Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1415 3
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By: Representative Lundstrum 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 7
AN ACT TO AMEND THE PROVISIONS OF ARKANS AS 8
CONSTITUTION, ARTICL E 19, § 14, TO PROVI DE THAT 9
LOTTERY PROCEEDS MAY BE USED TO FUND OR P ROVIDE 10
SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRA NTS TO ARKANSAS CITI ZENS ENROLLED 11
IN VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL SCHOOLS AN D TECHNICAL 12
INSTITUTES; TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTIT UTION, ARTICLE 13
19, § 14, PURSUANT T O THE AUTHORITY GRAN TED BY 14
ARKANSAS CONSTITUTIO N, ARTICLE 5, § 1; T O AMEND 15
PROVISIONS OF THE AR KANSAS CODE CONCERNI NG APPROVED 16
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH ER EDUCATION UNDER L AWS 17
CONCERNING SCHOLARSH IPS AND GRANTS FUNDED BY LOTTE RY 18
PROCEEDS; AND FOR OT HER PURPOSES. 19
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Subtitle 22
TO AMEND ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 23
19, § 14, AND ARKANSAS LAW TO PROVIDE 24
THAT LOTTERY PROCEEDS MAY BE USED FOR 25
SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS TO ARKANSANS 26
ENROLLED IN VOCATIONAL -TECHNICAL SCHOOLS 27
AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTES. 28
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 31
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. 33
(a) The General Assembly finds: 34
(1) Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, provides that "[n]o 35
measure approved by a vote of the people shall be amended or repealed by the 36 HB1415
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General Assembly. . . except upon a yea and nay vote on roll call of two -1
thirds of all the members elected to each house of the General Assembly. . 2
."; 3
(2) Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, defines "measure" to 4
include any bill, law, resolution, ordinance, charter, constitutional 5
amendment or legislative proposal or enactment of any character; 6
(3) The plain language of the definition of "measure" in 7
Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, clearly includes amendments to the 8
Arkansas Constitution, meaning that the General Assembly may amend amendments 9
to the Arkansas Constitution with a two -thirds vote of each house; 10
(4) Despite observing that the definition of "measure" in 11
Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1 includes "constitutional amendment(s) 12
'or legislative proposals of any character'", the Supreme Court in Arkansas 13
Game and Fish Commission v. Edgmon , 218 Ark. 207, 235 S.W.2d 554 (1951), 14
declined to construe the language literally and held that the General 15
Assembly lacked the power to amend or repeal amendments to the Arkansas 16
Constitution by a two -thirds vote of each house; 17
(5) In Board of Truste es of the University of Arkansas v. 18
Andrews, 2018 Ark. 12 (2018), the Supreme Court overturned years of precedent 19
by holding that the General Assembly cannot waive by law the state's 20
sovereign immunity granted by Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 20; 21
(6) In reaching its decision in Andrews, supra, the Supreme 22
Court held that the language of Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 20, 23
should be interpreted "precisely as it reads"; 24
(7) In Buonauito v. Gibson, 2020 Ark. 352, the Arkansas Supreme 25
Court noted that the phrase "four -lane highway" as used in Arkansas 26
Constitution, Amendment 91, had been "given a specific meaning that is plain 27
and unambiguous" and thus funds under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 91, 28
could not be used to improve six -lane portions of interstate highways; and 29
(8) An interpretation of Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, 30
"precisely as it reads" clearly leads to the conclusion that the General 31
Assembly may amend all measures, including constitutional amendments, by a 32
two-thirds vote of each house, as the term "measure" has been given a plain 33
and unambiguous definition in Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1. 34
(b) By the passage of this act, the General Assembly expresses its 35
belief that, upon consideration of this act usin g the standard of review 36 HB1415
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established in Andrews, supra, the Supreme Court will: 1
(1) Interpret Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, precisely 2
as it reads in consideration of its plain and unambiguous language; 3
(2) Overturn its decision in Edgmon, supra, as inconsistent with 4
its holding in Andrews, supra, and Buonauito, supra; and 5
(3) Uphold the constitutional authority of the General Assembly 6
under Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, § 1, to amend or repeal amendments to 7
the Arkansas Constitutio n by a two-thirds vote of each house. 8
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 14(b), concerning the 10
use of lottery proceeds, is amended under the authority granted by Arkansas 11
Constitution, Article 5, § 1, to read as follows: 12
(b)(1) Lottery proceeds shall be used solely to pay the operating 13
expenses of lotteries, including all prizes, and to fund or provide for 14
scholarships and grants to citizens of this State enrolled in public and 15
private non-profit two-year and four-year colleges and uni versities the 16
following higher education institutions located within the State that are 17
certified according to criteria established by the General Assembly : 18
(A) A public or private nonprofit two -year or four-year 19
college or university; 20
(B) A public or private vocational -technical school; or 21
(C) A public or private technical institute. 22
(2) The General Assembly shall establish criteria to determine 23
who is eligible to receive the scholarships and grants pursuant to this 24
Amendment. 25
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-204(3), concerning the definition of 27
an "approved institution of higher education" under the Arkansas Academic 28
Challenge Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows: 29
(3) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 30
institution of higher education approved by the division to participate in 31
the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program and that is: 32
(A) A state-supported two-year or four-year college or 33
university; 34
(B) A private, nonprofit two -year or four-year college or 35
university with its primary headquarters located in Arkansas that is eligible 36 HB1415
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to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; or 1
(C) An approved school of nursing, subject to the 2
provisions of § 6-85-213(c); 3
(D) A public or private vocational-technical school; or 4
(E) A public or private technical institute; 5
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SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-302(1), concerning the definition of 7
an "approved institution of higher education" under the Arkansas Workforce 8
Challenge Scholarship Progra m, is amended to read as follows: 9
(1) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 10
institution of higher education approved by the Division of Higher Education 11
to participate in the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship Program and 12
that is: 13
(A) A state-supported two-year or four-year college or 14
university; or 15
(B) A private, nonprofit two -year or four-year college or 16
university with its primary headquarters located in Arkansas that is eligible 17
to receive Title IV federal student aid fund s; 18
(C) A public or private vocational -technical school; or 19
(D) A public or private technical institute; and 20
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SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-306 is amended to read as follows: 22
6-85-306. Agreements between institutions. 23
An approved institution of higher education may enter into agreements 24
with other institutions of higher education , including without limitation 25
technical institutes, to allow students enrolled in the approved institution 26
of higher education under this subchapter to ta ke courses at the other 27
institutions of higher education. 28
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SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -85-402(1), concerning the definition of 30
"approved institution of higher education" under the Arkansas Concurrent 31
Challenge Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows: 32
(1) "Approved institution of higher education" means an 33
institution of higher education that: 34
(A) Is approved by the Division of Higher Education to 35
participate in the Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship Program; 36 HB1415
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(B) Offers at least a fifty-percent discount on the 1
tuition and mandatory fees of an endorsed concurrent enrollment course or 2
certificate program to a student who is enrolled in an endorsed concurrent 3
enrollment course or certificate program, unless other opportunities are 4
provided that lower the tuition and mandatory fees below fifty percent (50%); 5
and 6
(C) Is a: 7
(i) State-supported two-year or four-year college or 8
university; or 9
(ii) Private, nonprofit two -year or four-year 10
college or university that has its primary headquarters located in Arkansas 11
and that is eligible to receive Title IV federal student aid funds; 12
(iii) A public or private vocational -technical 13
school; or 14
(iv) A public or private technical institute; 15
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