Ministers, Church Leaders Gather for Pastors’ Day at the Capitol

Church Ambassador Network, ,

On Thursday ministers and church leaders from across Arkansas gathered for Pastors’ Day at the Capitol.

Family Council and its Church Ambassador Network initiative sponsored this excellent event.

Pastors’ Day at the Capitol gives church leaders and opportunity to worship in the capitol rotunda, hear from elected officials, and pray over the state’s policymakers — and it’s one of the best things we do all year.

The Church Ambassador Network is a nonpartisan initiative of Family Council designed to build relationships between ministry leaders and community leaders. Our goal is for elected officials to see churches as a resource that can address many of the problems that communities face. This year the Church Ambassador Network has hosted different meetings between ministers and elected officials to help further that goal.

We are pleased to bring ministers and elected officials together for this excellent event, and we look forward to hosting other gatherings with ministers and elected officials in the near future.

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

READ MORE

House Committee Backs Bills to Curb Petition Fraud in Arkansas

Legislation,

On Wednesday the House State Agencies Committee passed two bills to address petition fraud and misleading ballot measures in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Constitution lets canvassers circulate petitions to place measures on a general election ballot. But in recent years Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be.

Instead of giving citizens a way to function as a “legislative body,” powerful special interests have used the initiative process to buy their way to the ballot by hiring aggressive petition canvassers or spending millions of dollars on deceptive advertising for misleading measures.

S.B. 209 is a good bill by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs). It clarifies that the signatures a canvasser collects will not count if the Secretary of State finds the canvasser has violated Arkansas’ laws concerning canvassing, perjury, forgery, or fraud in the process of gathering signatures.

S.B. 210 — also by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs) — is a good bill that requires people to read the ballot title of the measure before signing a petition. The ballot title includes a summary of the ballot measure. Reading the ballot title helps ensure people understand the measure before they sign a petition to place the measure on the ballot. Read The Bill Here.

The Arkansas Senate passed both measures in February. Following lengthy testimony, the House State Agencies Committee passed S.B. 209 and S.B. 210 on Wednesday.

S.B. 209 and S.B. 210 are good bills that will help address petition fraud in Arkansas and protect voters from misleading ballot measures. Both bills now go to the entire House of Representatives for consideration.

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

READ MORE

Marijuana Edibles Still Poisoning Children: News Outlets

Marijuana

News outlets continue to highlight how marijuana edibles containing THC are poisoning children across America.

In New York, USA Today reports 11 middle schoolers were hospitalized on Monday after a classmate gave them gummies laced with THC.

This week, health officials in North Carolina released a report showing a surge in Poison Control calls about children exposed to THC.

Edibles and other substances containing high doses of THC are sometimes manufactured from industrial hemp — or cannabis.

Industrial hemp generally is characterized as cannabis plants that are low in THC, but a loophole in federal law has let manufacturers extract as much THC as possible out of industrial hemp. That THC is sometimes infused into gummies, candies, and other edibles.

Nationwide, THC products like these are sending kids to the emergency room, because children often cannot tell them apart from ordinary snack foods.

All of this is troubling, given that a bill filed at the Arkansas Legislature last week would legalize drinks that contain THC made from industrial hemp.

H.B. 1578 by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville) and Sen. Joshua Bryant (R — Rogers) allows drinks containing hemp-derived Delta-9 THC to be manufactured, distributed, and sold in Arkansas. The bill sets age restrictions, licensing requirements, and manufacturing guidelines for these drinks, but it does not clearly restrict the amount of THC a hemp-derived drink could contain.

Obviously, that raises serious concerns about the measure and the unintended consequences it could carry.

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

READ MORE