Bill > HB1739

This bill adopts the Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act (UELMA) in Arkansas, establishing a comprehensive framework for managing and authenticating electronic legal materials. The act defines "legal material" as including the Arkansas Constitution, Arkansas Code, Code of Arkansas Rules, and state agency rules with legal effect, while specifically excluding judicial publications. It requires official publishers (such as the Arkansas Code Revision Commission, Bureau of Legislative Research, and Secretary of State) to authenticate electronic legal materials by providing a method for users to verify that the electronic record is unaltered from the original. The bill mandates that official electronic legal materials must be preserved with integrity, have backup and disaster recovery procedures, and remain usable and permanently accessible to the public. Key provisions include creating a presumption of accuracy for authenticated electronic records, placing the burden of proving inauthenticity on any challenging party, and requiring official publishers to consider national standards, user needs, and compatibility with other jurisdictions when implementing the act. The legislation will take effect on January 1, 2026, and modifies certain aspects of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act while promoting uniformity in how electronic legal materials are handled across states.

Government Affairs

https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=hb1739&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R