An act TO REPEAL THE STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION PROGRAM, the official text

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.

1 State of Arkansas                         A Bill
2 95th General Assembly

3 Regular Session, 2025                                             SENATE BILL 2

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5 By: Senators C. Penzo, B. King

6 By: Representatives Duffield, Pilkington

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8                                  For An Act To Be Entitled

9   AN ACT TO REPEAL THE STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION PROGRAM;

10  TO REMOVE THE MANDATE FOR WATER SYSTEMS TO MAINTAIN A

11  FLUORIDE CONTENT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

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14                                          Subtitle

15                       TO REPEAL THE STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION

16                       PROGRAM; AND TO REMOVE THE MANDATE FOR

17                       WATER SYSTEMS TO MAINTAIN A FLUORIDE

18                       CONTENT.

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20 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

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22  SECTION 1. Arkansas Code � 20-7-136 is repealed.

23  20-7-136. Statewide fluoridation program -- Definition.

24  (a) As used in this section, "water system" means a facility including

25 without limitation a parent system, consecutive system, or other system that

26 holds, treats, and supplies water directly or through a consecutive system or

27 consecutive systems to five thousand (5,000) persons or more.

28  (b) The company, corporation, municipality, county, government agency,

29 or other entity that owns or controls a water system shall control the

30 quantity of fluoride in the water so as to maintain a fluoride content

31 established by the Department of Health.

32  (c) The State Board of Health shall adopt rules relating to the

33 fluoridation of water systems that shall include without limitation:

34  (1) Permissible concentrations of fluoride to be maintained by a

35 water system; and

36  (2) Requirements and procedures for maintaining permissible

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1 concentrations of fluoride including without limitation:

2                 (A) Necessary equipment;

3                 (B) Recordkeeping;

4                 (C) Reporting; and

5                 (D) Testing.

6   (d)(1) A water system required to fluoridate under this section is not

7 required to comply with the requirements of this section until funds

8 sufficient to pay capital start-up costs for fluoridation equipment for the

9 system have become available from any source other than tax revenue or

10 service revenue regularly collected by the company, corporation,

11 municipality, county, or other government agency that owns or controls the

12 water system.

13  (2) A licensed civil engineer recognized or employed by the

14 department who is familiar with the design, construction, operation, and

15 maintenance of fluoridation systems shall determine for the department

16 whether the capital start-up costs claimed under subdivision (d)(1) of this

17 section are reasonable.

18  (e) A water system for a city in this state that receives its water

19 supply from a community in another state is not required to comply with this

20 section until a substantially similar fluoridation program is enacted for the

21 water system of the community in the other state.

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