The Arkansas House advanced a bill on Wednesday that would more than triple the number of counties from which groups would have to collect signatures to qualify ballot initiatives for elections.
House Bill 1419, by Rep. Kendon Underwood, R-Cave Springs, passed with a vote of 79-19. The bill heads to the Senate for further action.
The measure would raise the number of counties where sponsors would have to gather signatures from at least 15 to at least 50.
Underwood said his bill is needed to limit the influence of "out-of-state special interest groups" and ensure proposed initiatives receive more support from Arkansans, especially those living in rural counties, before appearing on ballots.
Underwood noted the state Constitution requires sponsors to secure signatures from at least 15 counties but does not set an upper limit.
Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville, described the bill as "an insult to Arkansas voters." She said the level of support required by Underwood's bill was unnecessary since a successful ballot measure must already receive support from a majority of Arkansans during elections.
By increasing the threshold a measure would have to meet to appear on ballots, Clowney said the bill would remove Arkansans' right to vote on the measures. She also argued the higher bar would make it difficult for any sponsors other than large interest groups to gather enough signatures to put measures on ballots.
Rep. Karilyn Brown, R-Sherwood, supported the bill, saying, "Arkansas is one of the easiest states to get a referendum on the ballot."
Rep. Jeremiah Moore, R-Clarendon, spoke in favor of the bill, saying it would require ballot measure sponsors to gather signatures from Arkansans who live in sparsely populated areas. Moore said he represents five counties including Monroe and Woodruff counties, which are among the state's least populous counties.
"I really wish that more people would ask their opinions and value what they think," he said.
Under the bill, sponsors of ballot measures would have to gather signatures from at least half of the designated percentage of registered voters who cast ballots in the previous gubernatorial election in each of the counties.
Sponsors of proposed initiated acts are required to obtain a number of valid signatures equal to at least 8% of the votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election to qualify their proposal for the ballot, while sponsors of proposed constitutional amendments are required to obtain a number of signatures equal to at least 10% of the votes cast in that election.
Last week, a similar bill passed the Arkansas Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. Like Underwood's bill, Senate Bill 260 by Sen. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, would increase the number of counties from which groups would have to collect signatures to at least 50.
Dotson's bill differs from Underwood's legislation in that it would also increase the required number of signatures from these counties from one-half to three-fourths of the designated percentage of registered voters who cast ballots in the previous gubernatorial election.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Wickline of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.