Legal reform ballot proposal rejected -- Casinos, Lottery &Terms Limit Changes may be on the ballot (ARRA Editor's Opinon)

AR News Bureau: The Legislature has already referred two proposed constitutional amendments for the 2008 ballot. One would allow for annual legislative sessions and the other would remove outdated language in the portion of the state constitution concerning elections and would loosen restrictions on who can serve as a poll worker.

However, for another ballot proposal to repeal the requirement that state Supreme Court justices be attorneys and to prohibit licensed attorneys from serving in the Legislature or holding a constitutional office, Attorney General McDaniel has declared it to be too ambiguous and rejected the measure's popular name and ballot title. . . .

Previously, the AG certified popular names and ballot titles for proposed constitutional amendments by Charles Ormond that would: 1) lengthen the amount of time legislators can serve: for House members from 6 to 12 consecutive years; Senators from 8 to 12 consecutive years; and to extend the terms for county officials to four years, limit state Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges to two six-year terms (12 years) in office.
2) create a four-member Arkansas Commission on Lotteries and Gambling Investing to regulate gambling operations in the state. The proposal also would establish a lottery and allow casinos in the state.
Ormond has until July 7, 2008, to collect the signatures 77,468 registered voters from registered voters for both measures to get them on the November 2008 general election ballot. [Read More]

ARRA News Editor's Opinion: Before signing one of Ormond's petitions consider that Arkansans have repeatedly voted against Casinos and the Lottery. In addition, Ormond has "bunched" too many different offices into the term limit proposal in an effort to get signatures. While voters may see merit in extending their local county officials to 4 year terms, they should not ignore the fact that this is lumped into his effort to extend the number of years that a state legislator may stay in office which is in opposition to the prior wishes of Arkansans who saw legislators entrenched in Little Rock. Interesting, he then tosses in the limiting of time allowed for supreme court and appellate court judges who are elected (not appointed) and unlike legislators, must give up their legal and other business practices to serve the public as judges while legislators return to their businesses and professional practices which they have in some cases surreptitiously advanced by their legislative actions. This second proposal should have been rejected by the Attorney General due to the proposal content attempt to affect too many offices which the legislators did not even try to propose. Individual ballot measures for county, state legislative positions and judges may have been proper and in the best interest of the public.

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