two measures clash if they cover the same subject, have the same aim, and differ in wording anywhere. So even near-identical drafts are caught. Petitions filed against that rule must be turned down. The Arkansas House passed it 62-30 and it became Act 154 of 2025.

February 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 638. Sales tax on a motorboat is now paid by the buyer straight to the state when the boat is registered, instead of being collected by the dealer. Dealers are barred from collecting it. A buyer who pays late owes a penalty of ten percent on top, and cannot register the boat until both are paid. Tax is charged only on the difference when a boat is traded in. The same rules apply to a boat bought from a dealer in another state. If the price on the invoice is below the published value for that boat, the buyer must satisfy the state that the invoice is genuine. The Arkansas House passed it 58-23 and it became Act 1019 of 2025.

April 16, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 591. It is a standby law, and it does not apply yet. If it ever applies, it would be a Class A misdemeanor to perform an abortion while knowing the woman wants it only because of the race of the fetus. Before any abortion, the provider would have to ask the woman if she knows the race of the fetus. The provider would also have to try to get her pregnancy medical records first. The woman herself could never be charged or sued. The act starts only if a court blocks Arkansas's near-total abortion ban, or the state repeals or loosens it. The Arkansas House passed it 63-17 and it became Act 973 of 2025.

April 16, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 486. It writes a definition of sex based on biology into Arkansas law. It then requires shared restrooms, changing rooms and sleeping rooms to be set aside for one sex. The rule covers government buildings, shelters, state prisons, county and city jails, and places that hold young people. A person who finds someone of the other sex in a restroom or changing room may sue the operator, but only if the operator let that person in or did not take reasonable steps to keep them out. A person made to share a sleeping room with someone of the other sex may also sue. Suits must be filed within two years. Staff may still go in to clean, to give medical help, or to do their jobs. Rooms for one person and for families are still allowed. Prisons may still house a transgender or intersex inmate case by case to keep them safe. The Arkansas House passed it 60-22 and it became Act 955 of 2025.

April 16, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Sponsored HB1815, which became Act 687 and amended state jurisdiction over federal lands while retaining state juvenile-justice jurisdiction.

April 16, 2025

Source: arkleg.state.ar.us · researched August 7, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 406. A county recorder may no longer file a deed unless the person giving up the land shows up in person with a state or federal photo ID. If the deed is mailed in, a photocopy of the ID must come with it. The recorder attaches a copy of the ID to the recorded deed, and files an unredacted copy under seal. The aim is to stop forged property transfers. Seven groups are exempt, including lawyers, real estate agents, banks and title agents, so the burden falls mainly on owners who file their own deeds. The Arkansas House passed it 51-31 and it became Act 752 of 2025.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 364. A contractor who worked without the license Arkansas requires may now sue the customer for the value of that work. Before, the law barred such a claim outright, which was the strongest consequence of working unlicensed. The contractor must first pay any fines the licensing board charged, and must apply to the board for a license. The act asks only that the contractor apply, not that the board say yes. A contractor still cannot sue to enforce the contract itself. The Arkansas House passed it 66-23 and it became Act 750 of 2025.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 520. It bars Arkansas counties, cities and towns from running a diversity, equity and inclusion program or office. They also may not ask a job seeker or worker to write down their views on race, ethnicity, sex, color or national origin. Any Arkansas resident may report a breach of the rule. If the local government does not fix it in 30 days, that resident may sue and have their legal fees paid. The act still allows different treatment by sex where it serves an important public purpose. It also still lets staff teach and talk about these ideas. The Arkansas House passed it 68-22 and it became Act 747 of 2025.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against passing House Bill 1974. It tells Arkansas government employers to check new hires through E-Verify. E-Verify is the federal website that says whether a person may legally work in the United States. The rule covers state agencies, boards and offices, and also counties and cities. Workers hired before January 1, 2026 are left out, and no employer has to check a worker it already has. A government employer may not keep someone the system does not clear. The act sets no fine and no crime for breaking the rule. From July 2026 the state labor department must send a notice and give 30 days to fix it. The Arkansas House passed it 76-20 and it became Act 948 of 2025.

April 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 426, the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act. A judge may add extra prison time, on top of the normal sentence, when a person who was in the country illegally commits one of 14 listed violent crimes. The extra time is capped at 4, 10 or 20 years, based on how serious the crime is. There is no parole during that added time. The act also tells the state prison agency, and every sheriff who runs a jail, to join a federal program that lets their officers serve immigration warrants. A sheriff turned down again and again may ask the state for a waiver. The act also widens Arkansas's ban on sanctuary policies so that it covers counties, not just cities. The Arkansas House passed it 73-20 and it became Act 654 of 2025.

April 9, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 433. A poster of the Ten Commandments must now hang in every public school and public college classroom and library in the state. It must also hang in every public building paid for with tax money. The act sets out the wording word for word. The poster must be at least sixteen by twenty inches and readable from anywhere in the room. The national motto must hang beside it. Posters are meant to be donated or paid for by gifts. But the act lets a school use public money to replace one that does not meet the rules. The Arkansas House passed it 71-20 and it became Act 573 of 2025.

April 7, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing House Bill 1365. It strips race and sex requirements from the membership of about twenty state boards. Seats once set aside for a Black member, a woman, or a member of a minority race are now open to anyone. That covers the pharmacy board, the athletic commission, the bail bond board, the counseling board, the teacher retirement board and the tobacco board, among others. Two whole statutes are repealed. They had asked health licensing boards to reflect the state's makeup. They had also let named Black and Hispanic health groups put forward names. One deleted line called for geographic balance on community college boards, so that is gone too. The Arkansas House passed it 60-24 and it became Act 938 of 2025.

April 3, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing House Bill 1713. The Attorney General may no longer approve a ballot title written above an eighth-grade reading level. A ballot title is the short summary of a proposed measure that voters read on the ballot. The reading level is scored by a set formula, frozen as it stood on January 1, 2025. If a title is turned down, the Attorney General must say why. They must also tell the sponsors to rewrite the title or the measure. Titles already approved before the act started are not touched. The Arkansas House passed it 60-23 and it became Act 602 of 2025.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 210. A person may now sign a petition only after reading the ballot title in front of the canvasser, or hearing it read aloud there. The ballot title is the official summary voters see. A canvasser is someone who collects names to put a measure on the ballot. Having read it earlier somewhere else does not count. A canvasser who knowingly takes a signature without that step commits an offense. The canvasser must also swear on each signature sheet that every signer did it. The Arkansas House passed it 57-33 and it became Act 274 of 2025.

March 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 209. The Secretary of State must throw out every signature a canvasser collected if that canvasser is found to have broken Arkansas law on collecting names, lying under oath, forgery or fraud. A canvasser is someone who collects names to put a measure on the ballot. The finding is made by the Secretary of State alone, using the lowest standard of proof in American law, which asks only whether something is more likely true than not. No court ruling, charge or conviction is needed. Signatures with nothing wrong with them are thrown out too. The act sets out no hearing and no appeal. The Arkansas House passed it 62-29 and it became Act 273 of 2025.

March 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 296. The county clerk's early voting site must now sit in the county seat, which is the town where county government is based. It may no longer be placed elsewhere in the county. Any extra early voting site must be chosen again by a unanimous vote of the county election board for every single election, instead of carrying over from the last one. The act does not change early voting hours, dates or who may vote. The Arkansas House passed it 72-21 and it became Act 282 of 2025.

March 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Perry was lead author of a law letting a retiring teacher change, one time, how payments are taken from the teacher deferred retirement savings plan, if done within two months of retiring (House Bill 1158, Act 226).

February 27, 2025

Source: arkleg.state.ar.us · researched August 7, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 208. A canvasser must now look at a copy of a person's photo ID before taking that person's name. A canvasser is someone who carries a petition around and collects names to put a measure on the ballot. If the canvasser cannot tell who the person is, the canvasser may not take the name. So a person without an accepted photo ID cannot sign. Each sheet carries a sworn oath. A canvasser who swears it without checking IDs is treated as having lied on that form. The Arkansas House passed it 70-24 and it became Act 240 of 2025.

February 25, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 211. Every canvasser must file a sworn statement with the Secretary of State. A canvasser is a person who collects names to put a measure on the ballot. The statement says the canvasser followed Arkansas's rules on collecting names, lying under oath, forgery and fraud. Until it is filed, none of that canvasser's names may be counted. Once it is filed, that canvasser may not collect more names, unless the Secretary of State rules the petition qualifies for extra time to add names. Names are not thrown out if the canvasser died or was too ill to file. The statement is not proof either way that the names are real. The Arkansas House passed it 65-27 and it became Act 241 of 2025.

February 25, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 207. A canvasser must now warn each person that petition fraud is a crime before that person signs. A canvasser is a person who carries a petition around and collects names to put a measure on the ballot. The warning has to be spoken out loud. It may be written only when speaking is not possible, and then it goes on its own sheet, not on the petition. Skipping the warning is added to the list of things a canvasser may be punished for. The Arkansas House passed it 67-26 and it became Act 218 of 2025.

February 24, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against passing Senate Bill 3. It bars state and local government in Arkansas from treating anyone better or worse because of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. That rule covers public jobs, public schools and colleges, and what the government buys. Most of the act repeals programs that were already in place. Schools no longer write plans to hire and keep minority teachers. State colleges no longer run programs to keep minority students and staff. State agencies no longer try to hire minority workers in step with the state's population. The Critical Needs Minority Teacher Scholarship is renamed and opened to any student who meets the grade and test rules. The act protects preferences given to veterans. The Arkansas House passed it 65-27 and it became Act 116 of 2025.

February 6, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026