SB 218 Arkansas Senate · 2025 Regular Session

TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.

SB 218 amends Arkansas' Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Matching Grant Program to clarify how state funding matches federal SBIR grants. It directly affects Arkansas small businesses that receive federal Phase I or Phase II SBIR grants, requiring them to stay in-state during the project, use an Arkansas-based project manager, and focus on targeted sectors like biotechnology or advanced manufacturing. The bill limits state matching grants to 50% of federal awards - $50,000 for Phase I or $100,000 for Phase II - and mandates at least 51% of grant funds be spent within Arkansas. Applications must follow specific processes defined by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s Division of Science and Technology.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Feb 11, 2025 Signed Apr 7, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Act 440 → SB 218 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill reformats the legislative text from Act 440 to SB 218, primarily updating formatting and line numbers while maintaining the same substantive provisions for a matching grant program for eligible businesses. The changes include renumbering sections, adjusting indentation, and updating header information to reflect the new bill number and session details.

TECHNICAL

Header information updated from Act 440 to SB 218 with new session year (2025) and updated page headers/footers

Line numbers and indentation adjusted throughout the document to match new formatting standards

Section numbering and subsection lettering standardized with consistent spacing and formatting

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 7, 2025

Signed into law

Notification that SB218 is now Act 440

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Returned from the House as passed.

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Returned to the Senate as passed.

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate.

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Returned by the Committee Do Pass

lower

Feb 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read the third time and passed.

upper

Feb 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass

upper

Feb 11, 2025

Introduced

Filed

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors