Tag: arkansas
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Arkansas passes bill with multiple restrictions on the ballot initiative process
On April 29, Arkansas Senate Bill 614 became law (Act 951). The bill added several restrictions to the state’s ballot initiative and veto referendum process, including to: • ban paying signature gatherers based on the number of signatures gathered, a payment method called pay-per-signature; • require circulators to be state residents and citizens; • add…
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Arkansas Legislature sends third and final constitutional amendment concerning religious freedom to November 2022 ballot
On April 27, the Arkansas State Legislature passed a third constitutional amendment titled the “Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment,” which will appear on the state’s November 2022 ballot. The measure would amend the state constitution to provide that “government shall not burden a person’s freedom of religion even if the burden results from a rule of…
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Arkansas State Legislature refers two constitutional amendments to 2022 ballot
The Arkansas State Legislature gave final approval to two constitutional amendments on April 22, 2021, sending them to the November 2022 ballot. One of the amendments would require 60% supermajority voter approval to ratify constitutional amendments (legislatively referred and citizen-initiated) and citizen-initiated state statutes. Constitutional amendments require approval by voters in a statewide election to…
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Republican-controlled Arkansas General Assembly overrides gubernatorial veto of bill prohibiting gender-affirming treatments for minors
On April 6, the Arkansas General Assembly overrode Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s (R) veto of House Bill 1570 (H.B. 1570), a bill prohibiting physicians and healthcare professionals from providing chemical or surgical gender-affirming treatments—including hormone therapy and puberty blockers—to individuals under the age of 18. The bill also prohibits providers from referring minors elsewhere in order to receive such treatments. Gender-affirming…
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Arkansas state Senator Jim Hendren leaves Republican Party, becomes an independent
On Feb. 18, Arkansas state Senator Jim Hendren announced he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent. According to a statement issued by his organization, Common Ground AR, Hendren said, “This comes after many sleepless nights; a lot of serious consideration; and it comes with sadness and disappointment. But it’s clear-eyed. I’m making…
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Voters decide runoff elections for two school board seats in Little Rock, Arkansas
A runoff election was held on December 1 for two seats on the Little Rock School District school board in Arkansas. The general election took place on November 3, with the top two candidates in each district advancing to the runoff. The seven other seats on the board were decided in the general election. Evelyn…
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Arkansas Supreme Court clarifies deference prohibition
The Arkansas Supreme Court on October 29 clarified in American Honda Motor Co. v. Walther that state courts should not exercise deference to state agency interpretations of statutes. Instead, the court held that Arkansas state courts should review agency statutory interpretations de novo—without deference to a previous interpretation of the underlying statute in question. The court’s decision…
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French Hill wins election to fourth term in U.S. House
Incumbent French Hill (R) defeated challenger Joyce Elliott (D) in the general election for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District. Hill was first elected in 2014, and won his subsequent re-election campaigns in 2016 and 2018 58%-37% and 52%-46%, respectively. He led Elliott 55% to 45% in preliminary 2020 results. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) included…
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Arkansas Supreme Court removes third citizen initiative from November ballot, leaving three legislative referrals for voters to decide
On September 17, the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Issue 6 from the November ballot. The referendum would have allowed voters to either repeal or uphold Act 579, which was designed to amend the definition of practice of optometry to allow optometrists to perform certain surgical procedures that were previously only performed by ophthalmologists. A yes…
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Ranked-choice voting and redistricting commission initiatives blocked from Arkansas ballot
On August 27, two Arkansas citizen-initiated measures—one that would have established a redistricting commission (Issue 4) and another that would have established ranked-choice voting (Issue 5)—were blocked by the Arkansas Supreme Court from appearing on the November ballot. The measures were provisionally certified for the ballot on August 21, 2020. The redistricting measure, sponsored by…