Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act

The Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act is a 2015 Arkansas act that prohibits, with exception to employees of a local government, any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state from adopting or enforcing an ordinance, resolution, rule, or policy that creates a protected classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained in state law.

[10] On March 1, 2016, Washington County Circuit Judge Doug Martin ruled that the Fayetteville, Arkansas was allowed to enforce Ordinance 5781.

The ruling was based on the Fayetteville City Attorney's argument that state law provided protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity in sections other than the state's anti-discrimination code, making the city's ordinance legally enforceable.

Fayetteville attorneys predicted that the ordinance would be featured in an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling in the future.

The Arkansas Supreme Court sent the case back to the Washington County judge who upheld Fayetteville's ordinance.