News Archive

In the wooded highlands of northern Arkansas, where small towns have few dentists, water officials who serve more than 20,000 people have for more than a decade openly defied state law by refusing to add fluoride to the drinking water.For its refusal, the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority has received hundreds of state fines […]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The final bill to impact fluoride in Arkansas water systems failed in a House committee vote on Tuesday. Senate Bill 2 was to eliminate the 2011 Arkansas law that mandates the addition of fluoride in state water systems. The bill had faced a difficult path after its Nov. 20, 2024, introduction […]

Two bills affecting fluoride in drinking water are scheduled for Arkansas House committee discussion Thursday after passing the Senate on Tuesday. Senate Bill 2, which would repeal a statewide mandate for public water system fluoridation, passed the Senate on an 18-12 vote with five senators not voting. Senate Bill 613, which outlines a petition process […]

Arkansas’ SB2 Passed the Senate! This is the desperately needed bill that removes the water fluoridation mandate and returns control to the people! Now, on to the House Public Health Committee and then the full House of Representatives for a final vote… Pray for a good vote there!  SB2 could possibly be heard by the House Public Health Committee on Thursday, April 10, […]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The 95th General Assembly is not finished debating water fluoridation after two bills were filed on Monday. The first bill allows voters to be for or against their local water system using fluoride, and the second allows a water board to decline fluoridation treatment in its system. Senate Bill 468 allows […]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Allowing people to vote for or against water fluoridation is the goal of a bill that passed in a Senate committee on Tuesday. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Clint Penzo (R-Springdale). “Ultimately this is about giving our constituents a voice on whether or not they want it in their water […]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – An effort to remove the mandate for water fluoridation failed in the Arkansas legislature committee on Wednesday. Senate Bill 2 aimed to remove the mandate to use fluoride in public water systems and remove the Department of Health’s ability to set limits for fluoride. The legislation failed in the Senate Public […]

An Arkansas Senate committee narrowly rejected a proposal to repeal state law requiring fluoride in drinking water after supporters outnumbered opponents of the bill during public comment. Senate Bill 2 would have deleted an entire section of state statute that currently mandates: “The company, corporation, municipality, county, government agency, or other entity that owns or […]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that is often credited with preventing tooth decay, and it is currently at the center of a heated debate in Arkansas. Republican State Sen. Clint Penzo, (R-Springdale) introduced Senate Bill 2, which sought to repeal the state’s mandate requiring water systems serving over 5,000 people […]

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Lawmakers are weighing the merits of adding fluoride to local water supplies. A bill that would repeal the requirement for fluoride in drinking water, failed to make it out of committee today receiving only four of the five votes it needed to pass. But it may not be the last time […]