Many African Americans served in the Arkansas House and a smaller number in the Arkansas Senate (African American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900) until Democrats reasserted white supremacy and barred them from voting and holding office as was done across the American south.

In 2020, voters approved a constitutional amendment changing terms limits to 12 consecutive years with the opportunity to return after a 4-year break.

Senators begin the legislative process by submitting bill requests to the staff of the Bureau of Legislative Research that drafts a bill to conform to the author's intent.

Bills are introduced on First Reading and assigned to a committee, vetted by the committee, undergo Second and Third Readings on the floor of the Senate, go to the opposite house of the legislature, and return or go directly to the governor.

[6] State senators are also responsible for approving the governor's appointments and 16 members of the Arkansas Senate serve on the Arkansas Legislative Council and the Joint Auditing Committee.

[2] It also acts as an organizing committee and members of the council exert a greater degree of influence over the legislative process and outcome.

After the U.S. Census every ten years, all Senate districts are redrawn to ensure that they each have approximately the same number of constituents.

A senator who draws a two-year term can serve for 10 or even 12 years, depending on when they were elected.