Bloomberg Law
Oct. 13, 2021, 8:26 PM

Arkansas Governor Allows Vaccine Opt-Out Law, Voices Hesitation

Chris Marr
Chris Marr
Staff Correspondent

Arkansas employers will have to let workers opt out of Covid-19 vaccine requirements through weekly virus testing or twice-annual antibody tests that indicate natural immunity, under bills that Gov. Asa Hutchinson will allow to become law without his signature.

The Republican governor voiced opposition to the companion bills that state lawmakers passed last week, SB 739 and HB 1977, but said he wouldn’t veto them partly because they won’t take effect for 90 days, giving courts time to sort out any resulting legal challenges. The GOP-led legislature could override a veto with only a simple-majority vote.

The legislation requires ...