Arkansas HJR 1011: AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS CONSIDERED BY ELECTORS AT A GENERAL ELECTION.

Bill Text

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to the Arkansas
Constitution.
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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2023 HJR 1011 3
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By: Representative Pilkington 5
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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 7
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING 8
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS CONSIDERED BY ELECTORS AT A 9
GENERAL ELECTION; PROVIDING THAT A MEASURE SUBMITTED 10
UNDER ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 5, § 1, 11
PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION 12
SHALL BECOME A PART OF THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION IF 13
AT LEAST TWO-THIRDS OF THE ELECTORS VOTING AT THE 14
GENERAL ELECTION ADOPT THE AMENDMENT; PROVIDING THAT 15
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MAY PROPOSE NO MORE THAN TWO 16
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AT THE SAME GENERAL 17
ELECTION, EXCEPT THAT A THIRD AMENDMENT MAY BE 18
PROPOSED ADDRESSING THE SALARIES OF CERTAIN ELECTED 19
STATE OFFICIALS; PROVIDING THAT AN AMENDMENT TO THE 20
ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION PROPOSED BY THE GENERAL 21
ASSEMBLY SHALL BECOME A PART OF THE ARKANSAS 22
CONSTITUTION IF AT LEAST TWO-THIRDS OF THE ELECTORS 23
VOTING AT THE GENERAL ELECTION ADOPT THE AMENDMENT; 24
AND PROVIDING THAT THIS AMENDMENT SHALL BECOME A PART 25
OF THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION IF AT LEAST TWO-THIRDS 26
OF THE ELECTORS VOTING AT THE GENERAL ELECTION AT 27
WHICH IT IS CONSIDERED ADOPT THE AMENDMENT. 28
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Subtitle 31
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION 32
CONCERNING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 33
CONSIDERED BY ELECTORS AT A GENERAL 34
ELECTION. 35
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL 2
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, AND BY THE SENATE, A MAJORITY OF ALL 3
MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO: 4
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THAT the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of 6
the State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the state 7
for approval or rejection at the next general election for Representatives 8
and Senators, if two-thirds (2/3) of the electors voting thereon at the 9
election adopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the 10
Constitution of the State of Arkansas, to wit: 11
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SECTION 1. The subsection of Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, 13
titled "Majority", is amended to read as follows: 14
Majority Approval. Any measure submitted to the people as herein 15
provided shall take effect and become a law when approved by a majority of 16
the votes cast upon such measure, and not otherwise, and shall not be 17
required to receive a majority of the electors voting at such election. Such 18
measures shall be operative on and after the thirtieth day after the election 19
at which it is approved, unless otherwise specified in the Act measure. 20
However, a measure proposing an amendment to this Constitution shall become a 21
part of this Constitution if at least two-thirds (2/3) of the electors voting 22
at the election adopt the amendment. 23
This section shall not be construed to deprive any member of the 24
General Assembly of the right to introduce any measure, but no measure shall 25
be submitted to the people by the General Assembly, except a proposed 26
constitutional amendment or amendments as provided for in this Constitution. 27
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SECTION 2. The subsection of Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, 29
titled "Conflicting Measures", is amended to read as follows: 30
Conflicting Measures. If conflicting measures initiated or referred to 31
the people shall be approved by a majority of the votes severally cast for 32
and against the same at the same election, the one receiving the highest 33
number of affirmative votes shall become law. However, if conflicting 34
measures initiated or referred to the people proposing an amendment to this 35
Constitution shall be approved by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes 36

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severally cast for and against the proposed amendment to this Constitution at 1
the same election, the proposed amendment receiving the highest number of 2
affirmative votes shall become a part of this Constitution. 3
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 22, is amended to read 5
as follows: 6
§ 22. Constitutional amendments. 7
Either branch of the General Assembly, at a regular session thereof, 8
may propose amendments to this Constitution; and if the same be agreed to by 9
a majority of all members elected to each house, such proposed amendments 10
shall be entered on the journals with the yeas and nays, and published in at 11
least one (1) newspaper in each county, where a newspaper is published, for 12
six (6) months immediately preceding the next general election for Senators 13
and Representatives, at which time the same shall be submitted to the 14
electors of the State, for approval or rejection; and if a majority at least 15
two-thirds (2/3) of the electors voting at such election adopt such 16
amendments,