Vote for reform

Bring doctors, business to state

With only weeks before Ar- kansas voters go to the polls for the Nov. 6 elections, discerning votes should be firming up their support for Issue 1, which will bring about needed legal reform in Arkansas, capping the contingency fees of aggressive lawyers taking advantage of people in their greatest time of need.

As a member of Arkansans for Jobs and Justice, a coalition working to help promote Issue 1, the Arkansas Farm Bureau believes passage of Issue 1 will help put Arkansas businesses on a level playing field with those in every surrounding state, which all have limits on compensatory damages that can be awarded. We join the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Hospital Association, the Poultry Federation, the Arkansas Trucking Association, and others as part of this coalition.

Every state surrounding Arkansas has some sort of tort reform in place, and that puts Arkansas at a disadvantage in competing with them for economic development.

A recurring challenge for rural Arkansas is access to quality health care and an adequate supply of health-care providers, long a focus for Arkansas Farm Bureau. Arkansas ranks 46th in the United States for number of active physicians. The medical profession is among the most targeted professions for litigation, increasing their general cost of business, so recruiting doctors—especially desperately needed specialists—to Arkansas is more difficult. The same is true for attracting new employers and growing existing businesses that create good jobs throughout the state.

We believe passage of the amendment will lead to a better business climate and help generate more jobs because Arkansas will be in a better position to compete with surrounding states that have tort reform. As an example, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour cited a letter from Toyota that said the lack of tort reform in his state was the reason Toyota wouldn’t locate its plant there. After passing tort reform, Mississippi beat Arkansas for a Toyota plant and its ancillary economic growth.

Studies have shown that Arkansas can have direct economic benefit of more than $316 million and more than 23,000 new jobs as a result of tort reform.

The trial attorneys, no doubt, will speak out in opposition to this legislation and claim that Issue 1 will restrict an individual’s right to just compensation in a lawsuit. To be clear, there is no limit on what a plaintiff can recover from a defendant for economic damages such as lost wages, medical bills or loss of property.

Issue 1 preserves the right of trial by jury protecting Seventh Amendment rights.

Issue 1 does not cap economic compensatory damages so that victims are fully compensated for actual economic losses past, present and future.

Issue 1 caps contingency fees for attorneys in civil actions at 33.3 percent of the net recovery.

This tort reform measure was referred to the voters by members of the General Assembly in 2017 because they felt Arkansans needed the right to vote on another way to help our state be more competitive when we recruit doctors and when pursuing economic development projects.

Arkansas Farm Bureau’s member-defined policy supports tort reform and we believe Issue 1 offers common-sense reform to a legal system flush with frivolity.

To find out more information on this important issue, visit YesOn1. com. We believe when you evaluate the legal environment in Arkansas, you will vote yes for Issue 1.