Arkansas voters could face five ballot issues
By Roy Ockert Jr.
Sept. 9, 2014
Arkansas voters will apparently face five ballot issues in the Nov. 4 general election. That’s apparently because a lawsuit has been filed questioning the legitimacy of one issue, and its outcome could affect another.
Let’s deal first with the three issues most certain to be on the ballot. All three were referred to voters during the 2013 session of the General Assembly, which has the authority to refer three constitutional amendments in each regular session.
Issue No. 1 came from Senate Joint Resolution 7, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, and titled “An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution providing that administrative rules promulgated by state agencies shall not become effective until reviewed and approved by a legislative committee of the General Assembly.”
This would give the Legislature more oversight power to control the state agencies that normally report to the governor. As such, its passage would make more work for lawmakers and give them more opportunities for committee meetings, which in turn would mean more expense reimbursements.
Issue No. 2 is SJR 16, sponsored by Sen. Bill Sample, R-Hot Springs. Titled “Proposing an amendment to Article 5, Section 1, of the Arkansas Constitution concerning initiative and referendum; and providing certain requirements for the correction or amendment of insufficient statewide petitions,” this proposal would stiffen the process for citizens who want to get something on the ballot.
It would keep groups that are circulating petitions from getting an additional 30 days to get proposals on the ballot, unless the number of signatures had reached 75 percent of the required statewide number and 75 percent of the required numbers from each of at least 15 counties.
Issue No. 3, the longest and most controversial, stems from House Joint Resolution 1009, sponsored by Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock. Not only is the proposal long (22 pages), but so is the title (22 lines) so let’s just go with the subtitle, “The Arkansas Elected Officials Ethics, Transparency and Financial Reform Amendment of 2014.”
Its most controversial provision would allow legislators to serve a total of 16 years total in the House or Senate; they are now limited to eight years in the Senate and six in the House. That’s really not much of a change, but it has term limits proponents in a tizzy.
The proposal would also prohibit direct political contributions from corporations and unions to political candidates; require lawmakers to be out of office for two years before they can become lobbyists (it’s now one year); place stricter limits on campaign donations and gifts from lobbyists; and establish an independent citizens commission to set salaries for lawmakers and other elected officials.
A citizens committee calling itself Arkansas Term Limits has been formed in opposition.
The other two issues are citizens’ initiatives, which generally means that legislators didn’t want to touch them with a pole of any length.
The one that almost certainly will pass is an initiated act titled “An Act to Increase the Arkansas Minimum Wage.”
Even politicians who has previously declared their aversion to the concept are clamoring to get on board the minimum wage bandwagon.
The ballot issue, pushed by a group called Give Arkansas a Raise Now, would raise the state’s current minimum wage of $6.25 an hour in three stages. It would go up to $7.50 on Jan. 1, 2015, then to $8 on Jan. 1, 2016, and finally to $8.50 on Jan. 1, 2017.
The federal minimum wage has been at $7.25 a hour since 2009, when the third step of minimum wage legislation took effect, bringing it up from $5.85 over three years. President Barack Obama’s administration is now proposing an increase to $10.10, which caused some of the initial opposition to the Arkansas proposal since so many candidates here are running against Obama.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson said in a Jonesboro appearance and at other times that he believed the rate should be raised by the Legislature, which has not addressed the issue since 2006, leaving Arkansas as one of only four states with a rate lower than the federal level.
However, subsequent polls showed the proposal to have strong support among prospective voters, and the proposing group gathered sufficient signatures in the 30-day “grace” period to gain certification. (If Issue No. 2 had already been in effect, the measure would have died.)
However, this proposal could be affected by a challenge to the fifth ballot measure, a constitutional amendment titled “The Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment.”
Proposed by a group called Let Arkansas Decide, the amendment would allow the manufacture and sales of alcoholic beverages in every county of the state, effectively ending the local option. The proposal has strong financial support, especially from retailers including Wal-Mart and Kum and Go.
But an opposing group filed suit, arguing that the issue does not qualify for the ballot because of a technicality, namely that the final signatures on the petitions were not submitted until July 7, less than four months before the election. That date was allowed by Secretary of State Mark Martin because the previous Friday, July 4, was a holiday and his office was closed that day and all weekend.
Final petitions on the minimum wage issue also were turned in on July 7.
In future columns I’ll examine each ballot issue in more detail.
Roy Ockert is editor emeritus of The Jonesboro Sun. He may be reached by e-mail at royo@suddenlink.net.