Committee reviews DEQ post‑closure threshold and Board of Nursing rule changes
May 21, 2026 | 2026 Legislature AR, Arkansas
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A legislative committee reviewed a series of agency rule amendments that update regulatory practice to reflect 2025 session laws and adjust administrative procedures.
For the Department of Energy and Environment, Amanda Land (chief counsel) and Bailey Taylor (DEQ representative) presented an amendment to Pollution Control and Ecology Commission rules (solid waste management, 8 CAR Part 60) that raises the threshold for required commission review of post‑closure cleanup expenditures from $50,000 to $2,000,000 to match Act 791 of 2025. Taylor said the change brings rule language into statutory alignment and that the department continues to review financial assurances at permit renewal and modification. Representative Rose asked whether reduced review would create fiscal or oversight risks; the agency said approved priority lists and existing commission oversight mean routine expenditures would not require repeated commission approval unless they exceed the new $2 million threshold.
Board of Nursing representatives (David Dawson and Ashley Davis) presented multiple rule updates required by 2025 laws. Section E implements Act 198 of 2025 by creating a dialysis patient care technician registration and setting the associated fee (amount matched to low‑level certifications used elsewhere). Other updates (Acts 862, 959, 265 and 872 of 2023/2025) clarified APRN authority to sign death certificates, implemented delegation rules allowing certain nursing tasks to be delegated to qualified unlicensed health workers under statutory parameters, expanded training and allowed subcutaneous insulin administration for certified medication assistants (increasing training to not less than 115 hours), and added clinical nurse specialists to independent practice credentialing.
Members asked about fiscal impacts, Medicaid coverage implications for items such as diabetic shoes, and whether expanded delegation changes patient safety or reimbursement; Board staff said most changes implement statute and correct omissions and that training and pass‑rate standards were adjusted in consultation with training institutions.
Committee members agreed, without recorded roll‑call votes, to mark the rules reviewed and moved on to other agenda items.
For the Department of Energy and Environment, Amanda Land (chief counsel) and Bailey Taylor (DEQ representative) presented an amendment to Pollution Control and Ecology Commission rules (solid waste management, 8 CAR Part 60) that raises the threshold for required commission review of post‑closure cleanup expenditures from $50,000 to $2,000,000 to match Act 791 of 2025. Taylor said the change brings rule language into statutory alignment and that the department continues to review financial assurances at permit renewal and modification. Representative Rose asked whether reduced review would create fiscal or oversight risks; the agency said approved priority lists and existing commission oversight mean routine expenditures would not require repeated commission approval unless they exceed the new $2 million threshold.
Board of Nursing representatives (David Dawson and Ashley Davis) presented multiple rule updates required by 2025 laws. Section E implements Act 198 of 2025 by creating a dialysis patient care technician registration and setting the associated fee (amount matched to low‑level certifications used elsewhere). Other updates (Acts 862, 959, 265 and 872 of 2023/2025) clarified APRN authority to sign death certificates, implemented delegation rules allowing certain nursing tasks to be delegated to qualified unlicensed health workers under statutory parameters, expanded training and allowed subcutaneous insulin administration for certified medication assistants (increasing training to not less than 115 hours), and added clinical nurse specialists to independent practice credentialing.
Members asked about fiscal impacts, Medicaid coverage implications for items such as diabetic shoes, and whether expanded delegation changes patient safety or reimbursement; Board staff said most changes implement statute and correct omissions and that training and pass‑rate standards were adjusted in consultation with training institutions.
Committee members agreed, without recorded roll‑call votes, to mark the rules reviewed and moved on to other agenda items.
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