How Arkansas Voters Have Defined Economic Development

by Kristin Higgins - May 1, 2026

How do you define economic development? 

In 2016, Arkansas voters defined this term when they approved Amendment 97 to the Arkansas Constitution, which addressed job creation, job expansion, and economic development.

Arkansas legislators proposed the constitutional amendment in part to address a judge’s ruling that local governments had illegally given public funds to private entities such as chambers of commerce for economic development purposes.

Amendment 97 legalized those payments and defined economic development projects as:

• Manufacturing, production and industrial facilities
• Research, technology and development facilities
• Recycling facilities
• Distribution centers
• Call centers
• Warehouse facilities
• Job training facilities and
• Regional or national corporate headquarters

In the years since the 2016 election, legislators have added sports complexes to host tournaments and “facilities for the retail sale of goods" in the definition now found in Arkansas Code § 14-174-105.

This fall, voters are being asked to add “economic development districts” to this list of projects and services that local governments can give public funds to, as well as lend their government’s credit to private entities. This is one part of SJR15, which voters will decide on the November 2026 ballot. We will provide more information about this ballot issue in coming months.