Arkansas voters on Tuesday approved a proposed constitutional amendment that will permanently extend the state’s 0.5% sales tax for roads and highways.
Issue 1 will make permanent the state’s 0.5% sales tax for highways and roads that voters approved in November of 2012 for a ten-year period. The 0.5% sales tax — which had been set to expire in June 2023 — is levied under Amendment 91 to the Arkansas Constitution.
State officials project that voter approval of Issue 1 will raise about $205 million a year for the state Department of Transportation for highways and about $44 million a year each for cities and counties for roads in the future.
At 11 p.m. Tuesday with 81.63% of precincts reporting, unofficial returns were:
For 591,605
Against 478,375
The measure was referred to the ballot by the General Assembly and was part of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's two-pronged, $300 million-a-year highway plan. Hutchinson said in a written statement that approval of Issue 1 is a boost for jobs and the state’s economy.
“I am personally gratified that Arkansans are willing to invest in our highways and our state’s growth,” the Republican governor said.
“I appreciate the courage of the General Assembly in giving the voters a chance to say ‘yes’ to the future. This is a big victory and this gives us a long-term solution for our highways and infrastructure,” Hutchinson said.
Voters also approved Issue 2, a constitutional amendment to end lifetime term limits for state lawmakers.
However, the state rejected Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have made it more difficult for citizen groups to qualify ballot measures for general election ballots and increased the voting threshold for the state Legislature to refer proposed constitutional amendments to voters.
Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.