The Arkansas Legislative Council approved on Friday a modified version of a report meant to help clarify the state's gun laws.

Lawmakers added two items (and draft bills) to the report during the Executive Subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council's meeting Thursday, recommending that the Legislature prohibit local governments from regulating knives or knife-making components, and amend state code to allow employees of private employers to store handguns in their vehicle while in their employers' parking lot.

The Arkansas Legislative Council first approved a study of the state's gun laws Aug. 25, 2023. The Arkansas Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee conducted the study, hearing summaries of the statutes presented by the Bureau of Legislative Research. Its members also consulted with Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin's office, as well as members of law enforcement, and heard comments from the general public.

Besides the two additions by the Executive Subcommittee, the report's recommendations included:

* Reducing the state's concealed carry licensing processes from two to one.

* Prohibiting local governments from enacting firearms restrictions that are more restrictive than state law.

* Examining the propriety of developing a legal path for people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution to regain their gun rights.

* Clarifying the rules for awarding a law enforcement officer's service pistol upon death or retirement.

The report also contains draft bills that would codify many of the changes recommended by the study, as well as the two items added by the Executive Subcommittee. Lawmakers have said they intend to bring the recommendations listed in the final report before the General Assembly during the regular session that begins Jan. 13.

The Arkansas Legislative Council approved the modified report in less than five minutes, with no discussion by the body.

Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, explained during Thursday's Executive Subcommittee meeting that the two items the body added to the report had been discussed previously.

"These bills were discussed in the Game and Fish subcommittee, so these are not true, new additions," Wardlaw said.

For instance, Wardlaw mentioned the draft bill barring the regulation of knives or knife-making components to the Game and Fish subcommittee during a Sept. 4 meeting. However, the proposed legislation did not appear in the draft report considered by the subcommittee during its Oct. 3 meeting or during the Oct. 17 Executive Subcommittee meeting.

That draft bill, sponsored by Rep. Joey Carr, R-Blytheville, and Sen. Ben Gilmore, R-Crossett, amends Arkansas Code 14-16-504 and 14-54-1411, which states "a local unit of government shall not enact any ordinance or regulation pertaining to, or regulate in any other manner, the ownership, transfer, transportation, carrying, or possession of: firearms, ammunition for firearms, or components of firearms." The amended version would include "knives; or knife-making components."

The other change to the report adds a section to a piece of draft legislation sponsored by Wardlaw and Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee co-chair Sen. Ricky Hill, R-Cabot, that was already in the report. The change amends Arkansas Code 11-5-117, "allowing an employee of a private employer to store his or her handgun in his or her vehicle in the parking lot of the private employer."

The Arkansas Legislative Council called for the Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee's study after firearms instructors and law enforcement officers urged lawmakers to assemble a task force to address what some described as convoluted and conflicting gun laws.

Legislators had enacted a measure by Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, in hopes of eliminating confusion over whether Arkansas was a permitless-carry state, but many Arkansans said the laws remained unclear. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin also said at the time that state leaders had requested two dozen opinions about the state's gun laws over the previous decade because of their complicated nature.

The council tasked the subcommittee with scrutinizing issues related to concealed carry statutes and rules, state and federal laws concerning gun possession, firearms instructors and determining the correct entity to provide Arkansas State Police with guidance and advice about possible discrepancies in the laws, according to a summary of the study's purpose that was included in the report.

Although the report was initially due Oct. 1, additional questions from lawmakers prompted the panel during a Sept. 16 meeting to request an extension of the deadline. The Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee approved the report Oct. 7, advancing it for consideration by the Executive Subcommittee on Oct. 17. The full Arkansas Legislative Council approved the report the next day, although the two additional items prompted the report to come before the body again Friday.

The modified report's approval came the same day Sen. Justin Boyd, R-Fort Smith -- who is a member of the Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee -- filed versions of two draft bills that resulted from the study.

The first amends existing law to classify the offense of shooting at trains as a Class A misdemeanor. Under Arkansas law, a person convicted of a Class A misdemeanor may be sentenced to pay a fine "not exceeding" $2,500. Under current state law, a person convicted of shooting at a train could be fined no more than $250.

The second bill repeals Arkansas Code 15-43-205, which states a person "who, while hunting deer, negligently discharges a firearm in such circumstances as to endanger the person or property of another" will be fined between $100 to $1,000, or could be imprisoned in the county jail for between 30 days to six months, "or be fined and imprisoned."