Arkansas Senate Passes Two Good Bills Providing Clarity to Petition Process

Legislation,

On Tuesday the Arkansas Senate passed two good measures clarifying Arkansas’ ballot initiative and petition laws.

H.B. 1221 by Rep. David Ray (R — Maumelle) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) makes it clear that petition signatures expire at the end of a General Election cycle. This will prevent canvassers from collecting signatures across multiple election cycles, and it will help ensure sponsors don’t submit old signatures that are outdated or more likely to be invalid.

H.B. 1222 by Rep. David Ray (R — Maumelle) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) clarifies that the Arkansas Attorney General cannot approve a measure’s sponsors to begin collecting signatures to place a measure on the ballot if the measure conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or federal law. The bill also prevents sponsors from asking the attorney general to certify conflicting measures. This would help ensure the A.G.’s office is not asked to approve measures that are unconstitutional or run afoul of federal law.

In recent years Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be. Its original intent was to provide citizens a means of functioning as a “legislative body.” Instead, powerful special interests have used our own ballot initiative process against us. Today it is simply too easy for powerful groups to buy their way to the ballot by hiring aggressive petition canvassers or spending millions of dollars on deceptive advertising for misleading measures.

H.B. 1221 and H.B. 1222 will help clarify Arkansas’ ballot initiative laws. Both bills now go to the governor to be signed into law.

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

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Weeding Out Crime: Arkansas State Police Seized 15K+ Pounds of Illegal Marijuana Last Year

Marijuana

The Arkansas State Police seized more than 15,000 pounds of illegal marijuana in 2024.

In a news release, the ASP reported its Interstate Criminal Patrol played a key role in the seizures, noting,

Illegal marijuana seizures increased by approximately 50%, with more than 15,000 pounds confiscated in 2024, compared to just over 10,000 pounds in 2023. Cash seizures more than doubled, from $1.4 million in 2023 to $3.3 million in 2024. Methamphetamine seizures increased significantly from 56 pounds in 2023 to 509 pounds in 2024.

Besides illegal marijuana, authorities also confiscated 89 pounds of illegal THC wax and more than 3,700 THC vapes.

Much of the illegal marijuana that authorities in Arkansas seize actually comes from states that have legalized the drug.

Over the past decade we have seen how legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels and increased the flow of illegal marijuana across America.

For example, last year, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force seized 154,000 pounds of illegal marijuana and destroyed some 236,000 illegal marijuana plants.

Illegal marijuana operations often are believed to be tied to labor trafficking and violent crime — contributing to what some have dubbed “modern day slavery on American soil.”

Troublingly, Chinese organized crime is dominating black market marijuana in many states. The U.S. Department of Justice says Chinese drug cartels may be making millions of dollars from illegal marijuana in states like Maine, New York, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

We appreciate the hard work of the Arkansas State Police keeping illegal drugs out of our communities.

As we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

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

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Arkansas House Committee Advances Two Good Bill Addressing Ballot Initiatives

Legislation,

On Monday the Arkansas House State Agencies Committee advanced two good bills strengthening Arkansas’ laws concerning ballot initiatives.

S.B. 208 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs) requires petition canvassers to verify a person’s identity via photo ID before obtaining the person’s signature on a petition. This helps prevent people from fraudulently signing someone else’s name on a petition.

S.B. 211 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs) requires petition canvassers to file an affidavit with the Secretary of State verifying that the canvasser complied with the Arkansas Constitution and all Arkansas laws concerning canvassing, perjury, forgery, and fraud in the process of gathering signatures.

Both bills have already passed the Arkansas Senate. They now go to the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for a final vote.

As we have said many times, Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be. Its original intent was to give citizens a way to enact laws and amendments on their own. But today, powerful special interests are able to exploit the ballot initiative process for personal gain.

Pro-life leaders have provided committee testimony alleging that canvassers for the 2024 Arkansas Abortion Amendment violated state law and were paid $500 bonuses for “altercations” with pro-lifers who opposed the abortion amendment.

If the Arkansas Legislature does not enact good laws that bring accountability and transparency to the ballot initiation process, these problems will simply continue to get worse.

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

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