April2021
Lawmakers 
Send 
3 
Amendments 
to 
Voters 


Wrapping 
up 
their 
legislative 
session 
this 
week, 
Arkansas 
lawmakers 
approved 
sending 
a 
third 
constitutional 
amendment 
to 
voters 
on 
the 
November 
2022 
ballot. 


Legislators 
approved 
two 
proposals 
earlier 
in 
April, 
with 
the 
third 
one 
coming 
the 
last 
week 
of 
the 
108-day 
session. 
State 
lawmakers 
have 
recessed 
and 
plan 
to 
come 
back 
later 
this 
fall 
to 
deal 
with 
redistricting 
for 
Arkansas' 
four 
U.S. 
House 
of 
Representative 
seats. 


The 
three 
measures 
approved 
by 
legislators 
were 
among 
42 
proposed 
amendments 
filed 
this 
session. 
Committees 
in 
the 
House 
and 
Senate 
reviewed 
many 
of 
the 
proposals, 
with 
sponsors 
testifying 
before 
them 
on 
why 
their 
bills 
should 
be 
chosen 
for 
the 
ballot. 


Ultimately, 
two 
amendments 
made 
it 
out 
of 
committee. 
Senator 
Jason 
Rapert 
and 
Representative 
Stephen 
Meeks 
filed 
resolutions 
urging 
colleagues 
to 
consider 
one 
of 
their 
proposals 
for 
the 
third 
slot 
on 
the 
2022 
ballot. 
Rapert's 
SJR14 
persevered. 
(See 
below 
for 
links 
to 
the 
proposals). 


Arkansas 
is 
one 
of 
15 
states 
the 
legislature 
and 
citizens 
can 
propose 
constitutional 
amendments 
for 
voters 
to 
decide, 
and 
ballot 
issue 
groups 
can 
also 
propose 
state 
laws 
and 
veto 
referendums. 
After 
the 
end 
of 
the 
2019 
legislative 
session, 
a 
ballot 
issue 
group 
filed 
a 
veto 
referendum 
on 
a 
new 
state 
law 
expanding 
the 
types 
of 
procedures 
optometrists 
can 
perform. 
Several 
groups 
have 
voiced 
a 
desire 
to 
file 
veto 
referendums 
on 
laws 
passed 
this 
session. 


Arkansas' 
1874 
Constitution 
currently 
has 
102 
amendments, 
the 
latest 
which 
were 
approved 
by 
voters 
in 
November 
2020 
changing 
the 
state's 
term 
limit 
laws 
and 
approving 
a 
permanent 
0.5% 
sales 
tax 
for 
roadwork 
and 
maintenance 
across 
the 
state. 



2022LegislativeProposals
A 
constitutional 
amendment 
to 
A 
constitutional 
amendment 
to 
A 
constitutional 
amendment 
to 
reform 
certain 
measures 


allow 
the 
General 
Assembly 
to 
create 
the 
"Arkansas 
Religious 


presented 
to 
voters, 
to 
be 
known 
convene 
in 
extraordinary 
session 
Freedom 
Amendment" 
as 
the 
"Constitutional 
upon 
the 
issuance 
of 
a 
joint 



Amendment 
and 
Ballot 
Initiative 
Reform 
Amendment” 
Read 
the 
proposal 
See 
the 
vote 
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 
2/3 
of 
the 
members 
of 
the 
House 
of 
Read 
the 
proposal 
See 
the 
vote 
Representatives 
and 
at 
least 
2/3 
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 
Read 
the 
proposal 
See 
the 
vote 



2022 
Citizen 
Initiative 
Proposals 


Arkansas 
is 
one 
of15 
stateswhere 
citizens 
have 
the 
right 
to 
put 
constitutional 
amendments, 
state 
laws 
and 
referendums 
on 
the 
ballot 
for 
voters 
to 
decide. 


The 
citizen 
initiative 
process 
involves 
filing 
a 
ballot 
title 
with 
the 
Secretary 
of 
State's 
Office, 
collecting 
voter 
signatures 
across 
the 
state 
and 
submitting 
the 
petitions 
for 
verification. 
The 
Board 
of 
Election 
Commissioners 
also 
must 
approve 
the 
ballot 
title. 


Referendums 
require 
voter 
signatures 
equaling 
6% 
of 
the 
number 
of 
people 
who 
voted 
in 
the 
last 
governor's 
election. 
State 
laws 
require 
8%, 
and 
constitutional 
amendments 
require 
10%. 


Submitted 
to 
the 
Secretary 
of 
State 


Act 
376 
of 
2019 
requires 
ballot 
issue 
groups 
to 
submit 
a 
copy 
of 
their 
ballot 
title 
to 
the 
Secretary 
of 
State's 
Office 
before 
collecting 
voter 
signatures. 


Ballot 
titles 
that 
have 
been 
filed 
for 
the 
2022 
ballot 
include: 


Feb. 
4, 
2021 
-The 
Arkansas 
Township 
Amendment 
of 
2022-A 
proposal 
that 
would 
create 
another 
layer 
of 
local 
government 
-township 
assemblies 
-among 
other 
things 
was 
submitted 
by 
Academy 
of 
Democracy. 


Jan. 
5, 
2021 
-An 
Amendment 
Concerning 
Jurors' 
Rights 
-A 
proposal 
that 
would 
impact 
the 
legislature's 
ability 
to 
pass 
laws 
regarding 
jury 
awards 
in 
lawsuits 
over 
injury 
or 
death 
was 
submitted. 
The 
person 
who 
submitted 
the 
proposal 
did 
not 
provide 
their 
contact 
information 
to 
the 
Secretary 
of 
State's 
Office. 


May 
22, 
2020 
-The 
Arkansas 
Recreational 
Marijuana 
Amendment 
of 
2022-A 
proposal 
to 
legalize 
adult 
marijuana 
use 
and 
to 
allow 
certain 
marijuana 
convictions 
to 
be 
expunged 
was 
submitted 
by 
Arkansas 
True 
Grass. 



#ARballot 


uaex.uada.edu/ballot 


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