On January 23, the Arkansas House State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee passed HB 1152. It moves the petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidates from March 1 to May 1. However, independent candidates still would need to file a declaration of candidacy by March 1.

The bill’s author is Representative Justin Boyd (R-Fort Smith). The motivation for the bill is that the March 1 deadline was declared unconstitutional in December 2017. However, the state has been appealing this decision in the Eighth Circuit. The appeal is still pending.