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Kristin Higgins
Public Policy Center
Phone: 501-671-2160
Email: khiggins@uada.edu
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In the Weeds: Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment of 2024
Update: This proposal did not qualify for the 2024 ballot.
Go "deep into the weeds" with us on the Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment of 2024, a proposed Arkansas 2024 ballot issue. Find links and more information about the proposal.
We will publish a voter guide on all 2024 Arkansas ballot issues in October. In the meantime, this blog post shares information about this proposed citizen initiative.
Ballot Information
The popular name may be called the title by some people:
The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment of 2024
Sometimes called a ballot summary, this is the information that appears on voter petitions and would appear on the ballot if the issue qualifies:
An amendment to the Arkansas constitution providing that government transparency is a right of Arkansas citizens; defining “government transparency” as the government’s obligation to share information with citizens or to deliver information to citizens; prohibiting the General Assembly from making a law concerning government transparency without approval by a vote of the people, but allowing a two thirds majority of the General Assembly to refer such a law to the people to be approved or rejected at the next general election; permitting the General Assembly, by a nine-tenths vote and in the case of an emergency, to make a law concerning government transparency take immediate effect until approved or rejected by a vote of the people at the next general election; clarifying that any act the General Assembly refers to the people under this Amendment is not a referred constitutional amendment under article 19, section 22 of the Arkansas Constitution; prohibiting the General Assembly from amending this Amendment by referring an amendment to the people under article 19, section 22 of the Arkansas Constitution; clarifying that the people of Arkansas may exercise their authority under article 5, section 1 to amend this Amendment or an Arkansas statute concerning government transparency; abrogating the sovereign immunity of the State of Arkansas in lawsuits concerning government transparency and allowing plaintiffs to recover attorney’s fees in such suits; clarifying that this Amendment does not alter the constitutional powers of the State Supreme Court; clarifying that this Amendment does not alter the constitutional powers of the General Assembly to determine the rules that affect the openness of state legislative meetings; declaring that all provisions of the constitution, statutes, and common law of this state are declared null and void to the extent they are inconsistent or in conflict with any provision of this Amendment; declaring that this Amendment’s provisions are severable; and stating that this Amendment is effective November 6, 2024.
Voters see the popular name and ballot title on Election Day. The full text of proposed amendments do not appear on the ballot.
Read the full text of the amendment as provided by the sponsor.
The Arkansas Attorney General is responsible for certifying that popular names and ballot titles are free from misleading information. Only after this certification can sponsors start collecting voter signatures.
Date Certified: Jan. 24, 2024
Sponsors must collect signatures from at least 90,704 Arkansas voters, with a certain percentage coming from at least 50 counties. The deadline to submit signatures is July 5, 2024.
A constitutional amendment such as this proposal would change the state's constitution, which dates back to 1874. Constitutional issues require a vote of the people to add, change, or remove.
An act is a state law, and can be changed by the legislature in any legislative session.
Sponsors of the The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment of 2024 are also collecting voter signatures for a proposed state law, The Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024.
Ethics Commission Information
Supporters and opponents of a proposed ballot issue are required to file paperwork with the Arkansas Ethics Commission upon raising or spending $500.
Arkansas Citizens for Transparency
Ballot Question Committee Statement of Organization
Arkansans for a Free Press
To see the financial statements filed by the Arkansas Citizens for Transparency, go to https://www.arkansasethics.com/ and click on "LO-BQC, BQC, AND LQC FILINGS"
Use the drop down menu to find the group's name. Doing this will reveal their filings with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
As of April 5, 2024, there are no opponents registered with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
Websites
Websites for supporters and opponents will be added as they are known. As of Feb. 9, there is no publicly known opposition to this proposed ballot issue.
Lawsuits
Lawsuits may be filed throughout the Arkansas ballot issue process. When that occurs, we will provide links to those case files below.
Sponsors of two ballot issues related to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act sued Attorney General Tim Griffin in January 2024. Arkansans for Transparency asked the Supreme Court to compel Griffin to approve their popular names and ballot titles, saying the delay was cutting short their time to collect voter signatures. Ballot issue groups must publish their titles in a newspaper in June and turn in voter signatures in July.
Court: Pulaski County Circuit Court
Case Summary: https://caseinfonew.arcourts.gov/opad/case/CV-24-40