Yesterday, pro-life Arkansans gathered on the Capitol steps in Little Rock for the 2015 March for Life. Below are pictures from the day’s events. Enjoy!
Pro-lifers march to the Capitol Building in downtown Little Rock
Governor Asa Hutchinson addresses the crowd.
From left: Governor Asa Hutchinson and First Lady Susan Hutchinson with Congressman French Hill.
Today, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we bring you a famous clip from Rev. King’s closing remarks in his final speech, including the famous line, “I’ve been to the mountaintop.”
We have written before about Issue 3, which voters passed last November. Among other things, Issue 3 extended term limits for Arkansas’ legislators and put new ethics guidelines in the Arkansas Constitution.
One ballot proposal that did not garner very much attention, however, was Issue 1, which voters also passed last November.
Issue 1 made rules and regulations promulgated by state agencies subject to legislative review and approval.
On the surface, Issue 1 and Issue 3 seem to have very little to do with each other. One prescribes new ethics laws and extends term limits for legislators; the other increases accountability between the Arkansas Legislature and the state agencies operating under the Executive Branch of government.
Before leaving office this week, however, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued an opinion that connected Issue 1 and Issue 3: Together, Issue 1 and Issue 3 give the Arkansas Legislature a lot of authority over the ethics guidelines Issue 3 put in the Arkansas Constitution.
In a nutshell, here is what has happened:
In other words, Issue 3 directs the Arkansas Ethics Commission to implement new ethics guidelines, but Issue 1 gives the Arkansas Legislature authority over anything the Ethics Commission tries to implement.