The State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse

Section 1. Initiative and Referendum.

The legislative power of the people of this State shall be vested in a General Assembly, which
shall consist of the Senate and House of Representatives, but the people reserve to themselves
the power to propose legislative measures, laws and amendments to the Constitution, and to
enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the General Assembly; and also reserve the
power, at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any entire act or any item of an
appropriation bill.

Initiative. The first power reserved by the people is the initiative. Eight per cent of the legal
voters may propose any law and ten per cent may propose a constitutional amendment by
initiative petition and every such petition shall include the full text of the measure so proposed.
Initiative petitions for state-wide measures shall be filed with the Secretary of State not less than
four months before the election at which they are to be voted upon; provided, that at least thirty
days before the aforementioned filing, the proposed measure shall have been published once, at
the expense of the petitioners, in some paper of general circulation.

Referendum. The second power reserved by the people is the referendum, and any number not
less than six per cent of the legal voters may, by petition, order the referendum against any
general Act, or any item of an appropriation bill, or measure passed by the General Assembly,
but the filing of a referendum petition against one or more items, sections or parts of any such act
or measure shall not delay the remainder from becoming operative. Such petition shall be filed
with the Secretary of State not later than ninety days after the final adjournment of the session at
which such Act was passed, except when a recess or adjournment shall be taken temporarily for
a longer period than ninety days, in which case such petition shall be filed not later than ninety
days after such recess or temporary adjournment. Any measure referred to the people by
referendum petition shall remain in abeyance until such vote is taken. The total number of votes
cast for the office of Governor in the last preceding general election shall be the basis upon
which the number of signatures of legal voters upon state-wide initiative and referendum
petitions shall be computed.

Upon all initiative or referendum petitions provided for in any of the sections of this article, it
shall be necessary to file from at least fifteen of the counties of the State, petitions bearing the
signature of not less than one-half of the designated percentage of the electors of such county.

Emergency. If it shall be necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety
that a measure shall become effective without delay, such necessity shall be stated in one section,
and if upon a yea and nay vote two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, or two-thirds
of all the members elected to city or town councils, shall vote upon separate roll call in favor of
the measure going into immediate operation, such emergency measure shall become effective
without delay. It shall be necessary, however, to state the fact which constitutes such emergency.
Provided, however, that an emergency shall not be declared on any franchise or special privilege
or act creating any vested right or interest or alienating any property of the State. If a referendum
is filed against any emergency measure such measure shall be a law until it is voted upon by the
people, and if it is then rejected by a majority of the electors voting thereon, it shall be thereby
repealed. The provision of this sub-section shall apply to city or town councils.

Local for Municipalities and Counties. The initiative and referendum powers of the people are
hereby further reserved to the legal voters of each municipality and county as to all local, special
and municipal legislation of every character in and for their respective municipalities and
counties, but no local legislation shall be enacted contrary to the Constitution or any general law
of the State, and any general law shall have the effect of repealing any local legislation which is
in conflict therewith.

Municipalities may provide for the exercise of the initiative and referendum as to their local
legislation. General laws shall be enacted providing for the exercise of the initiative and
referendum as to counties. Fifteen per cent of the legal voters of any municipality or county may
order the referendum, or invoke the initiative upon any local measure. In municipalities the
number of signatures required upon any petition shall be computed upon the total vote cast for
the office of mayor at the last preceding general election; in counties upon the office of circuit
clerk. In municipalities and counties the time for filing an initiative petition shall not be fixed at
less than sixty days nor more than ninety days before the election at which it is to be voted upon;
for a referendum petition at not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days after the passage
of such measure by a municipal council; nor less than ninety days when filed against a local or
special measure passed by the General Assembly.

Every extension, enlargement, grant, or conveyance of a franchise or any rights, property,
easement, lease, or occupation of or in any road, street, alley or any part thereof in real property
or interest in real property owned by municipalities, exceeding in value three hundred dollars,
whether the same be by statute, ordinance, resolution, or otherwise, shall be subject to
referendum and shall not be subject to emergency legislation.

General Provisions
Definition. The word “measure” as used herein includes any bill, law, resolution, ordinance,
charter, constitutional amendment or legislative proposal or enactment of any character.

No Veto. The veto power of the Governor or mayor shall not extend to measures initiated by or
referred to the people.

Amendment and Repeal. No measure approved by a vote of the people shall be amended or
repealed by the General Assembly or by any city council, except upon a yea and nay vote on roll
call of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house of the General Assembly, or of the
city council, as the case may be.

Election. All measures initiated by the people whether for the State, county, city or town, shall
be submitted only at the regular elections, either State, congressional or municipal, but
referendum petitions may be referred to the people at special elections to be called by the proper
official, and such special elections shall be called when fifteen per cent of the legal voters shall
petition for such special election, and if the referendum is invoked as to any measure passed by a
city or town council, such city or town council may order a special election.
Majority. Any measure submitted to the people as herein provided shall take effect and become
a law when approved by a majority of the votes cast upon such measure, and not otherwise, and
shall not be required to receive a majority of the electors voting at such election. Such measures
shall be operative on and after the thirtieth day after the election at which it is approved, unless
otherwise specified in the Act.

This section shall not be construed to deprive any member of the General Assembly of the right
to introduce any measure, but no measure shall be submitted to the people by the General
Assembly, except a proposed constitutional amendment or amendments as provided for in this
Constitution.

Canvass and Declaration of Results. The result of the vote upon any State measure shall be
canvassed and declared by the State Board of Election Commissioners (or legal substitute
therefor); upon a municipal or county measure, by the county election commissioners (or legal
substitute therefor).

Conflicting Measures. If conflicting measures initiated or referred to the people shall be
approved by a majority of the votes severally cast for and against the same at the same election,
the one receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall become law.

The Petition
Title. At the time of filing petitions the exact title to be used on the ballot shall by the petitioners
be submitted with the petition, and on state-wide measures, shall be submitted to the State Board
of Election Commissioners, who shall certify such title to the Secretary of State, to be placed
upon the ballot; on county and municipal measures such title shall be submitted to the county
election board and shall by said board be placed upon the ballot in such county or municipal
election.

Limitation. No limitation shall be placed upon the number of constitutional amendments, laws,
or other measures which may be proposed and submitted to the people by either initiative or
referendum petition as provided in this section. No petition shall be held invalid if it shall contain
a greater number of signatures than required herein.

Verification. Only legal votes shall be counted upon petitions. Petitions may be circulated and
presented in parts, but each part of any petition shall have attached thereto the affidavit of the
person circulating the same, that all signatures thereon were made in the presence of the affiant,
and that to the best of the affiant’s knowledge and belief each signature is genuine, and that the
person signing is a legal voter and no other affidavit or verification shall be required to establish
the genuineness of such signatures.

Sufficiency. The sufficiency of all state-wide petitions shall be decided in the first instance by
the Secretary of State, subject to review by the Supreme Court of the State, which shall have
original and exclusive jurisdiction over all such causes. The sufficiency of all local petitions shall
be decided in the first instance by the county clerk or the city clerk as the case may be, subject to
review by the chancery court.

Court Decisions. If the sufficiency of any petition is challenged such cause shall be a preference
cause and shall be tried at once, but the failure of the courts to decide prior to the election as to
the sufficiency of any such petition, shall not prevent the question from being placed upon the
ballot at the election named in such petition, nor militate against the validity of such measure, if
it shall have been approved by a vote of the people.

Amendment of Petition. If the Secretary of State, county clerk or city clerk, as the case may be,
shall decide any petition to be insufficient, he shall without delay notify the sponsers of such
petition, and permit at least thirty days from the date of such notification, in the instance of a
state-wide petition, or ten days in the instance of a municipal or county petition, for correction or
amendment. In the event of legal proceedings to prevent giving legal effect to any petition upon
any grounds, the burden of proof shall be upon the person or persons attacking the validity of the
petition.

Unwarranted Restrictions Prohibited. No law shall be passed to prohibit any person or
persons from giving or receiving compensation for circulating petitions, nor to prohibit the
circulation of petitions, nor in any manner interfering with the freedom of the people in
procuring petitions; but laws shall be enacted prohibiting and penalizing perjury, forgery, and all
other felonies or other fraudulent practices, in the securing of signatures or filing of petitions.

Publication. All measures submitted to a vote of the people by petition under the provisions of
this section shall be published as is now, or hereafter may be provided by law.

Enacting Clause. The style of all bills initiated and submitted under the provisions of this
section shall be, “Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Arkansas, (municipality or county,
as the case may be).” In submitting measures to the people, the Secretary of State and all other
officials shall be guided by the general election laws or municipal laws as the case may be until
additional legislation is provided therefor.

Self-Executing. This section shall be self-executing, and all its provisions shall be treated as
mandatory, but laws may be enacted to facilitate its operation. No legislation shall be enacted to
restrict, hamper or impair the exercise of the rights herein reserved to the people. [As amended
by Const. Amend. 7]

Source: Arkansas Constitution