Lottery Legislation

• Prohibit lottery advertising. This bill would effectively ban lottery advertising, thereby freeing up money in the Lottery’s budget that can be allocated for additional scholarships. Status: Drafted.
• Increase funding for treatment and prevention programs. Problem gambling and gambling addiction are real problems, but the Arkansas Lottery only allocates $200,000 for treatment and education programs every year. That’s hardly enough to keep statewide programs staffed and operational. This bill takes 1% of the lottery revenue, and allocates it for treatment and education programs that target gambling disorders. According to estimated lottery revenue projections, this should increase funding for these programs from $200,000 per year to approximately $4.5 million. Status: Drafted.
• Ban lottery ticket vending machines. This bill outlaws any type of “self-service” lottery ticket sales—effectively covering lottery ticket vending machines, video lottery terminals, and any similar devices. Status: Drafted.
• Allocate 35% of lottery proceeds for college scholarships. Currently, the Arkansas Lottery can allocate any percentage of its revenue for scholarships it wants; under the law, it could even allocate 0% if it wanted to. There is no mandate stating how much money the Arkansas Lottery must set aside to send students to college. This bill would change that by requiring a minimum of 35% of lottery revenue be allocated for college scholarships. This would make Arkansas’ scholarship allocation percentage one of the highest in the nation. Status: Filed.
• Limit the Price of Scratch-Off Tickets. This bill limits the price of an instant-win lottery ticket to no more than $10. Status: Drafted.
• Ban lottery casinos. There is nothing in the Arkansas law preventing businesses from establishing “casinos” consisting of lottery games. It may be a stretch to imagine a gambling house that sells nothing but scratch-off tickets, but if Arkansas’ law were changed to make video lottery, Keno, and other casino-like forms of gambling a larger part of the lottery, this bill would stop lottery casinos from popping up in Arkansas by defining a “lottery casino” as any business who obtains 50% or more of its revenue from lottery ticket sales—and designating such establishments as unlawful. Status: Drafted.
• Prevent Arkansas from participating in international lotteries. Arkansas law authorizes the Arkansas Lottery Commission to sign Arkansas up for international (a.k.a. “multisovereign”) lotteries. This means that Arkansas could start selling lottery tickets belonging to a European Union lottery or a Canadian lottery, or a lottery operated by any other foreign country—thereby sending Arkansas money to those foreign governments and the games operated in their countries. This bill opts out of those sorts of games by removing the word “multisovereign” from the lottery statutes, and defining any games operated by a foreign country as unlawful in Arkansas. Status: Drafted.
• Limit the amount of money a person can spend on lottery tickets at once. We’ve all heard or read stories of people dropping enormous amounts of money on lottery tickets in one sitting. This bill limits the number of dollars a customer can spend on lottery tickets to $50 per transaction. Status: Drafted.
• Require lottery retailers to check photo ID. Right now, it’s up to the discretion of the lottery retailer to card customers buying lottery tickets. This bill removes the guesswork involved by simply stating that everyone wishing to purchase a lottery ticket has to prevent a valid, government-issued photo ID (e.g. a driver’s license) to the employee selling the lottery tickets. This will greatly reduce the chances of minors illegally purchasing lottery tickets, and  protect stores from the serious legal consequences of accidentally selling a lottery ticket to a minor. Status: Drafted.
• Prohibit online lottery games. This bill effectively prohibits lottery tickets from being bought or sold over the Internet. Status: Drafted.
• Cap the number of lottery retailers in Arkansas. This bill limits the number of licensed lottery retailers to no more than the number in existence as of January 31, 2011. Because lottery retailers go in and out of business all the time, there’s no reason to think that this bill would seriously affect the ability of a new business to obtain a lottery retail license. All it does is define the maximum number of lottery ticket retailers Arkansas can have, thereby making it harder for a single chain of retailers to overwhelm the lottery ticket market or for small communities to be inundated with lottery gambling and the negative social and economic consequences such a large gambling presence would bring. Status: Drafted.
• Clarify lottery definitions. Very little of the current lottery statutes defines what is and is not a lottery game. This bill adds a few parameters to the lottery law by prohibiting Keno, all lottery games played or facilitated via the Internet, and any games that use holiday themes. Status: Drafted.

Marriage and Family Legislation

• Reduce Marriage License Fees. Reducing marriage license fees to a maximum of $18 for all couples who first undergo at least 2 hours of pre-marital counseling. Status: Not Drafted.
• Making Marriage Pamphlets Available. A bill to make an informational pamphlet available when a couple receives their marriage license that outlines instructions for proper communication and conflict-resolution in marriage. Based on a bill filed in 2007 by then-Representative Lamoureux. Status: Drafted.
• Domestic Partnership Legislation. Prohibit state or local government recognition of domestic partnerships or other relationships substantially similar to marriage. Status: Not Drafted.

Taxes

• Tax Breaks for Stay-at-Home Parents. Providing a tax-break for parents who choose to stay home with their young children. Status: Filed.
• Back-to-School Tax-Free Holiday. Exempting sales tax on back-to-school items for one day prior to the start of the school year. Status: Filed.
• Reduction in Used Car Taxes. Reducing the sales tax on used vehicles. Status: Filed.

Pro-Life Legislation

• Require any abortion clinics that perform second trimester abortions to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. Status: Not Drafted
• Allow Arkansas to opt-out of complying with the taxpayer-funded abortion mandates in the new federal government health care law. Status: Filed.
• Amend the Woman’s Right to Know law to establish criminal and civil penalties for doctors who fail to comply with the informed consent law. Status: Not Drafted.
• Prohibition on use of state funds for abortion counseling or referrals. Status: Not Drafted.
• Prohibition on use of state  facilities for abortion, abortion counseling, or referrals. Status: Not Drafted.
• Prohibit abortions performed on the basis of sex-selection or birth-defects. Status: Not Drafted.
• Wrongful-Life Lawsuit Prohibition. A bill stating that the birth of a child does not constitute a legally-recognizable injury, and that damages shall not be awarded because of the birth of a child or for the rearing of that child. Status: Not Drafted.
• Born-Alive Infants Protection Act. Providing statutory protection for infants who survive abortions. Status: Not Drafted.
• Prohibiting destructive human embryo research. Status: Not Drafted.
• Prohibiting state-funding of destructive human embryo research. Status: Not Drafted.
• Healthcare Freedom of Conscience Act. Affirming the right of conscience held by healthcare professionals who refuse to offer abortion services, counseling, or referrals. Status: Not Drafted.
• Fetal Pain Act. Prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks, at which point the fetus is capable of feeling pain. Status: Not Drafted.

Community Legislation

• A bill to require that a county-wide vote be held—either during a regularly scheduled election or a previously planned special election—to approve a private liquor license in a dry county. It would not mandate that a special election be held. Status: Not Drafted.

Religious Legislation

• Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This bill would reaffirm and further protect the religious liberty of Arkansas’ citizens. Status: Not Drafted.

Education

• The ‘Tim Tebow’ Bill. This bill would allow home school students to try out for extracurricular activities at their local public school. Status: Not Drafted.