A team of lawyers is proposing to amend the Arkansas Constitution as a way of counteracting what it called the state Supreme Court’s “monumental” decision to re-assert the state’s immunity from lawsuits.
A group calling itself the Committee to Restore Arkansans’ Rights filed a proposed constitutional amendment with Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, according to a news release Wednesday.
If Rutledge approves the wording of the measure and the group collects enough signatures, the proposed amendment would be put before voters during the general election in November.
The amendment would add several words to Article V, Section 20 of the the Constitution — which currently reads “The State of Arkansas shall never be made defendant in any of her courts” — giving permission to the General Assembly to waive such immunity.
In a split decision last week, the Supreme Court ruled that laws passed by the Legislature waiving sovereign immunity violated the constitution.
The decision has prompted concerns in the legal community over its effect on Arkansans who seek claims against the state, or to challenge state law.
Rutledge has 10 days to certify or reject the wording of the group’s proposed ballot title and popular name for their amendment.
The proposal was drafted by lawyers for the Little Rock firm Steel, Wright, Gray & Hutchinson. The firm says it represents the Committee to Restore Arkansans’ Rights.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.