Two resolutions pass House for Senate crypto-mining bills
The Arkansas House of Representatives approved two resolutions Wednesday authorizing state senators to introduce accompanying bills that aim to impose greater restrictions on crypto mining in the state.
The body voted down six other resolutions with a similar purpose that were presented by a single lawmaker.
House Resolution 1009, sponsored by Rep. Rick McClure, R-Malvern, passed with an 80-3 vote with eight voting present.
The resolution authorizes Sen. Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers, to introduce a bill now listed as Senate Bill 78.
House Resolution 1020, sponsored by Rep. Jeremiah Moore, R-Clarendon, passed in an 84-4 vote with six voting present.
The resolution authorizes Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, to introduce a bill now listed as Senate Bill 79.
A two-thirds vote is required in the House and Senate to allow for the introduction of a non-appropriation bill in a fiscal session.
Lawmakers filed numerous pieces of legislation on the first day of the fiscal session, April 10, in hopes of offering different paths to regulate an industry that has frustrated many in rural Arkansas.
Last year the Legislature overwhelmingly approved the Arkansas Data Centers Act, which barred local governments from passing noise and zoning ordinances that specifically targeted crypto mines. Many Arkansas lawmakers have since expressed regret about voting for the law after noisy crypto mining operations sprang up around the state.
After the Arkansas Data Centers Act passed, several counties hurried to pass emergency ordinances allowing them to regulate noise and other issues before the
law took effect.
Speaking before representatives Wednesday, McClure reiterated residents’ and leaders’ concerns.
“We do have a serious situation, and we need to address it,” he said.
Bryant’s legislation would establish standards requiring crypto mines to use noise reduction techniques, such as requiring a fully closed envelope around loud equipment, using liquid or submerged cooling, or remaining 2,000 feet from the nearest residential or commercial structures.
The legislation also would restrict “prohibited foreign parties” — defined as a person, party or government subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, federal rules meant to restrict the sale of arms to and from certain foreign governments — from ownership of a crypto mining business in the state.
Many lawmakers have expressed concerns some crypto operations have ties to China. However, Moore said rather than singling out China, he wants to instead include “any adversary of the U.S.”
The legislation also would return local control to counties by repealing part of the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023, or Act 851. Bryant sponsored the act but has since expressed regret over the law.
McClure said he believes details remain to be worked out in some of the areas laid out in the legislation, but that they could be worked out later in committee.
Moore told lawmakers that Irvin’s legislation, which would place a state standard limiting the amount of noise that digital assets ventures can make, addresses concerns that small municipalities might otherwise have to stand up to a wealthy corporation operating a crypto mine in their area.
The legislation would place a 60-decibels limit on crypto mines and a 40-decibels limit on businesses using a blockchain network. Such a standard would make crypto mine regulation a state issue, as opposed to a local one.
Owners of crypto mines would be required to become licensed by the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, and citizens of countries subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations would be prevented from owning a crypto mine in Arkansas, similar to Bryant’s legislation.
“These bad actors must be stopped, and it must be made sure that no more of them come in and grotesquely take advantage of our state’s business-friendly laws and our state’s business-friendly environment,” Moore said.
Moore said he had been asked by some lawmakers why he didn’t want to wait for a special session to file his resolution.
“Our ability to do this exists for a reason, and that reason is here,” he said.
Six resolutions sponsored by Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs, failed to meet the two-thirds requirement to clear the House. Each resolution would have authorized Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forrest, to introduce a bill focused on placing restrictions on the operation of crypto mines. King’s resolutions had cleared the Senate earlier.
Subjects covered by King’s resolutions included applying for a license under the Uniform Money Services Act and excessive power usage.
Miller told fellow House members he didn’t want to get into a debate on the crypto mining industry, but to simply get the resolutions approved.
“I don’t care who runs it,” he said. “I just want to see the right thing get done.”
Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, asked if Miller’s spate of resolutions took a “birdshot approach, shooting all these bullets to see what hits?”
Miller rejected the statement, adding that he felt all six were important. He said he didn’t feel the other resolutions brought by his colleagues were as broad as what he wanted to see brought into lawmakers’ conversations.
State Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle, spoke against each of the six resolutions. While Ray said he agreed that crypto mining “done improperly and by the wrong people” needs to be addressed, he thought legislators should be “fairly selective” about what they chose to advance.
The areas of concern with the greatest consensus among lawmakers included noise mitigation, foreign ownership of entities and the location of crypto mines, he said.
“I think our job is to figure out which resolutions address the specific problems that we know are afflicting Arkansans and then pass that resolution or those resolutions and send those to the committees and fix this issue,” he said.
When asked by Rep. Tara Shephard, D-Little Rock, which resolutions Ray thought were the best, he singled out McClure’s and Moore’s — the two that were later passed.
Rep. Marcus E. Richmond, R-Harvey, spoke in favor of each of the crypto-mining resolutions put forward Wednesday. Each was worth consideration, even if doing so took time, he said.
“This is too important to take a shortcut,” Harvey said.
The votes for Miller’s resolutions were:
■ House Resolution 1014: 54 for, 27 against, 12 present;
■ House Resolution 1018: 57 for, 22 against, 13 present;
■ House Resolution 1015: 46 for, 34 against, 11 present;
■ House Resolution 1017: 65 for, 15 against, 11 present;
■ House Resolution 1016: 57 for, 25 against, 9 present;
■ House Resolution 1019: 41 for, 36 against, 13 present.
The House also approved a resolution authorizing the introduction of a bill by Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, that seeks to enact Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ plan to boost state employee pay.
Rep. Jim Wooten, R-Beebe, sponsored the House resolution, which passed 86-1 with one voting present.
Davis’ proposed legislation, now Senate Bill 77, would change the state’s uniform classification and compensation act.
Sanders signaled last month that she hoped to overhaul the state employee pay plan completely in the 2025 regular session. The governor has said she wants lawmakers to approve “this temporary plan,” which authorizes her administration to make a one-time 3% increase to Arkansas state employee pay and would increase the minimum salary for state employees from $26,950, which is $12.95 an hour, to $32,405 a year, which is $15.57 an hour.
It also raises the maximum salary range for all pay grades by 10% and authorizes new incentives for future recruits and current employees who exceed their regular duties.
“We have a responsibility to take care of the state employees,” Wooten said. “And if we’re going to retain them, we’ve got to have an incentive that is competitive and addresses the situation in the marketplace today.”
Rep. Dwight Tosh, R-Jonesboro, expressed concern that supervisors in different areas may differ on what constitutes an additional task worthy of the new incentives, resulting in some employees earning incentives for the same tasks for which another employee may receive no recognition.
“I’m afraid when we start picking and choosing winners that we’re going to create a morale problem,” he said.
Tosh said he believed the proposed legislation was good, and that he hoped his concerns would be addressed in committee.
The resolutions will go before the Senate, which convenes at 1 p.m. today.