Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 392 of the Regular Session
1 State of Arkansas
2 93rd General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2021 HOUSE BILL 1544
4
5 By: Representatives Underwood, Lundstrum, Bryant, Haak, Dotson, Furman, Bentley
6 By: Senator G. Stubblefield
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO AFFIRM THE RIGHT OF A MUNICIPALITY TO
10 DECLARE THE MUNICIPALITY A PRO-LIFE CITY; AND FOR
11 OTHER PURPOSES.
12
13
14 Subtitle
15 TO AFFIRM THE RIGHT OF A MUNICIPALITY TO
16 DECLARE THE MUNICIPALITY A PRO-LIFE CITY.
17
18
19 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
20
21 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 14, Chapter 54, Subchapter 8, is
22 amended to add an additional section to read as follows:
23 14-54-805. Pro-Life City designation.
24 (a) A municipality may state by resolution:
25 (1) That the policy of the municipality is to promote and
26 protect the dignity and humanity of all persons at all stages of life from
27 conception until natural death;
28 (2) That the municipality is to be known as a "Pro-Life City";
29 and
30 (3) The following findings:
31 (A) The Declaration of Independence declares that all men
32 are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
33 unalienable rights, including the right to life;
34 (B) Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 68, states that the
35 policy of the state is to protect the life of every unborn child from
36 conception until birth;
*KLL103* 2/23/2021 9:19:09 AM KLL103
 HB1544
1 (C) It is the duty of state and local government to
2 protect the unalienable right to life of every person within each respective
3 jurisdiction; and
4 (D) The United States Supreme Court found in Poelker v.
5 Doe, 432 U.S. 519 (1977), that the United States Constitution does not
6 prohibit a municipality using democratic processes from expressing a
7 preference for childbirth rather than abortion.
8 (b) A municipality that passes a resolution under subsection (a) of
9 this section may promote the Pro-Life City status in a manner consistent with
10 other law, including without limitation by:
11 (1) Placing signs along rights-of-way near the boundaries of the
12 municipality;
13 (2) Advertising in any promotion, advertisement, or public
14 relations effort;
15 (3) Placing signs or banners on municipal property;
16 (4) Placing a slogan or other notation on municipal utility
17 billing or other communications to municipal residents;
18 (5) Producing and distributing signs, decals, or other material
19 for businesses or residents to voluntarily use and display;
20 (6) Promoting at festivals, parades, or other public events;
21 (7) Urging municipal employees to develop and implement
22 innovative and creative ways for promotion;
23 (8) Placing a slogan or other notation on publicly owned
24 vehicles;
25 (9) Declaring pro-life observances, such as a pro-life day or
26 pro-life month;
27 (10) Encouraging local schools and civic clubs to promote the
28 dignity of human life;
29 (11) Encouraging local places of worship to promote the sanctity
30 of human life;
31 (12) Erecting monuments or other permanent memorials to lives
32 lost to abortion;
33 (13) Establishing a cemetery or other place for the dignified
34 burial of the unborn and for memorials to those who have died in an abortion;
35 and
36 (14) Using public service announcements. APPROVED: 3/17/21
2 2/23/2021 9:19:09 AM KLL103