Impact Assessment for HB1561
Sponsored by Representative C. Fite
Subtitle TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE PENALTIES FOR MOVING VIOLATIONS IN
HIGHWAY WORK ZONES; AND TO CREATE ADDITIONAL PENALTIES FOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS
RESULTING IN INJURY OR DEATH OF CONSTRUCTION PERSONNEL.
Impact Summary 1 Minimal. While the proposed bill creates a new course of felony conduct, data from the
Department of Public Safety indicates that occurrences of the new felony conduct does not exceed ten (10) per
year.
Change from Current Law 2 The proposed bill amends Arkansas Code Title 27, Chapter 50, Subchapter 4, to
add an additional section, § 27-50-409, Injury to construction personnel – Penalties - Definitions. Under the
proposed bill, a person commits the offense of Injury to construction personnel if he or she commits a moving
traffic violation while the person is driving through a highway work zone in this state , which results in physical
injury or death of construction personnel. Under the proposed bill, the penalty is a Class A misdemeanor for
occurrences that result in physical injury to a member of construction personnel, and a Class C felony for
occurrences that result in the death of a member of construction personnel.
Impact Information The proposed bill creates a new felony offense, data is unavailable as to the likely number
of convictions. However, available records from Arkansas State Police fatal crash summaries indicate there
were four (4) deaths of construction personnel on Arkansas roads between 2019 and 2022. For this reason, the
impact on correctional resources is projected to be minimal.
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1 This impact assessment was prepared 3/14/2023 8:10 AM by the staff of the Arkansas Sentencing Commission pursuant to A. C. A. § 16-
90-802(d)(6) with data supplied by the Arkansas Department of Corrections and the Administrative Office of the Courts. A micro-simulation
model may be used for bills which have the potential for significant impact on correctional resources. The following designations will be
used: “minimal” = less than 10 offenders per year will be affected; “medium” = would require budgetary increases for ADC inmate costs;
and “major” = would require budgetary increases for ADC inmate costs and construction costs for additional beds.
2 Standard punishment ranges: Misdemeanors
Class Y 10-40 years or life Class C 3-10 years; up to $10,000 Class A Up to 1 year; up to $2,500
Class A 6-30 years; up to $15,000 Class D 0-6 years; up to $10,000 Class B Up to 90 days; up to $1,000
Class B 5-20 years; up to $15,000 Unclassified As specified in statute Class C Up to 30 days; up to $500