The Arkansas attorney general's office has signed off on the language of a proposed constitutional amendment that, if passed, would limit the amount of money that can be awarded in lawsuits against health care providers.
On Friday, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge certified the language for the Arkansas Health Care Protection Amendment, but finding that the name was too "partisan," substituted her own title: "An Amendment to Limit Non-Economic and Punitive Damages in Civil Medical Care Cases."
If the proposed constitutional amendment presented by Dan Greenberg reaches the ballot and is approved by voters in November, lawmakers would be compelled to craft laws that cap the amount of "noneconomic" money damages that can be awarded in suits against health care providers and "specify a maximum ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages."
In order to amend such laws, the Legislature would have to pass changes by a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber.
Greenberg, son of former Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial page editor Paul Greenberg, is a former legislator and currently heads a conservative advocacy group, Advance Arkansas Institute.
Metro on 04/02/2016