Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 602 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H3/17/25 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1713 3
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By: Representatives Rose, Crawford, Hawk, Long, Lundstrum, McGrew, S. Meeks, Ray, Underwood, 5
Unger 6
By: Senators M. Johnson, J. Boyd, J. Bryant, Caldwell, A. Clark, Gilmore, K. Hammer, Hester, M. 7
McKee, D. Wallace 8
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For An Act To Be Entitled 10
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE FILING OF AN 11
ORIGINAL DRAFT BEFORE CIRCULATION AS AN INITIATIVE 12
PETITION OR REFERENDUM PETITION; TO REQUIRE BALLOT 13
TITLES FOR INITIATED MEASURES TO BE AT OR UNDER A 14
CERTAIN READING LEVEL; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND 15
FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 16
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Subtitle 19
TO REQUIRE BALLOT TITLES FOR INITIATED 20
MEASURES TO BE AT OR UNDER A CERTAIN 21
READING LEVEL; AND TO DECLARE AN 22
EMERGENCY. 23
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 25
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative findings. 27
The General Assembly finds that: 28
(1) Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 protects the 29
right of citizens to enact laws and constitutional amendments through the 30
initiative process and to repeal laws enacted by the General Assembly through 31
the referendum process; 32
(2) The State of Arkansas has a compelling interest in: 33
(A) Preserving and protecting the integrity of the 34
initiative process and the referendum process; and 35
(B) Protecting voters from initiatives and referenda that 36 As Engrossed: H3/17/25 HB1713
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are deficient, confusing, or misleading or that are placed on the ballot by 1
means of conduct that is: 2
(i) Misleading; 3
(ii) Fraudulent; 4
(iii) Felonious; or 5
(iv) Otherwise unlawful; 6
(3) The General Assembly may further these compelling interests 7
by enacting laws: 8
(A) Intended to deter and penalize: 9
(i) Misrepresentation of an issue, measure, or 10
question; or 11
(ii) Misrepresentation of the effects of an issue, 12
measure, or question; and 13
(B) Of a practical nature to facilitate the initiative and 14
referendum process; and 15
(4) Without reasonable and responsible laws and oversight, it 16
may be possible for promoters of a measure, issue, or question to benefit 17
from conduct that is: 18
(A) Misleading; 19
(B) Fraudulent; 20
(C) Felonious; or 21
(D) Otherwise unlawful. 22
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code ยง 7 -9-107, concerning filing an original 24
draft before circulation of an initiative petition or referendum petition, is 25
amended to add an additional subsection to read as follows: 26
(g)(1) The Attorney General shall not certify a proposed ballot title 27
with a reading level above eighth grade as determined by the Flesch -Kincaid 28
Grade Level formula as it existed on January 1, 2025. 29
(2) If the Attorney General rejects a proposed ballot title 30
under subdivision (g)(1) of this section, the Attorney General shall state 31
the reasons for rejection and instruct the petitioners to redesign the 32
proposed ballot title or proposed measure in a manner that does not violate 33
this subsection. 34
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SECTION 3. DO NOT CODIFY. Retroactivity. 36 As Engrossed: H3/17/25 HB1713
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This act does not apply to a proposed ballot title that has already 1
been certified by the Attorney General for circulation before the effective 2
date of this act. 3
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SECTION 4. DO NOT CODIFY. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. 5
It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of 6
Arkansas that it is essential to establish greater clarity and consistency in 7
the procedures that facilitate initiatives and referenda; that legislation is 8
needed to ensure a fair, transparent, and uniform approval process for all 9
measures presented to voters; and that this act is immediately necessary to 10
preserve the public peace, health, and safety by protecting the rights of 11
voters through transparency and clarity in the initiative approval process. 12
Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being immediately 13
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall 14
become effective on: 15
(1) The date of its approval by the Governor; 16
(2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, 17
the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the 18
bill; or 19
(3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is 20
overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto. 21
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/s/Rose 23
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APPROVED: 4/14/25 26
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