PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Lorrie Trogden | President & CEO | Arkansas Bankers Association

Football, pumpkin spice latte and the general election – three exciting things in our near future! (Although I prefer the crème brulee latte) Most of us don’t like others to pick our favorite football teams or our lattes, so why would we sit back and allow others to pick who leads our state and our nation? Regardless of your party, it is important that we all vote to put candidates in office that are friendly to banking and understand our industry. Those are the candidates we need at the table when important decisions are being made.

In addition to candidates, there will also be four issues on the ballot for voters to decide, and I’ll give a brief recap of those here. Credit goes to the UofA Cooperative Extension Service, it provides non-partisan research-based information about each constitutional amendment. Additional details can be found on its website, which is linked to ABA’s Advocacy > Legislative Update webpage.

Issue 1: Giving State Senators and Representatives the Authority to Call Special Legislative Sessions and Set the Agenda. This constitutional amendment would allow the General Assembly to convene in extraordinary session upon the issuance of a joint written proclamation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or upon the submission of a written proclamation containing the signatures of at least 2/3rds of the members of the House of Representatives and at least 2/3rds of the members of the Senate to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate requesting that the General Assembly convene in extraordinary session. Currently, only the Governor can call a special session and decide what will be on the agenda. For the record, it costs about $28,000 per day for legislators to be in session.

Issue 2: Requiring 60% Voter Approval for Constitutional Amendments and CitizenProposed State Laws. Currently, any measure submitted to the people takes effect and becomes a law when approved by a majority of the votes cast (50% plus one). Thus the “majority” threshold would be replaced with requiring the measure to have a 60% approval of the total votes cast.

Issue 3: Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment. This proposal sprung from debate surrounding COVID-19 restrictions, but it’s unclear how it might be applied, if approved. In short, the measure declares state government may never burden a person's freedom of religion except in the rare circumstance that the government demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is in furtherance of a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling government interest.

Issue 4: Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment. An amendment to authorize the possession, personal use, and consumption of cannabis by adults, to authorize the cultivation and sale of cannabis by licensed commercial facilities, and to provide for the regulation of those facilities. As of April 2022, 18 states have both medicinal and recreational cannabis, and another 16 states have pending legislation. Only five states have no current or pending laws. The SAFE act has passed the

U.S. House of Representatives six times, but continues to be held up by the Senate. Senator Mike Crapo, who is in his last term, has vowed that he will continue to attach SAFE language to every bill he can until it passes.

Check out the ABA’s Legislative Update page for information on all things voting and fun items you can purchase for customers and employees centered around voting. (I’ve ordered the socks!) Good luck to your favorite football teams, and pick up one of your favorite coffee drinks on your way to the polls!

Aba Officers

Randy Scott, Chairman Farmers Bank and Trust, Blytheville

Jim Taylor, Chairman-Elect First Security Bancorp, Rogers

Brad Chambless, Vice Chairman Farmers and Merchants Bank, Fayetteville

Lori Ross, Treasurer Citizens Bank, Arkadelphia

Jim Cargill, Past Chairman Arvest Bank, Little Rock

Lorrie Trogden, President & CEO Arkansas Bankers Association, Little Rock

Board Of Directors

Kenya Davenport, Little Rock

Joe Dunn, Little Rock

Derek Eckelhoff, Rogers

Robert Husong, Rogers

Gary Kleck, Springdale

Cody Knight, Piggott

Wilson Moore, Little Rock

Scott Saffold, Monticello

Loren Shackelford, Fayetteville

Rob S. Tiffee, Little Rock

Jamie Waller, Magnolia

Scott Walker, El Dorado

Jay Wisener, Little Rock