Panel backs bill on judge-race donors

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday endorsed legislation seeking to give greater scrutiny to the buyers of the out-of-state ads that have dominated recent races for the Arkansas Supreme Court.

House Bill 1705, by state Rep. Jimmy Gazaway, R-Paragould, would require that any group that spends money to influence the public’s perception of appellate judge and Supreme Court candidates later disclose their donors.

“Dark money” ads — so called because the groups purchasing them do not reveal their donors — have become a pointed issue in two recent campaigns involving Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson.

Goodson, the target of the attacks, lost a race for chief justice in 2016. She won re-election to an associate position on the court last year, after taking to court the groups that were buying the ads attacking her. While she won the 2018 race, Goodson lost the suit.

Referring to the amount of money spent by out-of-state groups in recent appellate races, Gazaway said the groups “have, in my opinion, attempted to buy seats on the state’s highest court.”

The Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the measure by a voice vote, sending it to the full House.

Opposition came from several conservative political action groups that stated they were concerned that ending their donors’ anonymity would limit their ability to send their message.

In addition, Jerry Cox, of the faith-based Family Council, told a reporter later that he feared the bill, if passed, would apply to his organization, which distributes a voter guide to churches around the state.

Arkansas Bar Association President Paul Keith, whose group helped draft the bill, said that it was not intended to cover items such as a voter guide and that rules established by the Arkansas Ethics Commission could clear that up, should the bill pass.