Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas
2 93rd General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2021 HOUSE BILL 1923
4
5 By: Representative S. Meeks
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7 For An Act To Be Entitled
8 AN ACT TO MODERNIZE OUTDOOR LIGHTING; TO CREATE THE
9 OUTDOOR LIGHTING ACT; TO REPEAL THE SHIELDED OUTDOOR
10 LIGHTING ACT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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12
13 Subtitle
14 TO MODERNIZE OUTDOOR LIGHTING; TO CREATE
15 THE OUTDOOR LIGHTING ACT; AND TO REPEAL
16 THE SHIELDED OUTDOOR LIGHTING ACT.
17
18
19 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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21 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 8 is amended to add an additional
22 chapter to read as follows:
23 CHAPTER 16 OUTDOOR LIGHTING ACT
24
25 8-16-101. Title.
26 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Outdoor Lighting
27 Act".
28
29 8-16-102. Purpose.
30 The purpose of this chapter is to modernize outdoor lighting systems to
31 promote safety, conserve energy, save tax dollars, and preserve the state's
32 natural nighttime environment.
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34 8-16-103. Definitions.
35 As used in this chapter:
36 (1) "BUG Rating System" means the Backlight, Uplight, and Glare
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1 rating assigned to a luminaire that evaluates the optical performance related
2 to light trespass, sky glow, and high angle brightness based on the standards
3 set by the Illuminating Engineering Society, as existing on January 1, 2021;
4 (2) "Lighting system" means a group of luminaires that are used
5 for:
6 (A) Street lighting that are on the same street or in the
7 same geographic area and are substantively identical; or
8 (B) Area lighting that are on the same property and are
9 substantively identical;
10 (3) "Light pollution" means general sky glow caused by the
11 scattering of artificial light in the atmosphere;
12 (4) "Light trespass" means excessive or unreasonable light
13 emitted by a luminaire that shines directly beyond the boundaries of the
14 property on which the luminaire is located; and
15 (5) "Public funds" means bond revenues or money appropriated or
16 allocated by the General Assembly, money raised through taxes or fees, and
17 county and municipal funds.
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19 8-16-104. Lighting systems.
20 (a) A state agency, public corporation, county, or municipality shall
21 not use public funds to install, or cause to be installed, a new or
22 replacement lighting system unless:
23 (1) The illuminance of the surface does not materially exceed
24 what is adequate for that purpose under the guidelines established by the
25 Illuminating Engineering Society or the United States Department of
26 Transportation, as existing on January 1, 2021;
27 (2) The luminaires have a BUG Rating System Uplight rating of U0
28 or U1; and
29 (3) A higher color temperature is recommended by an independent
30 professional electrical engineer with training in lighting design who has
31 been hired by the state agency, public corporation, county, or municipality
32 and who has studied the new or replacement lighting system, the color-
33 corrected temperature of the luminaires is:
34 (A) Four thousand kelvin (4,000 K) or less for major
35 highways and thoroughfares; and
36 (B) Three thousand kelvin (3,000 K) or less for all other
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1 areas; and
2 (4) Consideration has been given to minimizing glare, light
3 pollution, light trespass, and energy reduction.
4 (b) Unless different lighting is requested by the property owner, an
5 electric utility shall not install new or replacement residential area
6 lighting unless the luminaire has a:
7 (A) BUG Rating System Uplight rating of U0 or U1; and
8 (B) Color-corrected temperature of three thousand kelvin (3,000
9 K) or less.
10 (c) An entity that installs new or replacement lighting systems on
11 behalf of a state agency, public corporation, county, or municipality or
12 installs new or replacement lighting systems that will become the
13 responsibility of a state agency, public corporation, county, or municipality
14 shall comply with subsection (a) of this section.
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16 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 8, Chapter 14, is repealed.
17 CHAPTER 14 SHIELDED OUTDOOR LIGHTING ACT
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19 8-14-101. Title.
20 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Shielded Outdoor
21 Lighting Act.
22
23 8-14-102. Purpose.
24 The purpose of this chapter is to conserve energy and preserve the
25 environment through the regulation of outdoor lighting fixtures.
26
27 8-14-103. Definitions.
28 As used in this chapter:
29 (1) Outdoor lighting fixture means an automatically
30 controlled, outdoor artificial illuminating device, whether permanent or
31 portable, used for illumination or advertisement, including searchlights,
32 spotlights, and floodlights, whether for architectural lighting, parking lot
33 lighting, landscape lighting, billboards, or street lighting; and
34 (2) Shielded means a fixture that is covered in a manner that
35 light rays emitted by the fixture, either directly from the lamp or
36 indirectly from the fixture, are projected below a horizontal plane running
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1 through the lowest point on the fixture where light is emitted.
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3 8-14-104. Shielding Prohibitions Exemptions.
4 (a)(1)(A) No public funds shall be used to install an outdoor lighting
5 fixture unless it is shielded.
6 (B) Subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section does not apply
7 to any municipality or county if the governing body of the municipality or
8 county determines by ordinance or to a municipally owned utility if the
9 municipal employee responsible for procurement determines that the cost of
10 acquiring a shielded outdoor lighting fixture will be prohibitive after
11 comparing:
12 (i) The cost of the fixtures; and
13 (ii) The projected energy cost of the operation of
14 the fixtures.
15 (2) The Division of Environmental Quality shall promulgate rules
16 prohibiting any person or entity from knowingly placing or disposing of the
17 bulb or tube portion of an electric lighting device containing hazardous
18 levels of mercury in a landfill if:
19 (A) The electric lighting device contains more than two-
20 tenths milligram per liter (0.2 mg/l) of leachable mercury as measured by the
21 Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure as set out in United States
22 Environmental Protection Agency Test Method 1311; and
23 (B) Adequate facilities exist for the public to properly
24 dispose of the electric lighting device described in subdivision (a)(2)(A) of
25 this section.
26 (3)(A) Each electric public utility shall offer a shielded
27 lighting service option.
28 (B) Each electric public utility shall file an application
29 with the Arkansas Public Service Commission to establish a schedule of rates
30 and charges for the provision of a shielded lighting service option to the
31 utility's customers.
32 (C) The commission shall require each electric public
33 utility to inform its customers of the availability of the shielded lighting
34 service.
35 (b) This chapter does not apply to acquisitions of:
36 (1) Incandescent outdoor lighting fixtures of one hundred fifty
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1 watts (150 W) or less or other light sources of seventy watts (70 W) or less;
2 (2) Outdoor lighting fixtures on advertisement signs on
3 interstate or federal primary highways;
4 (3)(A) Outdoor lighting fixtures existing and legally installed
5 before August 12, 2005.
6 (B) However, if an existing outdoor lighting fixture
7 exempted from this chapter under subdivision (b)(3)(A) of this section needs
8 to be replaced, the acquisition of the replacement outdoor lighting fixture
9 shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter;
10 (4) Navigational lighting systems at airports or other lighting
11 necessary for aircraft safety; and
12 (5) Outdoor lighting fixtures that are necessary for worker
13 safety at farms, ranches, dairies, or feedlots or industrial, mining, or oil
14 and gas facilities.
15 (c) This chapter does not apply to outdoor lighting fixtures
16 maintained or installed by:
17 (1) A public school district;
18 (2) A correctional facility;
19 (3) A juvenile detention facility;
20 (4) An adult detention facility;
21 (5) A mental health facility; or
22 (6) A state-supported institution of higher education.
23
24 8-14-105. Penalties.
25 Violations of this chapter are punishable by:
26 (1) A warning for a first offense; and
27 (2) A fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) minus the replacement
28 cost for each offending outdoor lighting fixture for a second or subsequent
29 offense or for an offense that continues for thirty (30) calendar days from
30 the date of the warning.
31
32 8-14-106. Enforcement.
33 This chapter may be enforced by a town, city, or county of this state
34 by seeking injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.
35
36 8-14-107. Provisions supplemental.
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1 The provisions of this chapter are cumulative and supplemental and
2 shall not apply within a town, city, or county of this state that by
3 ordinance has adopted provisions restricting light pollution that are equal
4 to or more stringent than the provisions of this chapter.
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6 SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This act shall be effective on and after
7 January 1, 2023.
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