New laws to go into effect in Arkansas, including sentencing reforms, copper

Publication Date: 2011-07-24

• Publication:Greenfield Daily Reporter

New laws going into effect this week in Arkansas include sentencing reforms, a ban on smoking in a vehicle when a child under 14 is present and restrictions on copper sales.

The Southwest Times Record reports the laws will go into effect Wednesday.

Act 570 of 2011 is aimed at easing prison overcrowding. It provides for lesser sentences for some nonviolent offenses. It also makes some nonviolent offenders eligible for parole at an earlier date. The law requires adding more probation and parole officers and is expected to cost about $9 million to implement.

Act 811, which bans smoking in a vehicle around a child, is punishable by a $25 fine.

Act 1193 makes it illegal to sell scrap metal, including copper, without documentation of the origin of the metal.