Senate Committee Passes Bill to Make Ballot Measure Summaries Readable

Legislation,

On Thursday the Senate State Agencies Committee passed a good bill to help make ballot measure summaries easier for voters to read.

All ballot initiatives in Arkansas have a ballot title. The ballot title is supposed to accurately summarize the measure so voters can read it and decide if they want to vote for or against the measure.

Unfortunately, ballot titles are often misleading, confusing, and poorly written. But H.B. 1713 would fix that.

H.B. 1713 is a good bill by Rep. Ryan Rose (R — Van Buren) and Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) requiring ballot initiative titles to be written at or below an eighth grade reading level. This would help address deceptive or misleading ballot initiatives in Arkansas.

The Arkansas House of Representatives passed the bill two weeks ago. On Thursday, the Senate State Agencies Committee passed it as well.

Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be, and if lawmakers do not act soon, the problem is simply going to get worse.

H.B. 1713 now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for a final vote.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas House Passes Bill Protecting Religious Freedom

Religious Freedom, ,

On Thursday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed a good measure protecting religious liberty.

H.B. 1615 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) would ensure that religious organizations and religious individuals are not penalized for living out their deeply held religious convictions.

Time and again, wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, florist shops, and others have been targeted by public officials and dragged into court simply because their owners wanted to operate according to their deeply held convictions.

H.B. 1615 will help prevent the government from burdening the free exercise of religion in Arkansas.

As we have written before, Arkansas has passed some of the best religious freedom protections in the country over the years. In 2015, the state enacted its Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And lawmakers passed good bills in 2023 to strengthen that law.

H.B. 1615 helps further improve Arkansas’ laws protecting the free exercise of religion.

The bill now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.

The Following Representatives Voted For H.B. 1615

  • Andrews
  • Beaty Jr.
  • Beck
  • Bentley
  • S. Berry
  • Breaux
  • A. Brown
  • K. Brown
  • M. Brown
  • N. Burkes
  • R. Burkes
  • Joey Carr
  • John Carr
  • Cavenaugh
  • Childress
  • C. Cooper
  • Cozart
  • Crawford
  • Dalby
  • Duffield
  • Duke
  • Furman
  • Gazaway
  • Gramlich
  • Holcomb
  • Hollowell
  • Jean
  • L. Johnson
  • Ladyman
  • Long
  • Lundstrum
  • Lynch
  • Maddox
  • J. Mayberry
  • McAlindon
  • McClure
  • McCollum
  • M. McElroy
  • McGrew
  • B. McKenzie
  • McNair
  • S. Meeks
  • J. Moore
  • K. Moore
  • Nazarenko
  • Painter
  • Pearce
  • Pilkington
  • Puryear
  • Ray
  • Richmond
  • Rose
  • Rye
  • Schulz
  • R. Scott Richardson
  • M. Shepherd
  • Steimel
  • Torres
  • Tosh
  • Underwood
  • Unger
  • Walker
  • Wing
  • Wooldridge
  • Wooten
  • Speaker Evans

The Following Representatives Voted Against H.B. 1615

  • F. Allen
  • Barnett
  • Clowney
  • A. Collins
  • Ennett
  • D. Garner
  • Gonzales
  • Hudson
  • Magie
  • McCullough
  • McGruder
  • J. Richardson
  • T. Shephard
  • Springer
  • Steele
  • Wardlaw
  • Gonzales Worthen

The Following Representatives Voted “Present”

  • Brooks
  • Eaton
  • Eaves
  • Eubanks
  • Hall
  • Hawk
  • Womack

The Following Representatives Did Not Vote

  • Achor
  • Barker
  • Barnes
  • K. Ferguson
  • Henley
  • Milligan
  • Perry
  • Vaught
  • Warren
  • D. Whitaker

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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House Committee Refers Bad Internet Gambling Bill to Interim Study

Gambling, ,

On Thursday, the Arkansas House Judiciary Committee referred H.B. 1861 — a bad bill that would legalize internet gambling — to Interim Study.

Sending a bill to Interim Study means the legislature may discuss the legislation between now and the next regular legislative session, but the lawmakers will not vote on the issue for now.

H.B. 1861 by Rep. Matt Duffield (R — Russellville) and Sen. Jamie Scott (D — North Little Rock) would let casinos licensed in Arkansas conduct Internet gambling online from anywhere in Arkansas.

Current law allows gambling at three casinos in the state — Oaklawn, Southland, and Saracen — and sports betting is allowed online via smart phones.

H.B. 1861 would let these casinos run slots and other types of gambling online, statewide. Following extensive debate in committee on Wednesday, Rep. Duffield requested to pull the bill down so it could be sent to Interim Study.

We already have seen how gambling addiction has become a serious problem. Last year the Arkansas Problem Gambling Council announced it has seen a 22% increase in calls for help with problem gambling — driven largely by sports betting.

Internet gambling would make it possible for compulsive gamblers to gamble — and lose — 24 hours a day from anywhere in Arkansas. That kind of gambling ruins lives, tears families apart, and hurts communities.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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