Of the three most talked about ballot initiatives, one has made it to the next step of the certification process, while the other two have not. Here’s what we know so far.
Secure Arkansas gathered 78,211 signatures for their ballot initiative to limit state services to illegal immigrants; now the Secretary of State must verify the signatures. If at least 77,468 are declared valid, the initiative should (barring any serious opposition) be on the ballot come November.
The Arkansas Progressive Group—which was working to get a ballot initiative approved that would have abolished the state income tax and established a “flat tax” system—filed a notice of dissolution on June 8. This means the group decided not to proceed with their initiative.
Then there’s the ballot initiative to legalize casino gambling in seven Arkansas counties. Sponsored by Michael J. Wasserman (a businessman from Texas) under a group called Arkansas Hotels & Entertainment, this initiative hasn’t seen much action behind it recently, so it didn’t receive enough signatures to move forward.
If Secure Arkansas’ ballot initiative does make it on the November ballot, it will join the three constitutional amendments proposed by the Arkansas Legislature. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, they are:
- One to create a constitutional right to hunt and fish.
- One to allow the Legislature to establish criteria for authorizing bonds for economic-development projects.
- One to remove interest rate restrictions for government-issued bonds and commercial loans.
