State Feed: Arkansas

Arkansas: Gov. Beebe Unsure About Severance Tax Support

AmandaKathryn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:15:39 -0500

Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday (Jan. 25) he is “re-evaluating” his support for a proposed ballot initiative that would raise Arkansas’ severance tax.

Sheffield Nelson, a former natural gas company executive, has received ballot title approval from Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel for a referendum to raise severance tax on natural gas to 7% and exclude current loopholes. The tax could raise as much as $250 million a year, with the money dedicated for Arkansas highways.

Ballotpedia's Final Analysis on 2011 Statewide Ballot Measures Released

AmandaKathryn — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:36:18 -0500

Ballotpedia’s final analysis on donations to all 2011 statewide ballot measure campaigns has been released; the donations add up $85 million.

The report reveals some interesting information like the fact that the state with the highest contributions from all campaign sides from all ballot measures was in Ohio. The least amount of contributions was in Arkansas.

You can also find an overview of the contributions from supporters & opponents, a ranking of ballot measures from the most to the least contributions, and the ranking of political topic contributions where “labor” shows the most donations in Ohio on Issue 2.

Check out Ballotpedia’s analysis here.

Arkansas: Fort Smith City Council to Work With Petitioners on Food Tax Referendum

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:18:50 -0400

Fort Smith city council members are likely to send a new tax on prepared foods to referendum in November in the hopes of ending lawsuits against the city. Citizens petitioned for a referendum after the council approved the tax and have been in court since the spring over rejected petitions.

Arkansas: Attorney General refuses to certify marijuana ballot measure

Thu, 05 May 2011 14:03:58 -0400

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel today declined to certify a proposed ballot initiative calling for a study of hemp agriculture and medical marijuana. McDaniel rejected the popular name and ballot title of the proposed initiative by the group Cannabis-Hemp Study Advocates, citing ambiguous language.

Read the story from Arkansas News

Arkansas: Medical marijuana measure approved

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:32:39 -0400

A group called Arkansans for Compassionate Care has won approval for the title of a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved the “Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act” as an appropriate title on the November 2012 ballot.

Read the story from Ozarks First

Arkansas: New ballot title filed for severance tax measure

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:26:49 -0500

Former natural gas executive Sheffield Nelson on Tuesday refilled his proposed ballot measure to raise the severance tax on natural gas to 7 percent. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected Nelson’s original proposal in February, citing ambiguities in the text. At a news conference Tuesday, Nelson said that he appreciated McDaniel’s feedback and that he believed his revised proposal sufficiently dealt with the ambiguities.

Read the story from Arkansas Business Online

Arkansas: Wet-Dry measure has the signatures

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:42:03 -0400

The Boone County clerk says voters will get a chance in the Nov. 2 general election to decide if the sale of alcoholic beverages should be legal in the county. County Clerk Crystal Graddy on Friday certified that petitions turned in by Jeff Crockett, seeking a wet-dry election in the now-dry county, contained enough valid signatures to put the question on the ballot.

Read the story from WREG 3

Arkansas: Goal of Arkansan to ease law changes

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:24:31 -0400

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas man whose organization provided most of the funding for legislative term limits is championing a new cause to give voters a greater say in government.

Paul Jacob, 50, played such a large role in the national push to create limits on the duration of political service that he rose to the national stage.

Now, his Virginia-based Citizens in Charge advocates making it easier for citizens to try to change laws and state constitutions through the petition process.

Arkansas: Illegal immigration measure doesn't get enough signatures for ballot

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:25:42 -0400

Secure Arkansas, the grassroots organization pushing a citizen’s sponsored illegal immigration ballot issue, has failed to submit enough raw signatures for its measure to be considered for the November general election, according to this exclusive report from TalkBusiness.net. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels reports that after a closer examination of the affidavits submitted by the group, the official signature count totaled 67,542 — nearly 10,000 signatures below the minimum required by state law.

Arkansas: Measure pulled by group, will refile

Fri, 28 May 2010 12:51:25 -0400

Leaders of the Arkansas Progressive Group announced Thursday (May 27) they will withdraw their AR OneTax ballot initiative following an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that the group could not challenge its own initiative in court. The tax proposal sought to vastly restructure Arkansas’ tax code so that state tax revenue would largely be dependent on a higher sales tax.

Read the story from The City Wire

Arkansas: Court rules against friendly challenge to ballot measure

Thu, 20 May 2010 16:31:57 -0400

The sponsor of an Arkansas ballot proposal cannot file a friendly challenge to his or her own measure, the state Supreme Court ruled today in a case involving a Fort Smith group’s proposal for a statewide flat tax. The court dismissed a challenge by the Arkansas Progressive Group to the group’s proposed constitutional amendment to repeal all existing state taxes and replace them with a flat-rate sales tax.

Read the story from the Arkansas News

Arkansas: Group gathering signatures for illegal immigrant benefits initiative

Wed, 19 May 2010 12:57:02 -0400

Members of Secure Arkansas set up shop at various polling sites Tuesday, asking voters to sign a ballot initiative that would limit benefits to illegal immigrants. The petition received a mixed reaction. Some supported the group’s ideas. “If you’re not working and paying taxes legally in this country, I’m not sure you should reap the rewards of tax-based programs to help those in need,” said voter Alisa Williams.

Read the story from 4029 TV

Arkansas: Health care initiative rejected

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:04:06 -0400

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel deals a blow to a group of local health care reform protesters. McDaniel rejected a proposed ballot initiative Tuesday that sought to prohibit the new federal health care law. McDaniel rejected a similar initiative from the same group, Secure Arkansas, in February.

Read the story from KATV 7

Arkansas: Petition signatures gathered for wet-dry issue in Arkansas county

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:29:03 -0500

The push to get the wet-dry issue on Boone County’s ballot was on in Harrison. Petitioners worked throughout the weekend to gather additional signatures. “I think people should be able to vote. That’s what we are all about is voting, right,” said one person signing a petition. The Buhr family quickly signed, saying Harrison’s economy would flourish if tax dollars weren’t being spent elsewhere.

Read the story from KSPR 33

Arkansas: Plans for initiative to fight federal healthcare overhaul

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:25:10 -0500

As legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system works its way through Congress, efforts are under way in Arkansas and elsewhere to thwart federal action at the state level. Two Republican state lawmakers are floating proposed legislation to protect “freedom of choice in health care,” while a conservative grassroots group hopes to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to block the federal health care overhaul in Arkansas. If passed, the measures are sure to be challenged in court, observers say.

Arkansas: Early voting initiative cleared for signature gathering

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:50:41 -0500

Another initiative petition has been approved to be passed around in Missouri, as supporters seek to get their issue on the ballot. This one deals with early voting in Missouri. Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced Monday the petitions meet state standards to be circulated. The issue seeks to make it easier for people to vote before the official election day.

Read the story from Ozarks First

Arkansas: State attorney general rejects initiative language

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:55:30 -0500

The state attorney general today rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana for medical use. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel cited numerous problems with the proposal submitted by Little Rock attorney John Wesley Hall, Jr., including that federal law would supersede a state drug amendment. “I note as an initial matter that this description fails to acknowledge that your proposed measure cannot completely legalize marijuana in Arkansas for medical purposes because the drug remains illegal under federal law,” the opinion said.

Arkansas: Alcohol tax increase rejected

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:47:27 -0500

The state attorney general Tuesday rejected a proposed ballot initiative that would raise the excise tax on all alcoholic beverages sold in Arkansas. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel cited ambiguities in the proposed initiated act that would use proceeds from the tax hike to pay for drug treatment, prevention and interdiction programs. Driving chapter in Arkansas, would levy a 10-cent tax on every standard drink of alcohol sold in the state. It also would create the Arkansas Substance Abuse Programs Fund.

Illegal Immigrant services measure certified for circulation

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:50:17 -0400

The Arkansas attorney general’s office has cleared the way for signature-gathering by supporters of a proposed ballot measure requiring government agencies to verify that all those seeking public benefits in the state are legal U.S. residents. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel on Wednesday certified the proposed constitutional amendment of Secure Arkansas, allowing the group to begin collecting the 77,468 signatures needed to put it before voters in the November 2010 general election.

After results were voided last year, group collecting signatures for 2010 ballot

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:17:47 -0400

A group of about 40 people has been busy since April trying to collect valid signatures to put one of Clark County’s most talked-about issues on the November 2010 ballot. Vote for Growth led an effort in 2008 to put the question of whether alcohol sales should be allowed in the county, but after the group’s opposition found an error in their collecting of the sufficient number of signatures, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that some signatures were not valid. This decision was handed down days before the general election, and the ballots already cast were void.