Announcement timeline

Per the February 2026 permitting EO, every cabinet-level permitting agency submits its written improvement plan with timelines, online one-stop portals, concurrent reviews, real-time status updates, and AI-assisted decisioning.

SAP Ariba-based statewide eProcurement system scheduled to go live in July 2026 — unlocking statewide category management, contract consolidation, and renegotiation across the state's roughly $1.7B annual procurement base.

Per the February 2026 permitting EO, every cabinet-level permitting agency completes its 120-day comprehensive review of permits, licenses, certifications, and other regulatory approvals.

State of the State delivered at the opening of the 95th General Assembly Fiscal Session, restating Arkansas Forward priorities and the broader efficiency agenda.

Sanders' balanced budget letter outlines priorities for the 2026 Fiscal Session and integrates Arkansas Forward outputs into Executive Recommendations — weaving the efficiency agenda directly into budget development.

Every cabinet-level permitting agency must complete a 120-day comprehensive review and submit a 180-day improvement plan, including publicly available timelines, one-stop online portals, concurrent reviews, real-time status updates, and the use of AI to expedite permits.

Two-part AI CoE report on Government Effectiveness (productivity tools, agency modernization, Medicaid/SNAP program integrity, AI-enabled Government Services Portal) and Safety, Security & Trust (Chief AI Officer, NIST-aligned evaluation framework, data infrastructure, transparency, AI literacy).

Arkansas Forward-linked return-to-office and flexible/alternative work schedule policy announced, effective Oct. 1, 2025 — extending office hours to 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, offering 9/80 and 4/10 schedules, and expanding the Infant at Work policy statewide.

Act 499 of 2025 takes effect on July 1, 2025. The new classification and compensation system is operationalized statewide through SAS's FY26 Pay Plan, with detailed pay tables, job families, and grade/class codes published for every executive-branch role.

Executive Order centralizing statewide IT administration, establishing the centralized IT Governance Team, requiring a comprehensive IT assessment, ordering a statewide IT consolidation plan, and creating a centralized cybersecurity office to close Arkansas's cyber-spending gap with peer states.

Sanders authorized merit raises tied to annual performance evaluations: 1% base salary increase for employees who met expectations and 3% for those who exceeded expectations — extending the Arkansas Forward pay-for-performance framework.

The AI and Analytics Center of Excellence delivered its initial recommendations report on policies and programs to adopt artificial intelligence across Arkansas state government.

The General Assembly enacted SB 392 as Act 499 of 2025, codifying the Arkansas Forward pay plan into Arkansas law. The act provides the statutory foundation for the new statewide classification and compensation system effective July 1, 2025.

Governor Sanders received the Arkansas Forward progress report: a 956-page strategic plan with more than 300 initiatives across all 15 cabinet departments and a $300M six-year cost-savings and cost-avoidance target across five focus areas.

$102M-per-year pay plan overhaul announced: raises pay an average of 9.8% for 14,539 employees (roughly two-thirds of the cabinet workforce), brings salaries to private-sector labor-market rates, consolidates roughly 2,200 job titles to about 800, and introduces six skill-based pay tables. Funded ~$60M from General Revenue with the balance from salary savings and set-aside funds; no positions eliminated.

Governor Sanders launched the working group that became the AI and Analytics Center of Excellence — the foundation for Arkansas's statewide AI strategy.