Kill state liquor bill, group’s filing asks

An attorney for Little Rock law firm Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP, sent a letter to Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office Monday, asking him to not certify a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize statewide alcohol sales.

Attorney Elizabeth Robben Murray wrote that the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment was submitted less than four months before the Nov. 4 election, which was in violation of Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution. Murray wrote that she represented a group called Let Local Communities Decide for Themselves, which she described as “opposed to the above-styled proposed constitutional amendment.”

“From records obtained from your office, it has been documented that the sponsor of the proposed constitutional amendment filed the petitions with your office on July 7, 2014. … I am not aware of any legal authority that allows the filing of [an] Amendment 7 initiative petition on a statewide proposal to be delayed,” Murray wrote.

The secretary of state’s office announced on Friday that the measure initially fell 17,133 signatures short of the 78,133 required for constitutional amendments to be placed on the ballot. But supporters of the measure have until Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. to gather the remaining signatures to meet the required threshold.

David Couch, an attorney leading the alcohol-sales initiative, said he was “not concerned” about the letter because the deadline for the measure was clear and based on legal precedent. He said the secretary of state’s office provided the July 7 deadline because no one would be in the office on July 4.

“I think that the law is that when a legal deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday that it extends to the next business day. … Every legal decision that I’m aware of in Arkansas upholds that principle,” Couch said.

Couch said he was “more concerned” about the Let Local Communities Decide for Themselves group not filing with the Arkansas Ethics Commission. The commission requires ballot question committees to file a “statement of organization” within five days of receiving contributions or spending more than $500 “for the purpose of expressly advocating the qualification, passage or defeat of a ballot question,” according to its rules.

Teresa Jones, fiscal officer for the Arkansas Ethics Commission, said the commission had not yet received a statement of organization from Let Local Communities Decide for Themselves.

Murray said she did not have the names of who made up the membership of the group, but that they would file a statement of organization with the Ethics Commission “in a timely manner.” She said the group was “just organized” after the secretary of state’s office gave supporters of the measure additional time to collect signatures.

Murray said she expects the group to challenge the proposal in court if it is certified, “but I’m just at the very first step of letting the secretary of state know our objection.”

“I think [the letter] was meant to give the secretary of state a chance to consider and look at the law on this point and make a decision,” Murray said.

Laura Labay, a spokesman for the office, confirmed receiving the letter but declined to comment besides saying, “At this point, we’re reviewing it.”