Governmental Affairs

Ballot issues: What are you voting on? Governmental

Article 5 § 1 of the Arkansas Constitution provides the General Assembly the opportunity to propose up to three constitutional amendments for the voters of Arkansas to decide. These resolutions are vetted in the Joint House and Senate State Agencies committee. In 2015, the Senate filed 16 senate joint resolutions (SJR) and the House filed 27 house joint resolutions (HJR). Many of these resolutions mirrored the opposite chamber resolutions and were properly discussed. At the end of the day the joint committee approved HJR 1027, SJR3 and SJR16. Following the passage of both chambers, these resolutions are now on the ballot for the 2016 general election and listed as issues 1, 2 and 3.

Issue 1 may be the most important issue on the ballot for many of our readers. Popular Name: “Proposing an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution concerning the terms, election and eligibility of elected officials.” Currently, countywide elected officials serve a two-year term. If voters approve this measure, that would change to a fouryear term beginning in 2019. However, district officials working in the legislative branch would continue serving two-year terms. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he “will vote for the four-year terms for county officials” in his speech at the AAC annual conference in August. He also brought up another point that hasn’t been talked about as much: turnout for the non-presidential years. Hutchinson said, “If this passes, county officials would cycle on the gubernatorial cycle, and I believe that will increase the turnout.”

Issue 1 will prohibit certain elected county officials from being appointed or elected to a civil office. The writers of the constitution did not define “civil office,” but the court system has given guidance to this topic in the past. This amendment would allow unopposed candidates to be elected without their name appearing on the ballot. Lastly, it lays out a clear definition of “infamous crime.” The lack of clarity has caused confusion in the past regarding who is eligible to run for public office. The Constitution currently says if a citizen has been convicted of an infamous crime, that person is disqualified from running for public office. HJR 1027 passed the House of Representatives 87-2 and the Senate 33-0. There has been no organized or publicized opposition to this amendment.

Issue 2, Popular Name: “A Constitutional Amendment to allow the governor to retain his or her powers and duties when absent from the state.” When Gov. Hutchinson leaves the state, he loses his powers as governor. These powers fall to the lieutenant governor, the Senate Pro Tem and the Speaker of the House, in that order, if the next in line is also out of state. It’s safe to say that the state has upgraded its technology since the inception of the Arkansas Constitution. Gov. Hutchinson said at the AAC conference, “in a mobile society when we’re not on wagons anymore — we can actually move very quickly — we should not have that old system.” If approved by the voters, the governor would retain his powers when he leaves the state for any reason. This passed the House of Representatives 80-0 and the Senate 30-1. There has been no organized or publicized opposition to this amendment.

Issue 3, Popular Name: “An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution concerning job creation, job expansion, and economic development.” Voters approved Amendment 82 in 2004, allowing the state to issue general obligation bonds to pay for infrastructure or other needs to attract large economic development projects. Big River Steel was the first to take advantage of Amendment 82 super project incentives. Amendment 82 set a cap for bonds at 5 percent of the state’s general revenues. This cap represents approximately $259 million. The most recent project that came before the Legislature was a package for Lockheed Martin of East Camden to build the new and improved Humvee, a joint light tactical vehicle (JLTV). The Legislature approved the incentive package, but Lockheed Martin was not awarded the contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. If Lockheed Martin won the bid, the state would have been right up against the cap and couldn’t offer any more incentives to super project prospects. Issue 3 would remove this cap but keep the requirement that mandates a legislative vote for final approval of any bonds issued.

Secondly, it would allow counties and cities to obtain or provide money for other entities to support economic development projects or services. Many of our counties and cities partner with their chamber of commerce or a county economic development board for economic development projects or services. There have been some constitutional questions regarding these partnerships, and this initiative attempts to clearly define what is allowed under the Constitution. Thirdly, it clarifies the authority cities and counties have to issue bonds for economic development projects. It would modify parts of Amendment 62, which the voters passed in 1984, but would keep the requirement for voters to approve the bonds through the election process. The last four parts of this proposal modify Amendment 62, as well. They allow a legislative body to authorize the use of other taxes in order to pay off municipal and county bonds. Cur-

Affairs Josh Curtis Governmental Affairs Director