WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: 2008 BALLOT PROPOSALS : Some sponsors of issues still working, while others have thrown in towel
Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008
Benton County and Arkansas voters once faced the prospect of deciding many ballot issues this year.
County voters again argued over a proposal to change the county from "wet"to "dry."
And Benton County and other Arkansas voters listened to pros and cons on possible changes in the state constitution and on initiated acts and a referred question.
Some of those ballot issues included the following. Legislative proposals Arkansas' state lawmakers offered voters three proposals.
One, Referred Question 1, would, if approved, allow the state Natural Resources Commission to issue general obligation bonds under the Arkansas Water, Waste Disposal and Pollution Abatement Facilities Financing Act of 2007, to finance and refinance development of water, waste disposal, water pollution control, abatement and prevention, drainage, irrigation flood control and wetlands and aquatic resources projects.
State lawmakers also put on the ballot Proposed Constitutional Amendment to "clean up"antiquated language in the constitution governing who can vote and who can be poll workers.
Lawmakers also proposed Constitutional Amendment 2. It's the idea of state Rep. Eric Harris, R-Lowell, who offered it to give the state annual legislative sessions. Severance tax Former utility executive Sheffield Nelson offered a proposed initiated act to raise the state severance tax on natural gas. Adoption ban The Family Council, a Little Rock-based group, offered an initiated act that would ban unmarried sexual partners, whether gay or heterosexual, from adopting. State lotteries A group called Hope for Arkansas offered a constitutional amendment that would authorize the General Assembly to operate state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for Arkansans in certified twoyear and four-year colleges and universities in the state. Casino gambling Former state Rep. Charles Ormond of Morrilton offered one proposed amendment that would legalize a lottery and casino gambling in the state and create a commission to oversee the games. Legislative term limits Ormond offered another amendment to extend the terms of state representatives from two to four years. He is no longer working on behalf of that proposal, Ormond said recently. Ban on benefits for illegals A group named Secure Arkansas offered an initiated act to prevent people who are unlawfully in the United States from receiving some public benefits. Wet-dry issue In Benton County, Dave Routon announced he was heading up Citizens for Choice. The group would get signatures of registered voters, who would in turn decide whether the county would keep its dry-county liquor status, he said. Whatever happened to these proposals ?
Arkansas voters are certain to see on their ballots the proposals from the Arkansas Legislature.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel certified the proposal about the severance tax, ensuring it will appear on the Nov. 4 statewide ballot, too.
Previously, McDaniel had rejected an earlier version of the measure, citing wording problems with the ballot title and concern over two "ambiguous issues"regarding the measure's funding of higher education. Nelson offered the current version that addressed those issues.
Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council group, acknowledged June 10 his group's proposed Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act, which would ban unmarried sexual partners, whether gay or heterosexual, from adopting, didn't then have enough signatures to place it on Arkansas ballots. But, he and other group members expect to reach and exceed the required 61, 974 signatures of eligible voters before the July 7 deadline, Cox said.
Groups gathering signatures usually get more than the number required, anticipating that not all the signatures they've gathered will be allowed, and he expected the Arkansas Family Council to do the same thing, he said.
Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, a prominent backer of the Hope for Arkansas proposal, said earlier this year he thinks the lotteriesfor-education proposal will be approved. But he added it faces strong opposition.
"I've got a lot of people coming up to me on the street saying, ' Hey ! I'm glad you're putting this out there. ' And they ask: ' Can I sign up ? ' ' Where do I sign the petitions ? '... Now, I'm not going to kid you, there are a smaller group of people in the state who have some concerns. But that's fine. This is all about the democratic process, and getting it to voters and letting them decide," he said.
Ormond said he is still working to put his casino-gambling proposal before voters, but isn't working on his legislative term limits proposal.
A member of the Secure Arkansas group reported the organization is still seeking petition signatures for its proposal.
And in Benton County, Routon announced he could not find enough support for his proposal on the wet-dry issue, and he didn't expect it to garner the signatures needed to get on the county ballot in November.
Elected leaders and others in Benton County should have stepped forward to support making the county "wet," but they didn't do it, Routon said earlier this year.
Amendment 7 to the state constitution gives Arkansans the power to propose legislation or constitutional amendments by initiative petition, and to order a referendum against any measure passed by the General Assembly. The petition must be signed by 8 percent of the voters in the last gubernatorial race in the case of proposed legislation, 10 percent in the case of proposed constitutional amendments, and 6 percent in the case of a referendum.
The 2008 signature requirements for proposed ballot issues are 77, 468 for proposed constitutional amendments, 61, 794 for proposed acts, and 46, 481 for referenda. Sponsors must submit the requisite number of valid signatures to the Secretary of State for certification by the July 7 deadline.
In Benton County, the wetdry proposal needs more than 36, 000 signatures to make it on to the county ballot.
• • • If you have an idea for What Ever Happened To... ?, e-mail Managing Editor Mike Jones at mikej @ nwanews. com
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