AR
Arkansas House Bill HB1513

Arkansas 2023 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB1513 Compare Versions

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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
2-Act 544 of the Regular Session
32 *MLD030* 03-30-2023 11:18:12 MLD030
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54 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 1
65 94th General Assembly A Bill 2
76 Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1513 3
87 4
98 By: Representatives McCollum, Wing, Achor, Andrews, Barker, Beaty Jr., Beck, Bentley, M. Berry, 5
109 Breaux, Brooks, K. Brown, M. Brown, Burkes, Joey Carr, C. Cooper, Cozart, Evans, C. Fite, L. Fite, 6
1110 Fortner, Furman, Gazaway, Gonzales, Gramlich, Haak, Hawk, Hollowell, Jean, Ladyman, Long, 7
1211 Lundstrum, Lynch, McAlindon, McClure, M. McElroy, McGrew, B. McKenzie, McNair, S. Meeks, 8
1312 Miller, Milligan, K. Moore, Painter, Pearce, Pilkington, Puryear, R. Scott Richardson, Richmond, Rose, 9
1413 Rye, Schulz, Steimel, Tosh, Underwood, Unger, Vaught, Womack, Wooldridge, Wooten 10
1514 By: Senators J. Petty, K. Hammer, Dees, M. McKee, Stone 11
1615 12
1716 For An Act To Be Entitled 13
1817 AN ACT TO CREATE THE ELECTION INTEGRITY U NIT WITHIN 14
1918 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 'S OFFICE; TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF 15
2019 THE STATE BOARD OF E LECTION COMMISSIONER S; TO AMEND 16
2120 THE LAW CONCERNING V IOLATIONS OF ELECTIO N LAW; AND 17
2221 FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 18
2322 19
2423 20
2524 Subtitle 21
2625 TO CREATE THE ELECTION INTEGRITY U NIT 22
2726 WITHIN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE; TO 23
2827 AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF 24
2928 ELECTION COMMISSIONERS; AND TO AMEND THE 25
3029 LAW CONCERNING VIOLATIONS OF ELECTION 26
3130 LAW. 27
3231 28
3332 29
3433 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 30
3534 31
3635 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 7-1-109 is amended to read as follows: 32
3736 7-1-109. Enforcement of election laws. 33
3837 (a) Following a written complaint concerning any election law 34
3938 violation or irregularity to the county board of election commissioners, the 35
4039 written complaint sh all be sent by the county board of election commissioners 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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4544 to the State Board of Election Commissioners and the Election Integrity Unit 1
4645 for evaluation and investigation. 2
4746 (b) A complaint submitted under subsection (a) of this section shall 3
4847 be included by the unit in the Arkansas Election Integrity Database. 4
4948 5
5049 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 7 -4-120(b)(7), concerning complaints of 6
5150 election law violations, is amended to read as follows: 7
5251 (7)(A) If a complaint is filed as required by this section, the 8
5352 State Board of Election Commissioners shall investigate the alleged violation 9
5453 and notify the Election Integrity Unit to enter the complaint into the 10
5554 Arkansas Election Integrity D atabase. 11
5655 (B) If at the conclusion of the investigation, the State 12
5756 Board of Election Commissioners find that there is probable cause to believe 13
5857 there has been a criminal violation of the voter registration laws or 14
5958 election laws, the State Board of Election Commissioners may forward the 15
6059 complaint to the prosecuting attorney for criminal prosecution. 16
6160 (C) Immediately upon beginning an investigation under this 17
6261 section, the State Board of Election Commissioners shall notify the person or 18
6362 persons under investigation of the fact of the investigation and the nature 19
6463 of the investigation. 20
6564 (C)(D) If at the conclusion of the investigation, the 21
6665 State Board of Election Commissioners finds that there is probable cause to 22
6766 believe there has been a violation of the voter registration laws or election 23
6867 laws, and the complaint has not been referred to the prosecuting attorney, 24
6968 the State Board of Election Commissioners may set a public hearing. 25
7069 26
7170 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 7, Chapter 4, is amended to add an 27
7271 additional subchapter to read as follows: 28
7372 Subchapter 3 — Election Integrity Unit 29
7473 30
7574 7-4-301. Title. 31
7675 This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Election Integrity 32
7776 Unit Act of 2023”. 33
7877 34
7978 7-4-302. Election Integrity Unit. 35
8079 (a) There is created within the Attorney General's Office the Election 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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8584 Integrity Unit. 1
8685 (b) The purpose of the Election Integrity Unit is to aid the Secretary 2
8786 of State and the State Board of Election Commissioners in the completion of 3
8887 their duties related to the investigation of electi on crimes and the security 4
8988 of elections. 5
9089 (c) The director of the Election Integrity Unit shall be known as the 6
9190 “Director of the Election Integrity Unit” and shall be appointed by the 7
9291 Attorney General. 8
9392 (d) The Attorney General may also appoint staff to ensure the 9
9493 efficient operation of the Election Integrity Unit, including without 10
9594 limitation: 11
9695 (1) Assistants; 12
9796 (2) Nonsworn investigators; 13
9897 (3) Professional staff; and 14
9998 (4) Clerical staff. 15
10099 (e) The Election Integrity Unit shall be based in Little Rock, 16
101100 Arkansas. 17
102101 18
103102 7-4-303. Definitions. 19
104103 As used in this subchapter: 20
105104 (1) “Election laws” means the United States Constitution, the 21
106105 Arkansas Constitution, and the statutes, final court decisions of general 22
107106 applicability, and rules of the United States a nd the State of Arkansas 23
108107 concerning elections conducted by county boards of election commissioners and 24
109108 the rules promulgated by the State Board of Election Commissioners under § 7 -25
110109 4-101 concerning elections conducted by county boards of election 26
111110 commissioners; and 27
112111 (2) “Voter registration laws” means those laws under the United 28
113112 States Constitution, the Arkansas Constitution, and the statutes, final court 29
114113 decisions, and rules promulgated by the United States and the State of 30
115114 Arkansas concerning voter regis tration laws. 31
116115 32
117116 7-4-304. Duties of the Election Integrity Unit. 33
118117 (a) The Election Integrity Unit shall establish the Arkansas Election 34
119118 Integrity Database that shall be maintained by the Election Integrity Unit , 35
120119 with secure access provided to the Secretar y of State and the State Board of 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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123122
124123
125124 Election Commissioners. 1
126125 (b) The Election Integrity Unit shall: 2
127126 (1) Track all alleged violations, complaints, and investigations 3
128127 in the Arkansas Election Integrity Database; 4
129128 (2) Oversee the Attorney General’s election law violations 5
130129 hotline under § 7-4-305; 6
131130 (3) Respond to notifications or complaints generated by election 7
132131 officials or any other person alleging a violation of voter registration laws 8
133132 or election laws; 9
134133 (4) Refer all notifications of complaints to the State Board of 10
135134 Election Commissioners for investigation of any potential civil or criminal 11
136135 acts related to a violation of election law and violations concerning 12
137136 election security reported under §7 -4-120 or this subchapter; 13
138137 (5) To institute civil proceedings for the purpose of enforcing 14
139138 the provisions of this chapter and as specifically enumerated in § 7 -4-306. 15
140139 (6) Receive sworn statements and issue subpoenas to compel the 16
141140 production of records and other documents pursuant to § 25-16-705; and 17
142141 (7) Enforce the provisions of this subchapter and perform such 18
143142 other functions as may be incidental to the powers and duties set forth in 19
144143 this subchapter. 20
145144 (c) If during the course of an investigation, the State Board of 21
146145 Election Commissioners determines that there may be a criminal violation of 22
147146 voter registration laws or election laws, the findings of the investigation: 23
148147 (1)(A) May be turned over to the appropriate prosecutorial 24
149148 agency for criminal prosecution. 25
150149 (B) A prosecuting attorney having jurisdiction over a 26
151150 violation of voter registration laws or election laws may designate an 27
152151 attorney employed by the Attorney General's office as a special deputy 28
153152 prosecutor to prosecute any charges related to a violation of voter 29
154153 registration laws or election laws or any other charges that may arise from 30
155154 the same factual allegations or may be properly joined under state law. 31
156155 (C)(i) Under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, § 20 and 32
157156 § 16-21-103, only a prosecuting attorney has the duty and authority to 33
158157 commence and prosecute any criminal action under state law. 34
159158 (ii) A special deputy prosecuting attorney's power 35
160159 to prosecute a criminal action under this section is derivative from the 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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165164 prosecuting attorney; and 1
166165 (2) Shall be heard by the State Board of Election Commissioners 2
167166 if the potential violation is a civil violation. 3
168167 (d) This subchapter does not limit the jurisdict ion of any other state 4
169168 entity empowered by law to investigate, act upon, or dispose of alleged 5
170169 violations of state voter registration and election laws. 6
171170 (e)(1) By August 1 of each year, the State Board of Election 7
172171 Commissioners shall submit a report of all closed investigations of the 8
173172 previous calendar year to the: 9
174173 (A) Governor; 10
175174 (B) Attorney General; and 11
176175 (C) Joint Performance Review Committee. 12
177176 (2) The report required under subdivision (e)(1) of this section 13
178177 shall: 14
179178 (A) Provide a summary of information on each closed 15
180179 investigation of an alleged violation of election laws conducted during the 16
181180 prior calendar year; 17
182181 (B) Include the total number of: 18
183182 (i) Complaints received; 19
184183 (ii) Independent investigations ini tiated; and 20
185184 (iii) Number of complaints referred for criminal 21
186185 prosecution; and 22
187186 (C) The current status of any resulting criminal case. 23
188187 24
189188 7-4-305. Election law violation — Hotline. 25
190189 (a)(1) The Attorney General shall establish and publish proced ures to 26
191190 receive complaints concerning violations of election law. 27
192191 (2) The procedures shall include the operation of a toll -free 28
193192 hotline and may include procedures to receive written complaints through the 29
194193 mail, email, or fax. 30
195194 (3) Knowingly filing a f alse claim of a violation of election 31
196195 law is a Class A misdemeanor punishable under § 7 -1-103(c). 32
197196 (b)(1) The State Board of Election Commissioners shall report all 33
198197 complaints received through the election law violation hotline to the Joint 34
199198 Performance Review Committee in the report required under § 7 -4-304. 35
200199 (2) The report may contain preliminary findings by the State 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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205204 Board of Election Commissione rs as to the validity of the complaint if the 1
206205 full investigation is not complete. 2
207206 3
208207 § 7-4-306. Civil actions by Attorney General 4
209208 (a) Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that a person 5
210209 or entity is engaging, has engaged, or is about to eng age in any act or 6
211210 practice declared unlawful by § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104, the Attorney General 7
212211 may bring an action in the name of the state against that person or entity. 8
213212 (b) An action under subsection (a) of this section may be brought to: 9
214213 (1) Obtain a declaratory judgment that the act or practice 10
215214 violates the provisions of § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104; 11
216215 (2) Enjoin any act or practice that violates the provisions of § 12
217216 7-1-103 or § 7-1-104 by issuance of a temporary restraining order or 13
218217 preliminary or perman ent injunction, without bond, upon the giving of 14
219218 appropriate notice; 15
220219 (3) Recover on behalf of the state and its agencies actual 16
221220 damages for loss incurred either directly or indirectly; and 17
222221 (4) Recover civil penalties of at least one thousand dollars 18
223222 ($1,000) per violation of § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104, or any injunction, judgment 19
224223 issued or entered into under the provisions of § 7 -1-103 or § 7-1-104 and 20
225224 reasonable expenses, investigative costs, and attorney's fees. 21
226225 22
227226 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 7 -5-202(c)(1)(F)(ii), concerning public 23
228227 notice of elections, is amended to read as follows: 24
229228 (ii) Information about the availability of the 25
230229 Attorney General's election law violation hotline, including without 26
231230 limitation the hotline telephone number of the Attor ney General's election 27
232231 law violation hotline established under § 25-16-717 7-4-305; 28
233232 29
234233 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 25 -16-717 is repealed. 30
235234 25-16-717. Election law violation — Hotline. 31
236235 (a)(1) The Attorney General shall establish and publish procedures to 32
237236 receive complaints concerning violations of election law. 33
238237 (2) The procedures shall include the operation of a toll -free 34
239238 hotline and may include procedures to receive written complaints through the 35
240239 mail, email, or fax. 36 As Engrossed: H3/9/23 H3/30/23 HB1513
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245244 (3) Knowingly filing a false clai m of a violation of election 1
246245 law is a Class A misdemeanor punishable under § 7 -1-103(c). 2
247246 (b)(1) The Attorney General shall report all complaints received to 3
248247 the Joint Performance Review Committee within forty -five (45) days following 4
249248 the certified election results of a general election. 5
250249 (2) The report may contain preliminary findings by the Attorney 6
251250 General as to the validity of the complaint. 7
252251 (3) The Joint Performance Review Committee may call a meeting 8
253252 within thirty (30) days of receipt of t he report for the purpose of 9
254253 investigating election law violations. 10
255254 (c)(1) If the Attorney General receives a complaint and finds it is 11
256255 likely that a violation of election law has occurred, the Attorney General 12
257256 shall forward the complaint to the Joint Pe rformance Review Committee for 13
258257 preliminary investigation and may forward the complaint to the appropriate 14
259258 prosecuting attorney. 15
260259 (2) The prosecuting attorney may deputize the Attorney General 16
261260 to act on the prosecuting attorney's behalf if the prosecuting attorney has a 17
262261 conflict of interest in the investigation. 18
263262 (3) If the Attorney General is deputized by the prosecuting 19
264263 attorney, the Attorney General may investigate or prosecute the alleged 20
265264 violation of election law. 21
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