The Arkansas Senate on Thursday approved proposed joint rules for the House and Senate that would ax the Joint Committee on Constitutional Amendments.
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That committee recommended the proposed amendments the House and Senate should consider referring to voters.
In a voice vote, the Senate sent Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 by Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia, to the House for further consideration.
For many years, the joint committee, made up of members of the House and Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committees, met near the end of each regular session to reduce the number of proposals for amendments. The Legislature can refer up to three each regular session to be considered in the next general election.
Under the proposed joint rules, the House and Senate committees will meet separately to recommend proposals to their respective chambers.
Maloch, the Senate committee chairman, said one of the Senate's proposed amendments could be approved by the House and Senate, and one of the House's proposed amendments could be approved by both chambers under the proposed rules.
A two-thirds vote of the House and Senate will be required for referring a third proposed constitutional amendment to voters in the 2018 general election, Maloch said. Arkansas' constitution now has 98 amendments.
A Section on 02/03/2017