Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Malone Discusses Amendments

By State Representative

Percy Malone

AMENDMENT 1

Constitutional Amendments have been a major topic of discussion at the State Capitol this past month.

The governor and some of the state's leading businessmen, educators and legislators have formed a group called Save Our Schools. Its purpose is to promote the passage of proposed Amendment 1 in November's general election.

`Save Our Schools' is a non-partisan group. It includes Democrats and Republicans from the legislature and a cross section of business and civic leaders, all who are united in their effort to provide a solution to make school funding more equitable.

According to legislators who help write proposed Amendment 1, the main goal is to stop the courts from assuming jurisdiction over public schools if equalized funding between school districts is not maintained. The amendment, if passed, would also prevent forced consolidation of districts, according to the Governor.

Amendment 1 would give the state the authority to set minimum millage rates of 25 mills on real, personal and utility property to be used solely for maintenance and operations.

Revenues from the taxes would go to the state, then be returned to all of the schools. Local districts could vote to tax themselves at a rate higher than 25 mills and would be able to keep the additional revenues.

The Legislature could recommend future increases in the minimum state millage rate, but any increases would need voter approval.

One important thing to remember is that local millages voted in for capital improvement projects and bonded indebtedness would not be affected.

AMENDMENT 3

When Arkansas residents go to the polls in the November general election, they will vote on a proposal to reform the process by which citizens place constitutional amendments and initiated acts on the ballot.

Amendment 3 would clarify publication requirements and establish new procedures for legal challenges, thus, preventing last minute court rulings that strike ballot issues a few days or weeks before an election. Amendment 3 would limit legal challenges of ballot titles to within 45 days of their cerification by the Secretary of State's office.

Under the proposed changes, once the Supreme Court rules on the sufficiency of a ballot title, no further lawsuits challenging the title can be filed.

Amendement 3 says that if the Supreme Court ruled a ballot insufficient, the court would then be allowed to substitute and certify an adequate new title. That new title would not be subject to further legal challenge.

Another significant proposed change would increase, from three to five, the number of amendments the General Assembly could refer to voters in each regular session.