The sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment to authorize four casinos in Arkansas said Tuesday that they turned in 43,952 more signatures in their effort to qualify their measure for the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
"I'm extraordinarily confident that we'll qualify for the ballot," said Nate Steel, counsel for the Driving Arkansas Forward and Arkansas Jobs Coalition committees that are promoting the proposal.
On July 25, the secretary of state's office gave the sponsors until Friday to collect more signatures. The office had said the sponsors turned in 70,054 valid signatures of registered voters July 6. This year, 84,859 valid signatures are needed to get a proposed amendment on the ballot.
Steel said the sponsors had collected about 30,000 more signatures by July 25, when the secretary of state's office said more were needed, and "we just kind of kept going."
"We wanted to create a buffer such that a legal challenge [to the signatures] would seem futile, which it is," with more than 100,000 valid signatures, he said.
The secretary of state's office "will be working as quickly as possible" to determine whether the measure qualifies for the Nov. 6 ballot, said Chris Powell, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office.
Secretary of State Mark Martin will certify ballot measures, including the casino amendment known as Issue 4, to the counties Thursday because that is the deadline to get that information to the counties.
As for a possible legal challenge to the proposal's ballot title, Steel said, "I just don't see anything in that transparent ballot title that could create any legal issues.
"It seems clear to us ... [that] if it is clear enough for the AG [attorney general], I think it is going to be clear enough for the court," he said.
Jerry Cox, president of the Family Council Action Committee that opposes the proposed amendment, said he is among a group of people who are exploring the possibility of a legal challenge to the proposal's ballot title.
The proposal would allow the state Racing Commission to issue casino licenses to: an applicant in Jefferson County within 2 miles of Pine Bluff; an applicant in Pope County within 2 miles of Russellville; Southland Racing Corp. at or adjacent to Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis; and Oaklawn Jockey Club at or adjacent to Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs.
Under state law, Oaklawn and Southland operate electronic games of skill, so the proposed measure would allow for expansion of their gambling operations.
Under the proposal, the licensees in Jefferson and Pope counties would pay an application fee, demonstrate experience in casino gambling and submit a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution from the county quorum court and, if the proposed casino would be located in a city, a letter of support from that mayor.
In the Nov. 6 general election, Pope County voters will cast ballots on a proposed initiative that would bar the county judge or the Quorum Court from supporting a casino there without a local election granting authority for such action.
Pope County Clerk Laura McGuire said Friday that she determined that Citizens for a Better Pope County submitted 5,412 valid signatures of registered voters to exceed the required 3,051 signatures to qualify their proposal for the ballot.
The Russellville City Council on Thursday approved a resolution objecting to the proposed constitutional amendment because of its failure to have an option for residents of any city in Pope County to have a special election on casino gambling in the county.
Steel said the proposed amendment provides for local control by requiring the written support of the mayor and county judge or quorum court.
"If the people in the affected counties want to encourage their elected leaders through ordinances or resolutions, that is their prerogative. That is the kind of local discussion that the amendment is intended to inspire," he said.
Quapaw Tribe officials have expressed interest in getting a casino license in Jefferson County, while a Cherokee Nation Businesses spokesman said that tribe is interested in pursuing a presence in Pope County, if voters approve the amendment and Pope County residents agree a casino would draw jobs.
Through July 31, the Driving Arkansas Forward Committee reported a total of $2.26 million in contributions, including $1.2 million from the Downstream Development Authority of the Quapaw Tribe in Quapaw, Okla., and $1.05 million from Cherokee Nation Businesses LLC.
Under the proposal, a casino's net gambling receipts would be subject to a tax of 13 percent on the first $150 million and 20 percent of receipts above that amount. Fifty-five percent of the tax receipts would go to state general revenue and 17.5 percent to the state Racing Commission for purses for live horse and greyhound racing.
Eight percent of the receipts would go to the county in which the casino is located and 19.5 percent would go to the city or town in which the casino sits or to the county if the casino is not in a city or a town.
The sponsors have estimated that the proposal would initially raise about $66 million a year in state general revenue, about $33 million a year for the cities and counties where the casinos are located and about $25 million a year for purse support at Oaklawn and Southland.
They've disagreed with state Department of Finance and Administration officials, who've projected the state would receive less in general revenue during fiscal years 2020-2022 under the proposal. The state collected $64.3 million from Oaklawn and Southland's electronic games of skill in fiscal 2018, which ended June 30.
Metro on 08/22/2018