This
Tuesday is election day. Besides having to choose candidates running
for ten offices in the City of Alexander voters are being asked to
decide four ballot issues. There
are actually seven appearing on the ballot but the
Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that issues
4, 5 & 7 will not be counted.
The Public Policy Center at the University of Arkansas System
Division of Agriculture has researched the ballot issues and produced
a 2016 Voter Guide to explain the various issues. The information
provided below is based on the contents of the 2016 Voter Guide. For
more details a PDF of the 2016 Voter Guide can be found at this link.
http://www.uaex.edu/business-communities/voter-education/ArkansasBallotIssuesVoterGuide-2016-Final.pdf
ISSUE NUMBER 1
(Referred to the
people by the Arkansas General Assembly)
Terms, election
and eligibility of elected officials
POPULAR NAME:
Proposing an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution concerning the
terms, election and eligibility of elected officials.
BALLOT TITLE:
Proposing an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution concerning
elected officials; providing for terms of office for certain county
officials for four (4) years; providing that certain county officers
shall not be appointed or elected to a civil office during their
elected term; allowing a candidate for an office to be certified as
elected without appearing on the ballot when he or she is the only
candidate for the office at the election; and defining the term
“infamous crime” for the
purpose of
determining the eligibility of elected officials to hold office.
What is being
proposed?
This amendment asks
voters to approve multiple changes to the Arkansas Constitution. If
approved by voters, this amendment would:
1.
Allow four-year terms for elected county officials
According to the
2016 Voter Guide the term for the county offices of county judge,
sheriff, circuit clerk, county clerk, assessor, coroner, treasurer,
county surveyor, and tax collector will be changed from a two-year
term to a four-year term. The term for justice-of-the-peace will
remain two-years. If approved the new four-year terms would begin in
the 2018 election.
2. Prevent
certain elected county officials from also being appointed or elected
to a civil office
The 2016 Voter Guide
says a section would be added to the constitution that states a
person elected or appointed to the county offices of county judge,
justice-of-the-peace (also known as quorum court members), sheriff,
circuit clerk, county clerk, assessor, coroner, treasurer, county
surveyor, and tax collector, “[C]an not be appointed or elected to
any other civil office in Arkansas at the same time.”
The 2016 Voter Guide
says there is no legal description, either in the Arkansas
Constitution or this proposed amendment, of what is considered a
“civil office.” Based on court rulings the Guide says a “civil
office” would include Board of Workforce Education, State Board of
Pardons, board of commissioners of a drainage improvement district,
school director, mayor, alderman, municipal judge, city attorney,
county parks and recreation commissioner, deputy prosecuting
attorney, and county election commissioner. The Guide also points out
that other positions may be considered a “civil office” by the
courts in the future as questions or disputes arise.
3. Allow
unopposed candidates to be elected without their name appearing on
the ballot
A section would be
added to the constitution that sets up rules for what to do when only
one person is running for a local or state position in a primary,
general or special election. The amendment would also allow
legislators to pass laws that allow unopposed candidates to be
elected without the necessity of the candidate’s name appearing on
the ballot or, in some cases, even holding an election if there are
no other offices or issues on the ballot.
“[T]here wouldn’t
have to be an election if only one person is running in a special
election for state senator and that’s the only race to be decided,”
is an example provided by the 2016 Voter Guide. “That person would
be considered the elected senator without voters going to polling
places and choosing that person.”
The candidate must
still be eligible to hold the office and meet the deadline to file
for office.
The 2016 Voter Guide
says the constitution doesn’t specifically address unopposed
candidates. However, one state law (A.C.A. § 7-5-207) allows most
unopposed candidates for city office to be excluded from the ballot.
4. Define
what “infamous crime” means in regards to who is not allowed to
hold an elected position
Under this proposed
change the term “infamous crime” would define the term in the
section of the
Arkansas
Constitution that states who cannot serve in the state legislature or
hold any other public office in the state. According to the 2016
Voter Guide, “an “infamous crime” would include a felony
offense; abuse of office as defined under Arkansas law; tampering as
defined under Arkansas law; a misdemeanor offense involving an act of
deceit, fraud or false statement, including misdemeanor offenses
related to the election process.”
The Arkansas
Constitution currently says, “No person hereafter convicted of
embezzlement of public money, bribery,
forgery or other infamous crime shall be eligible to the General
Assembly or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this
State.”
The 2016 Voter Guide
provides two examples of how the term “infamous crime” has been
used, or misused depending on your point of view, against elected
officials. One included a mayor who was convicted of misdemeanor
theft of property after stealing campaign signs and a sheriff who was
removed from office because he was convicted of stealing chickens
three decades before he ran for office.
ISSUE NUMBER 2
(Referred to the
people by the Arkansas General Assembly)
Allowing the
governor to retain power and duties when absent from the state
POPULAR NAME:
A Constitutional Amendment to allow the governor to retain his or her
powers and duties when absent from the state.
BALLOT TITLE:
An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to allow the governor to
retain his or her powers and duties when absent from the state.
What is being
proposed?
The amendment would
change the constitution to allow the governor to remain in power when
traveling outside the state of Arkansas.
“Amendment 6 to
the Arkansas Constitution shifts the power of governor to lieutenant
governor in
cases of
impeachment, removal from office, resignation, inability to discharge
the powers and
duties of the
office, absence from the state or death,” states the 2016 Voter
Guide. “The phrase “absence from the state” would be deleted
from Amendment 6 to the Arkansas Constitution, meaning the governor
remains in charge when he or she leaves the state to travel to
another state or country.”
According to the
2016 Voter Guide those who support the amendment say, “Modern
technology, such as cell phones and computers, allow the governor to
stay connected and do business while out of state.” And, “A
lieutenant governor or Senate president, who is third in line, would
be prevented from signing controversial bills
or taking inappropriate actions when the governor is out of
Arkansas.”
The 2016 Voter Guide
says there’s been no organized or publicized opposition to this
amendment.
ISSUE
NUMBER 3
(Referred to the
people by the Arkansas General Assembly)
Job creation, job
expansion and economic development
POPULAR NAME:
An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution concerning job creation,
job expansion, and economic development.
BALLOT TITLE:
An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to encourage job creation,
job expansion, and economic development; removing the limitation on
the principal amount of general obligation bonds that may be issued
under Amendment 82 of the Arkansas Constitution to attract large
economic development projects; authorizing a city, county, town, or
other municipal corporation to obtain or appropriate money for any
corporation, association, institution, or individual to finance
economic development projects and to provide economic development
services; authorizing the issuance of bonds under Amendment 62 of the
Arkansas Constitution for economic development projects; authorizing
the taxes that may be pledged to retire bonds issued under Amendment
62 of the Arkansas Constitution for economic development projects;
removing the requirement of a public sale for bonds issued under
Amendment 62 of the Arkansas Constitution for economic development
projects; and authorizing compacts for economic development projects
among cities of the first
and second class, incorporated towns, school districts and
counties.
What is being
proposed?
According to the
2016 Voter Guide this amendment asks voters to approve multiple
changes to the Arkansas Constitution with the intent to encourage job
creation, job expansion and economic development. It proposes
modifications to Article 12 and Amendments 62 and 82. If approved by
voters, this amendment would:
1. Remove the
limitation on the amount of general obligation bonds the state may
issue to pay for economic development projects. Amendment 82
currently provides that bonds cannot exceed 5 percent of state
general revenues.
2. Allow a
county, city, town or other municipal corporation to obtain or
provide money for other entities to support economic development
projects or services.
3. Clarify
the authority of counties and municipalities to issue bonds for
economic development
projects instead of
industrial development purposes, which the constitution currently
authorizes
but does not define.
4. Allow
state legislators to authorize the use of other taxes (beyond special
taxes) to pay off municipal and county bond
debt.
5. Remove
requirement that municipal and county bonds may be sold only at
public sale.
6. Allow
cities, towns, school districts and counties to form compacts for
economic development projects.
ISSUE
NUMBER 4
– REMOVED
FROM BALLOT
(Constitutional
Amendment Proposed by Petition of the People)
Medical-injury
lawsuit laws
POPULAR
NAME: An
Amendment to Limit Attorney Contingency Fees and Non-Economic Damages
in Medical Lawsuits
BALLOT
TITLE: An amendment to the Arkansas constitution providing
that the practice of contracting for or charging excessive
contingency fees in the course of legal representation of any person
seeking damages in an action for medical injury against a health-care
provider is hereby prohibited; providing that an excessive
medical-injury contingency fee is greater than thirty-three and
one-third percent (33 1/3%) of the amount recovered; providing that,
for the purposes of calculating the amount recovered, the figure that
shall be used is the net sum recovered after deducting any
disbursements or costs incurred in connection with prosecution or
settlement of the medical-injury claim; providing that this
limitation shall apply whether the recovery is by settlement,
arbitration, or judgment; providing that this limitation shall apply
regardless of the age or mental capacity of the plaintiff; providing
that the prohibition of excessive medical-injury fees does not apply
to workers’ compensation cases; providing that the General Assembly
may enact legislation which enforces this prohibition, and that it
may also enact legislation that determines the relative values of
time payments or periodic payments and governs the consequences and
penalties for attorneys who contract for or charge excessive
medical-injury contingency fees; providing that the General Assembly
shall enact a measure which specifies a maximum dollar amount for a
non-economic damage award in any action for medical injury against a
health-care provider, but that such a measure may never be smaller
than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000); providing
that the General Assembly may, after such enactment, amend it by a
vote of two-thirds of each house, but that no such amendment may
reduce the maximum dollar amount for a non-economic damage award in
any action for medical injury against any health-care provider to
less than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000);
providing that the Supreme Court shall adjust this figure for
inflation or deflation on a biennial basis; and providing that this
amendment does not supersede or amend the right to trial by jury.
ISSUE
NUMBER 5
– REMOVED
FROM BALLOT
(Constitutional
Amendment Proposed by Petition of the People)
Authorizing three
casinos
Popular Name: An
Amendment to Allow Three Casinos to Operate in Arkansas, One Each in
the Following Counties: Boone County, Operated by Arkansas Gaming And
Resorts, LLC;
Miller County, Operated by Miller County Gaming, LLC;
And Washington County, Operated by Washington County Gaming, LLC.
Ballot Title: An
amendment to the Arkansas Constitution authorizing three casinos to
operate in Arkansas, one in Boone County, Arkansas, operated by
Arkansas Gaming and Resorts, LLC, an Arkansas Limited Liability
Company, one in Miller County, Arkansas, operated by Miller County
Gaming, LLC, an Arkansas Limited Liability Company, and one in
Washington County, Arkansas, operated by Washington County Gaming,
LLC, an Arkansas Limited Liability Company, all being subject to the
laws enacted by the General Assembly in accord with this amendment
and regulations promulgated by the Arkansas Gaming Commission in
accord with laws enacted by the General Assembly; defining casino
gaming and gaming as dealing, operating, carrying on, conducting,
maintaining, or exposing for play any game played with cards, dice,
equipment, or any mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device
or machine for money, property, checks, credit, or any representative
value, as well as accepting wagers on sporting events or other
events, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
any game, device, or type of wagering permitted at a casino operated
within any one or more of the States of Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, or Texas as of November 8,
2016, or as subsequently permitted thereafter; creating the Arkansas
Gaming Commission to regulate casinos in accord with laws enacted by
the General Assembly, with the Arkansas Gaming Commission comprised
of five (5) commissioners, each appointed by the Governor for
staggered 5-year terms; providing for the General Assembly to
appropriate monies to or for the use of the Arkansas Gaming
Commission; requiring each casino to pay to the Arkansas State
Treasury as general revenues a net casino gaming receipts tax equal
to eighteen percent (18%) of its annual net casino gaming receipts;
requiring each casino to pay to the county in which the casino is
located a net casino gaming receipts tax equal to one-half of one
percent (0.5%) of its annual net casino gaming receipts; requiring
each casino to pay to the city or town in which the casino is located
a net casino gaming receipts tax equal to one and one-half percent
(1.5%) of its annual net casino gaming receipts; defining annual net
casino gaming receipts as gross receipts for a 12-month period from
casino gaming less amounts paid out or reserved as winnings to casino
patrons for that 12-month period; subjecting each casino to the same
income, property, sales, use, employment and other taxation as any
for-profit business located in the county and city or town in which
the casino is located, except that the Arkansas Gross Receipts Act of
1941 and local gross receipts taxes shall not apply to casino gaming
receipts; allowing a casino to operate any day for any portion or all
of any day; allowing the selling or complimentary serving of
alcoholic beverages in casinos during all hours the casino operates
but otherwise subject to all applicable Arkansas laws involving the
distribution and sale of alcohol; permitting the shipment into Boone,
Miller, and Washington counties in Arkansas of gambling devices
shipped and delivered in accordance with applicable federal law (15
USC §§ 1171-1178 and amendments and replacements thereto);
rendering the provisions of this amendment severable; declaring
inapplicable all constitutional provisions and laws to the extent
they conflict with this amendment, but not otherwise repealing,
superseding, amending, or otherwise affecting Amendment 84 (bingo or
raffles) or Amendment 87 (state lottery) to the Arkansas
Constitution, or Arkansas Act 1151 of 2005 (Electronic Games).
ISSUE
NUMBER 6
(Referred to the
people by the Arkansas General Assembly)
Medical marijuana
amendment
POPULAR NAME:
The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016
BALLOT TITLE:
An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution making the medical use of
marijuana legal under state law, but acknowledging that marijuana
use, possession, and distribution for any purpose remain illegal
under federal law; establishing a system for the cultivation,
acquisition, and distribution of
marijuana for qualifying patients through licensed medical marijuana
dispensaries and cultivation facilities and granting those
dispensaries and facilities limited immunity; providing that
qualifying patients, as well as dispensary and cultivation facility
agents, shall not be subject to criminal or civil
penalties or other forms of discrimination for engaging in or
assisting with the patients’ medical use of marijuana; requiring
that in order to become a qualifying patient, a person submit to the
state a written certification from a physician licensed in the state
that he or she is suffering from a qualifying medical condition;
establishing an initial list of qualifying medical conditions;
directing the Department of Health to establish rules related to the
processing of applications for registry identification cards and the
addition of qualifying medical conditions if such additions will
enable patients to derive therapeutic benefit from the medical use of
marijuana; directing the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Division to establish rules related to the
operations of dispensaries and cultivation facilities; establishing a
Medical Marijuana Commission of five members, two appointed by the
president pro tempore of the Senate, two appointed by the speaker of
the House of Representatives, and one appointed by
the governor; providing that the Medical
Marijuana Commission shall administer and regulate
the licensing of dispensaries and cultivation facilities; providing
that there shall be at least 20 but not more than 40 dispensary
licenses issued and that there shall be at least four but not more
than eight cultivation facility licenses issued; setting initial
maximum application fees for dispensaries and cultivation facilities;
establishing qualifications for registry identification cards;
establishing standards to ensure that qualifying patient registration
information is treated as confidential; directing the Department of
Health to provide the General Assembly annual quantitative reports
about the medical marijuana program; setting certain limitations on
the use of medical marijuana by qualifying patients; establishing an
affirmative defense for the medical use of marijuana; establishing
registration and operation requirements for dispensaries and
cultivation facilities; setting limits on the amount of marijuana a
dispensary may cultivate and the amount of marijuana a dispensary may
dispense to a qualifying patient; providing that the Medical
Marijuana Commission shall determine the amount of marijuana a
cultivation facility may cultivate; prohibiting certain conduct by
and imposing certain conditions and requirements on physicians,
dispensaries, dispensary and cultivation facility agents, and
qualifying patients; establishing a list of felony offenses which
preclude certain types of participation in the medical marijuana
program; providing that the sale of usable marijuana is subject
to all state and local sales taxes; providing that the state sales
tax revenue shall be distributed 5% to the Department of Health, 2%
to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division, 2% to the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Division, 1% to the Medical
Marijuana Commission, 10% to the Skills Development Fund, 50% to the
Vocational and Technical Training Special Revenue Fund, and 30% to
the General Revenue Fund; and permitting the
General Assembly by
two-thirds vote to amend sections of the amendment,
except that the General Assembly may not amend the sections
legalizing the medical use of marijuana and setting the number of
dispensaries or cultivation facilities allowed.
What is being
proposed?
According to the
2016 Voter Guide this amendment includes several components. If
approved by voters, this amendment would:
1. Make the
regulated medical use of marijuana legal under Arkansas state law,
while recognizing the drug remains illegal under federal law.
2. Establish
a system for growing, acquiring and distributing marijuana for
medical purposes.
3. Identify
medical conditions that qualify a person for using medical marijuana.
4. Protect
qualified patients, caregivers, growers, providers and doctors from
arrest, prosecution, penalty or discrimination under Arkansas law. It
does not offer protection from federal law.
5. Direct the
state Department of Health to establish rules related to medical
access of marijuana and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to
establish rules related to growing and selling marijuana for medical
purposes.
6. Establish
the Medical Marijuana Commission to administer and regulate the
licensing of cultivation and dispensary facilities.
7. Allow
cities and counties to enact zoning regulations that guide where
dispensaries and cultivation facilities may locate, providing that
the regulations are the same as those for a licensed pharmacy.
8. Allow
cities and counties to prohibit dispensaries and cultivation
facilities only if approved by voters in a local election.
9. Apply
state and local taxes to the sale of medical marijuana and require
that state tax revenues be used to offset the state’s cost of
administering the law and be distributed to various state workforce
and education programs.
10. Prohibit
anyone other than a licensed dispensary or cultivation facility from
growing marijuana for medical purposes.
11. Permit
legislators to change some sections of the amendment at a later date
with a two-thirds vote. Sections legalizing
medical use of marijuana and the number of dispensaries and
cultivation facilities could not be changed.
ISSUE
NUMBER 7
– REMOVED
FROM BALLOT
(Act
Proposed by Petition of the People)
Medical
cannabis act
Popular Name:
The Arkansas Medical
Cannabis Act
Ballot Title:
An act making the medical use of cannabis, commonly called marijuana,
legal under Arkansas state law, but acknowledging that cannabis use,
possession, and distribution for any purpose remain illegal under
federal law; establishing a system for the cultivation and
distribution of cannabis for qualifying patients through nonprofit
cannabis care centers and for the testing for quality, safety, and
potency of cannabis through cannabis testing labs; granting nonprofit
cannabis care centers and cannabis testing labs limited immunity;
allowing localities to limit the number of nonprofit cannabis care
centers and to enact zoning regulations governing their operations;
providing that qualifying patients, their designated caregivers,
cannabis testing lab agents, and nonprofit cannabis care center
agents shall not be subject to criminal or civil penalties or other
forms of discrimination for engaging in or assisting with qualifying
patients’ medical use of cannabis or for testing and labeling
cannabis; allowing limited cultivation of cannabis by qualifying
patients and designated caregivers if the qualifying patient lives
more than twenty (20) miles from a nonprofit cannabis care center and
obtains a hardship cultivation certificate from the Department of
Health; allowing compensation for designated caregivers; requiring
that in order to become a qualifying patient, a person submit to the
state a written certification from a physician that he or she is
suffering from a qualifying medical condition; establishing an
initial list of qualifying medical conditions; directing the
Department of Health to establish rules related to the processing of
applications for registry identification cards and hardship
cultivation certificates, the operations of nonprofit cannabis care
centers and cannabis testing labs, and the addition of qualifying
medical conditions if such additions will enable patients to derive
therapeutic benefit from the medical use of cannabis; setting maximum
application and renewal fees for nonprofit cannabis care centers and
cannabis testing labs; directing the Department of Health to
establish a system to provide affordable cannabis from nonprofit
cannabis care centers to low income patients; establishing
qualifications for registry identification cards; establishing
qualifications for hardship cultivation certificates; establishing
standards to ensure that qualifying patient and designated caregiver
registration information is treated as confidential; directing the
Department of Health to provide the legislature annual quantitative
reports about the medical cannabis program; setting certain
limitations on the use of medical cannabis by qualifying patients;
establishing an affirmative defense for the medical use of cannabis;
establishing registration and operation requirements for nonprofit
cannabis care centers and cannabis testing labs; setting limits on
the number of nonprofit cannabis care centers; setting limits on the
amount of cannabis a nonprofit cannabis care center may cultivate and
the amount of usable cannabis a nonprofit cannabis care center may
dispense to a qualifying patient; prohibiting certain conduct by and
imposing certain conditions and requirements on physicians, nonprofit
cannabis care centers, nonprofit cannabis care center agents,
cannabis testing labs, cannabis testing lab agents, qualifying
patients, and designated caregivers; prohibiting felons from serving
as designated caregivers, owners, board members, or officers of
nonprofit cannabis care centers or cannabis testing labs, nonprofit
cannabis care center agents, or cannabis testing lab agents; allowing
visiting qualifying patients suffering from qualifying medical
conditions to utilize the medical cannabis program; and prohibiting
special taxes on the sale of medical cannabis and directing the state
sales tax revenues received from the sale of cannabis to cover the
costs to the Department of Health for administering the medical
cannabis program and the remainder to aid low income qualifying
patients through the affordability clause.
Election day is
Tuesday, November 8. Polls will be open from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM.