Arkansas Constitution
Encyclopedia
The Constitution of the State of Arkansas is the governing document of the U.S. state
of Arkansas
. It was adopted in 1874, shortly after the Brooks-Baxter War
replacing the 1868 constitution that had allowed Arkansas to rejoin the Union after the conclusion of the American Civil War
; the new constitution and the Brooks-Baxter war marked the end of Reconstruction in Arkansas, two years before the disputed 1876 presidential election ended it completely. Adopted toward the end of Reconstruction, the new constitution provided a transition period between it and its predecessor.
. It requires the Assembly to meet biennially (Section 5) and limits these meetings to 60 days unless otherwise approved by two-thirds of both houses (Section 17). Section 4 sets the qualifications for members.
Section 1 allows for passage of laws or constitutional amendments by initiative
. Petitions require signatures equal to eight percent of registered voters to appear on the ballot for a law, or ten percent for a constitutional amendment (see below). Section 1 also allows, by six percent of voters placing a petition, for a statewide referendum
on any law or any part of a law. The petition must be filed no later than 90 days after final adjournment of the Assembly. The law is suspended until it is voted on in the next election; if part of a law, the portion subject to referendum is suspended while all other provisions remain in effect.
It also includes highly restrictive provisions regarding appropriations:
The most recent example of how the restrictions can wreak havoc was in 1989. The general appropriations bill (which exceeded $2.5 million) failed to gain the required three-fourths majority, but was declared passed by the General Assembly under the "just debts of the State" exemption, and all subsequent special appropriations bills were passed thereafter. However, the Arkansas Supreme Court
disagreed with the Assembly's use of the just debts provision. As a result, it declared every single appropriations bill of the session unconstitutional — the general bill did not receive the votes needed to pass under Section 39, and under Section 40 all other appropriations bills were invalid since the general bill must be passed first — requiring the Assembly to return in special session to reenact them.
Ironically, though, appropriations are not really the state budget in Arkansas; that is enacted near the end of the session, when the Revenue Stabilization Law, which provides the mechanism for distributing the state's revenue (even general revenues), is amended to reflect the actual budget. Any appropriation not funded by the Revenue Stabilization Law is essentially null and void.
However, there are no known cases of this article being enforced in modern times. It is commonly held that Article Six of the United States Constitution
bans such qualifications when it states, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Current precedent holds that this is binding on the states as well under the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment to the federal constitution
. Additionally, the First Amendment to the federal constitution
establishes freedom of religion as a constitutional right. While the wording of this amendment specifically bars Congress from restricting freedom of religion, current precedent holds that this amendment and the rest of the United States Bill of Rights
are binding on the states by the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment. As a result, it is understood that this section would almost certainly be thrown out if challenged in court.
limit at 10%; it was amended in the early 1980s to 5% above the Federal Reserve Discount Rate on 90-day commercial paper (see the latest rates), but falling interest rates and poorly-worded provisions made the amended version even more onerous than the original. For example, a clause in the 1980s amendment appears to set a 17% limit for consumer loans; but since they weren't exempted from the main "5% above discount rate" provision, the courts ruled that the limit for consumer loans was the lesser of the two clauses, usually the 5% rule. Also, other language in the amendment applying the usury limit "at the time of the contract" made floating-rate loans extremely difficult, even though the usury limit itself was a floating rate. Even worse, neither the original nor amended provisions allowed the legislature to make any exceptions to the general usury law, as happened in other states. The Arkansas legislature tried to permit payday loan
s anyway, but after two adverse decisions in 2008 the Attorney General ordered all payday lenders in the state to shut down.
Eventually, after out-of-state banks took over most lending in Arkansas thanks to the Marquette decision
and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994
, Arkansas banks received special relief from the usury law through Section 731 of the Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
in 1999. Also in that year, an Arkansas Supreme Court decision allowed out-of-state auto finance companies to engage in subprime lending
through Arkansas dealerships without violating the usury law. Today, only a handful of loans made to Arkansans are still subject to this law, mainly private-party lending and some prime auto loans from companies like GMAC and Ford Credit
.
, which were passed during Reconstruction by a Union-dominated General Assembly, some of which refinanced disputed debt from shortly after Arkansas' statehood in 1836. These bonds had been central to the Brooks-Baxter War
.
Notable amendments shown separately include:
However, the Section places further restrictions on legislative amendments, requiring each amendment to appear separately on the ballot and limiting the number per ballot to three.
, requiring majority approval of the voters. The proposed amendment must be filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State not less than four months before the election, and 30 days prior to the election the petitioners (at their own expense) must publish the amendment "in some paper of general circulation". Unlike legislative amendments, there are no limits on the number of amendments by initiative that may be proposed on any one ballot.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. It was adopted in 1874, shortly after the Brooks-Baxter War
Brooks-Baxter War
The Brooks–Baxter War was an armed conflict in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the United States, in 1874 between factions of the Republican Party over the disputed 1872 election for governor...
replacing the 1868 constitution that had allowed Arkansas to rejoin the Union after the conclusion of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
; the new constitution and the Brooks-Baxter war marked the end of Reconstruction in Arkansas, two years before the disputed 1876 presidential election ended it completely. Adopted toward the end of Reconstruction, the new constitution provided a transition period between it and its predecessor.
Legislature
Article 5 provides for the operations of the Arkansas General AssemblyArkansas General Assembly
The Arkansas General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 members. All 135 representatives and state senators...
. It requires the Assembly to meet biennially (Section 5) and limits these meetings to 60 days unless otherwise approved by two-thirds of both houses (Section 17). Section 4 sets the qualifications for members.
Section 1 allows for passage of laws or constitutional amendments by initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
. Petitions require signatures equal to eight percent of registered voters to appear on the ballot for a law, or ten percent for a constitutional amendment (see below). Section 1 also allows, by six percent of voters placing a petition, for a statewide referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on any law or any part of a law. The petition must be filed no later than 90 days after final adjournment of the Assembly. The law is suspended until it is voted on in the next election; if part of a law, the portion subject to referendum is suspended while all other provisions remain in effect.
It also includes highly restrictive provisions regarding appropriations:
- Section 38 requires, in order to raise "property, excise, privilege or personal taxes", either 1) approval of the voters or 2) a three-fourths majority of the legislature. However, since the sales tax is not shown in the listing (it was added after passage of the Constitution), it can be increased by a simple majority.
- Section 30 requires that the "general appropriations bill" be limited to the "ordinary expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the State". All other appropriations must be passed by special appropriations bills. However, each bill can embrace only one subject; thus, hundreds of bills must be passed to fund other State agencies.
- Section 39 places restrictions on funding. Except for "educational purposes, highway purposes, to pay Confederate pensions and the just debts of the State", no appropriations exceeding $2.5 million can be passed without a three-fourths majority. In recent years, this means that nearly every appropriation bill (including the general bill) requires such.
- Section 40 further requires that the general appropriations bill must be passed before any special appropriations bill can be passed. Otherwise, no appropriations are valid.
The most recent example of how the restrictions can wreak havoc was in 1989. The general appropriations bill (which exceeded $2.5 million) failed to gain the required three-fourths majority, but was declared passed by the General Assembly under the "just debts of the State" exemption, and all subsequent special appropriations bills were passed thereafter. However, the Arkansas Supreme Court
Arkansas Supreme Court
The Arkansas Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Since 1925, it has consisted of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, and at times Special Justices are called upon in the absence of a regular justice...
disagreed with the Assembly's use of the just debts provision. As a result, it declared every single appropriations bill of the session unconstitutional — the general bill did not receive the votes needed to pass under Section 39, and under Section 40 all other appropriations bills were invalid since the general bill must be passed first — requiring the Assembly to return in special session to reenact them.
Ironically, though, appropriations are not really the state budget in Arkansas; that is enacted near the end of the session, when the Revenue Stabilization Law, which provides the mechanism for distributing the state's revenue (even general revenues), is amended to reflect the actual budget. Any appropriation not funded by the Revenue Stabilization Law is essentially null and void.
Controversy
Section one, titled "Atheists disqualified from holding office or testifying as witness", states: "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court."However, there are no known cases of this article being enforced in modern times. It is commonly held that Article Six of the United States Constitution
Article Six of the United States Constitution
Article Six of the United States Constitution establishes the Constitution and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it as the supreme law of the land, forbids a religious test as a requirement for holding a governmental position and holds the United States under the...
bans such qualifications when it states, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Current precedent holds that this is binding on the states as well under the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment to the federal constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
. Additionally, the First Amendment to the federal constitution
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
establishes freedom of religion as a constitutional right. While the wording of this amendment specifically bars Congress from restricting freedom of religion, current precedent holds that this amendment and the rest of the United States Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
are binding on the states by the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment. As a result, it is understood that this section would almost certainly be thrown out if challenged in court.
Usury law
Section 13 originally set the state's usuryUsury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
limit at 10%; it was amended in the early 1980s to 5% above the Federal Reserve Discount Rate on 90-day commercial paper (see the latest rates), but falling interest rates and poorly-worded provisions made the amended version even more onerous than the original. For example, a clause in the 1980s amendment appears to set a 17% limit for consumer loans; but since they weren't exempted from the main "5% above discount rate" provision, the courts ruled that the limit for consumer loans was the lesser of the two clauses, usually the 5% rule. Also, other language in the amendment applying the usury limit "at the time of the contract" made floating-rate loans extremely difficult, even though the usury limit itself was a floating rate. Even worse, neither the original nor amended provisions allowed the legislature to make any exceptions to the general usury law, as happened in other states. The Arkansas legislature tried to permit payday loan
Payday loan
A payday loan is a small, short-term loan that is intended to cover a borrower's expenses until his or her next payday. The loans are also sometimes referred to as cash advances, though that term can also refer to cash provided against a prearranged line of credit such as a credit card...
s anyway, but after two adverse decisions in 2008 the Attorney General ordered all payday lenders in the state to shut down.
Eventually, after out-of-state banks took over most lending in Arkansas thanks to the Marquette decision
Marquette Nat. Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp.
Marquette Nat. Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp. , is a unanimous 1978 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that state anti-usury laws regulating interest rates cannot be enforced against nationally-chartered banks based in other states...
and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994
Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994
The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 [IBBEA] amended the laws governing federally-chartered banks in order to restore the laws' competitiveness with the recently relaxed laws governing state-chartered banks. The goal was the return to a balance between the...
, Arkansas banks received special relief from the usury law through Section 731 of the Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act , also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, is an act of the 106th United States Congress...
in 1999. Also in that year, an Arkansas Supreme Court decision allowed out-of-state auto finance companies to engage in subprime lending
Subprime lending
In finance, subprime lending means making loans to people who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule...
through Arkansas dealerships without violating the usury law. Today, only a handful of loans made to Arkansans are still subject to this law, mainly private-party lending and some prime auto loans from companies like GMAC and Ford Credit
Ford Motor Credit Company
Ford Motor Credit Company is the financial services arm of Ford Motor Company, and is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan.Its business activities are concentrated primarily in the area of automobile loans in support of its parent company...
.
Holford Bonds Not to Be Paid
This highly unusual article (added by Amendment 1) prohibits the General Assembly from making appropriations for payment of principal and interest on several bond issues from 1869–1871, commonly referenced as Holford bondsHolford Bonds
The Holford Bonds were a series of real estate bonds that have their roots in the founding of the state and created political turmoil in Arkansas as late as 1906....
, which were passed during Reconstruction by a Union-dominated General Assembly, some of which refinanced disputed debt from shortly after Arkansas' statehood in 1836. These bonds had been central to the Brooks-Baxter War
Brooks-Baxter War
The Brooks–Baxter War was an armed conflict in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the United States, in 1874 between factions of the Republican Party over the disputed 1872 election for governor...
.
Amendments
In addition to the 20 Articles listed above, several amendments (84 as of March, 2007) have been added. Though some amendments have been physically incorporated into the text of the Constitution (e.g. Amendment 1, adding Article 20), others remain physically separate from the text.Notable amendments shown separately include:
- Amendment 34, which provides for the right to workRight to workThe right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and may not be prevented from doing so...
(only ArizonaArizona ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Arizona is the governing document and framework for the U.S. state of Arizona. The current constitution is the first and only adopted by the state of Arizona.-History:...
, FloridaFlorida ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state....
, MississippiMississippi ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Mississippi is the governing document of Mississippi. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. The constitution was adopted November 1, 1890.- Contents :...
, and OklahomaOklahoma ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th US State. At its ratification, the Oklahoma Constitution was the longest governing document of any...
have similar constitutional provisions). - Amendment 46, which allows for horse racing pari-mutuel betting, but only in Hot SpringsHot Springs, ArkansasHot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, the location of Oaklawn ParkOaklawn ParkOaklawn Park is an American thoroughbred racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the home to The Racing Festival of the South.In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America. Of the top Ten, Oaklawn was ranked...
. (Interestingly, there is no similar constitutional amendment relating to dog racing, though Southland Greyhound ParkSouthland Greyhound ParkSouthland Greyhound Park is a greyhound racing park and casino in West Memphis, Arkansas. Over 400 greyhound races take place at the Park each year. Simulcast thoroughbred and greyhound races from other tracks around the United States are also offered....
operates in West MemphisWest Memphis, ArkansasWest Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 27,666 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 28,181 in 2005, and 31,329 in 2011 ranking it as the state's 11th largest city, behind Hot Springs...
.) - Amendment 68, which states that "[t]he policy of Arkansas is to protect the life of every unborn child from conception to birth, to the extent permitted by the Federal Constitution." This provision would allow Arkansas to restrict the practice of abortionAbortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
in the event Roe v. WadeRoe v. WadeRoe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
is ever overturned by the United States Supreme Court. - Amendment 73, which places term limits on Arkansas officeholders. Section 3 also placed limits on Arkansas's Congressional delegation, but it was found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. ThorntonU.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. ThorntonU.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 ,was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states cannot impose qualifications for prospective members of the U.S. Congress stricter than those specified in the Constitution. The decision invalidated the Congressional...
. Section 4 placed a severability clause so the remainder of the amendment would remain in force. - Amendment 83, which is Arkansas's constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions.
Amending the Constitution
The current Constitution allows for two methods of amendment. However, each method is shown in a separate section.Legislative amendment
Under Section 22 of Article 19, either house of the General Assembly may propose amendments. The amendment requires majority approval of both houses in a recorded vote, publication in at least one newspaper in each county for six months prior to the next election of the Assembly, and majority approval of the voters.However, the Section places further restrictions on legislative amendments, requiring each amendment to appear separately on the ballot and limiting the number per ballot to three.
Amendment by initiative
Under Section 1 of Article 5 (as amended by Amendment 7), ten percent of legal voters may propose an amendment by initiativeInitiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
, requiring majority approval of the voters. The proposed amendment must be filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State not less than four months before the election, and 30 days prior to the election the petitioners (at their own expense) must publish the amendment "in some paper of general circulation". Unlike legislative amendments, there are no limits on the number of amendments by initiative that may be proposed on any one ballot.
External links
- Arkansas Constitution provided by Arkansas Legislature
- Arkansas Constitution provided by Arkansas Secretary of State
- Note: As of March 31, 2007, the most recent amendment (Amendment 84, on charitable bingo and raffles, approved in 2006) is in the legislature's text only; it is not in the Secretary of State's text.