amendment
Secrecy added to Arkansas public records law serves only those with secrets
This commentary was updated at 5:25 p.m., Sept. 16, 2023, to correct the day when the Legislature submitted the bill to the governor. This week’s hastily called — and unnecessary — special session of the Arkansas Legislature yielded some ugly changes to the state’s sunshine law but also provided a shining example of democracy at […]
Positive polling, past successes don’t guarantee victory for abortion rights at the ballot box
Polls show that most Americans, even in red states, oppose the strict abortion bans Republican state lawmakers have enacted in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Emboldened by that fact, abortion rights advocates in multiple states might propose ballot initiatives for voters to consider in next year’s election, if […]
Bill sponsors, stakeholders reach compromise on Arkansas solar legislation
A press release mentioned in this story came from the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association. An editing error in an earlier version of the article gave an incorrect name. After a testy all-day hearing on an amended bill opponents say would kill Arkansas’ burgeoning solar industry, sponsors of House Bill 1370 reached late-hour agreement that is […]
The assault on diversity, equity and inclusion continues
Arkansas’ Republican overlords continued their assault on affirmative action and the very basis of righting past wrongs with the passage of Senate Bill 71 in committee on Tuesday. In doublespeak that George Orwell would have recognized, SB 71 sponsor Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro) characterized the legislation as anti-discriminatory because its stated intention is “to prohibit […]
Voters will decide recreational marijuana amendment, Arkansas high court rules
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that voters can decide in November whether to make recreational marijuana legal in the state. In a 20-page decision written by Justice Robin Wynne, the high court concluded 5-2 “that the ballot title at issue is complete enough to convey an intelligible idea of the scope and import of […]