Subcommittee forwards 4 proposed amendments
A state House subcommittee on Tuesday advanced four representative- sponsored constitutional amendments for consideration today by its parent committee.
The full House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee will decide whether to recommend a proposal to the House.
Representatives filed 21 proposed amendments to consider referring to voters in the 2018 general election. The Legislature may refer up to three.
The proposed amendments recommended by the Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments include:
House Joint Resolution 1016 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R- Elm Springs, that would mandate that the Legislature pass laws requiring absentee voters and voters at the polls to provide valid photo identification to cast ballots.
In addition to Lundstrum, 37 representatives and 12 senators are co- sponsoring that proposal. The sponsors include 10 members of the 20- member House State Agencies committee and four members of the eight- member Senate State Agencies committee, which consider which amendments to recommend.
House Joint Resolution 1003 by House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R- Judsonia, that would change the requirement for voter approval of constitutional amendments from a majority of voters to 60 percent of voters. The proposal is co- sponsored by Reps. Bob Ballinger, R- Hindsville, Greg Leding, D- Fayetteville, and Andy Mayberry, R- Hensley.
Among other things, the proposal would increase the vote required in the House and Senate to refer a proposed constitutional amendment to voters from the current majority in each chamber to two- thirds in each chamber; increase from 15 counties to 25 the minimum number of counties from which petitions must be submitted for an initiated constitutional amendment; and bar a proposed constitutional amendment from bestowing powers, privileges or authority to a specific individual identified by name or a private business entity identified by name.
House Joint Resolution 1011 by Rep. Trevor Drown, R- Dover, would allow the Legislature to “enact laws transferring the powers vested in an institution of higher learning” and “impacting an institution of higher learning, including … the tuition and fees charged by an institution of higher learning.”
House Joint Resolution 1008 by Rep. Jim Dotson, R- Bentonville, would have the Highway Commission’s powers and duties and the highway director’s duties prescribed by state law. Its title states that it would “provide that the state Highway Commission shall be governed in the same manner as all other state agencies.”
Afterward, Ballinger, chairman of the House State Agencies committee, said the proposal recommended to the House today “is going to be the will of the committee.
“But the thing that has the political energy is the voter ID. If I were a betting man, that’s what I would bet on,” he said.
The House is likely to consider the committee’s recommendation Thursday, Ballinger said. Under joint rules, the House and Senate can each submit one proposed amendment for referral to voters with the approval of the other chamber.
A two- thirds vote of the House and Senate is required to consider referring a third proposed amendment.
Last Thursday, the Senate approved a proposed amendment that would limit attorneys’ contingency fees and the award of certain damages in civil lawsuits. The proposal also would grant the Legislature control over the state Supreme Court’s rules. The proposal is Senate Joint Resolution 8 by Sen. Missy Irvin, R- Mountain View. Ballinger said SJR8 could be considered by the House committee as soon as today, but probably on Friday.