Ballot proposals get green light, switch chambers

If approved, voters to decide fate of amendments in 2016

Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (center) brings up in a joint committee Wednesday a proposal for a constitutional amendment allowing a governor to retain his powers when out of state.
Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (center) brings up in a joint committee Wednesday a proposal for a constitutional amendment allowing a governor to retain his powers when out of state.

Members of a joint legislative committee reached consensus Wednesday on three proposed constitutional amendments that they want the Arkansas General Assembly to refer to voters, including two favored by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

All three cleared their respective chambers by day's end. They will switch ends of the Capitol for more votes today.

One supported by the governor was Senate Joint Resolution 3, by Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, that would amend the constitution to allow the governor to retain his powers and duties when out of state.

Those responsibilities now fall to the lieutenant governor when the governor leaves the state. The provision was a practical necessity when the constitution was drawn up in 1874, a time when people traveled by horse or train on trips that could take weeks and months, and long-distance communication was limited to letters and the telegraph. But it now is a relic in the age of jet travel and instantaneous communication, critics say.

Current Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, who has supported the initiative, issued a statement praising Wednesday's vote.

"I applaud the persistence and leadership of Sen. Williams and look forward to seeing this amendment on the ballot in November [2016]," Griffin said.

The proposal still would leave the lieutenant governor in charge of the state if the governor is impeached, removed from office, incapacitated, resigns or dies.

The other Hutchinson-backed proposal was Senate Joint Resolution 16, by Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, that would remove the cap on the amount of bonds the state could issue. Supporters say the change would help Arkansas compete for more projects that could bring hundreds of new jobs to the state.

The amount now is capped at 5 percent of state general revenue collected during the most recent fiscal year.

Amendment 82, which was passed in 2004, allows the state to issue bonds for major projects to pay for infrastructure, land acquisition, site preparation and employee training. The incentives are designed to attract major employers. The first Amendment 82 project was Big River Steel, a $1.3 billion steel mill under construction near Osceola.

Woods' proposal also would allow cities to appropriate money to organizations such as chambers of commerce to provide economic development services. The provision was a response to a circuit court ruling in January that such arrangements "clearly and totally" violate the Arkansas Constitution. The judge ordered the payments halted by Little Rock and North Little Rock.

Little Rock has given the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce more than $3.9 million since 1993, according to the lawsuit before Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce, and it has provided the 12-county Metro Little Rock Alliance with $300,000 since 2012.

The suit stated that North Little Rock has given at least $750,000 to the North Little Rock Economic Development Corp. since 2009, which accounts for 77 percent of the nonprofit group's revenue, while also providing a yearly appropriation, which can be as much as $16,000, for the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

SJR16 also would allow cities to issue bonds for economic development projects and allow cities with populations of 500 or more, incorporated towns, school districts and counties to form compacts for economic development.

If the proposal isn't approved, the state wouldn't be able to compete for superprojects because the state's bond authority is close to the cap now, said Danny Games, an official with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

"We will be essentially sidelined for the next 10 to 12 years," he said. Without the proposal, "we are declining the opportunity to compete."

Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, sought assurances from Games and other officials that the process by which money is spent under the amendment is transparent, equitable and subject to legislative review.

"They will take our money," she said. "People [will] want to know where our money went."

The agency will spend the money only if the project is approved by the governor and the Arkansas Legislature, the officials said. The projects' leadership also will be required to account for the money throughout the process, they said.

Both proposals passed the Senate chamber and were sent to the House.

The third proposed amendment the committee asked the Legislature to refer to voters was House Joint Resolution 1027, by Rep. Jack Ladyman, R-Jonesboro.

The proposed amendment -- a combination of three earlier proposals -- would increase the terms of county elected offices except for justices of the peace to four years from two years; more clearly spell out what is an "infamous crime" for purposes of establishing the eligibility of someone to hold office; and eliminate the requirement that an election be held if only one candidate is on the ballot.

The House later suspended its rules and passed HJR1027 by a vote of 87-2, with 10 not voting and one voting present. It now goes to the Senate.

The amendments, if approved for the ballot, would have to be ratified by state voters in the 2016 general election.

As recently as last week, legislators said they didn't expect any amendments would be proposed for the 2016 election because the state representatives and senators couldn't agree on which of the 41 possible amendments to refer to voters. The committee is made up of members of the House and Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committees.

The last time the Legislature didn't refer any proposed amendments to the ballot was 1971, according to the Bureau of Legislative Research.

Metro on 04/02/2015

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