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Arkansas House Bill HJR1008

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HJR1008 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to the Arkansas
22 Constitution.
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44 State of Arkansas 1
55 95th General Assembly 2
66 Regular Session, 2025 HJR 1008 3
77 4
88 By: Representative S. Meeks 5
99 6
1010 7
1111 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 8
1212 AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING 9
1313 THE TAXATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL PROPERTY 10
1414 IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL 11
1515 ASSEMBLY TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE TAXATION OF 12
1616 PERSONAL PROPERTY BY LAW AND TO CREATE EXEMPTIONS FOR 13
1717 THE TAXATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY; REPEALING THE 14
1818 REQUIREMENT THAT PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL PROPERTY 15
1919 BE TAXED AT AN EQUAL RATE; AND AMENDING ARKANSAS 16
2020 CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENTS 30 AND 38, T0 PROVIDE THAT 17
2121 TAXES FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE AMENDMENTS MAY BE 18
2222 LEVIED ON REAL PROPERTY, PERSONAL PROPERTY, OR BOTH 19
2323 REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. 20
2424 21
2525 22
2626 Subtitle 23
2727 AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS 24
2828 CONSTITUTION CONCERNING THE TAXATION OF 25
2929 PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL PROPERTY IN 26
3030 THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. 27
3131 28
3232 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY -FIFTH GENERAL 29
3333 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, AND BY THE SENATE, A MAJORITY OF ALL 30
3434 MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO: 31
3535 32
3636 THAT the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of 33
3737 the State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the state 34
3838 for approval or rejection at the next general election for Representatives 35
3939 and Senators, if a majority of the electors voting thereon at the election 36 HJR1008
4040
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4242 adopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the Constitution of 1
4343 the State of Arkansas, to wit: 2
4444 3
4545 SECTION 1. The Arkansas Constitution is amended to add an additional 4
4646 amendment to read as follows: 5
4747 § 1. Reduction of taxation of personal property. 6
4848 (a) The General Assembly may enact laws to: 7
4949 (1) Reduce the rates on the taxation of personal property, 8
5050 including without limitation laws: 9
5151 (A) Providing that no tax shall be levied on personal 10
5252 property; and 11
5353 (B) Establishing a maximum rate of taxation of personal 12
5454 property and subsequently modifying the maximum rate of taxation; and 13
5555 (2) Create exemptions for the taxation of personal property. 14
5656 (b) A law enacted by the General Assembly under this amendment: 15
5757 (1) Requires a majority vote of each house of the General 16
5858 Assembly for passage; and 17
5959 (2) Supersedes any provision of the Arkansas Constitution in 18
6060 conflict with the law. 19
6161 20
6262 SECTION 2. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 30, § 1, is amended to 21
6363 read as follows: 22
6464 § 1. Petition for tax levy — Election. 23
6565 Whenever 100 or more taxpaying electors of any city, having a 24
6666 population of not less than 5,000, shall file a petition with the Mayor 25
6767 asking that an annual tax on real and personal property real property, 26
6868 personal property, or both real property and personal property be levied for 27
6969 the purpose of maintaining and operating a public city library and shall 28
7070 specify a rate of taxation not to exceed five mills on the dollar on real 29
7171 property, or not to exceed five mills on the dollar on personal property, or 30
7272 not to exceed five mills on the dollar on each type of property, real 31
7373 property and personal property , the question as to whether such tax shall be 32
7474 levied shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such city at a general 33
7575 or special election. Such petition must be filed at least thirty days prior 34
7676 to the election at which it will be submitted to the voters. The ballot 35
7777 shall be in substantially the following form and may be adjusted to reflect 36 HJR1008
7878
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8080 whether the proposed annual tax would be upon real property, personal 1
8181 property, or both real property and personal property : 2
8282 For a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal property 3
8383 to be used for maintenance and operation of a public city library. 4
8484 Against a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal 5
8585 property to be used for maintenance and operation of a public city library. 6
8686 7
8787 SECTION 3. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 30, § 5(a) and (b), 8
8888 concerning tax levies for capital improvements to or construction of a public 9
8989 city library, are amended to read as follows: 10
9090 (a) Whenever 100 or more taxpaying electors of any city, having a 11
9191 population of not less than 5,000, shall file a petition with the Mayor 12
9292 asking that an annual tax on real and personal property real property, 13
9393 personal property, or both real property and personal property be levied for 14
9494 capital improvements to or construction of a public city library and shall 15
9595 specify a rate of taxation not to exceed three mills on the dollar on real 16
9696 property, or not to exceed three mills on the dollar on personal property, or 17
9797 not to exceed three mills on the dollar on each type of property, real 18
9898 property and personal property , the question as to whether such tax shall be 19
9999 levied shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such city at a general 20
100100 or special election. Such petition must be filed at least thirty days prior 21
101101 to the election at which it will be submitted to the voters. The ballot 22
102102 shall be in substantially the following form and may be adjusted to reflect 23
103103 whether the proposed annual tax would be upon real property, personal 24
104104 property, or both real property and personal property : 25
105105 For a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal property 26
106106 to be used for capital improvements to or construction of a public city 27
107107 library. 28
108108 Against a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal 29
109109 property to be used for capital improvements to or construction of a public 30
110110 city library. 31
111111 (b) The electors may authorize the governing body of the city to issue 32
112112 bonds as prescribed by law for capital improvements to or construction of the 33
113113 library and to authorize the pledge of all, or any part of, the tax 34
114114 authorized by this section for the purpose of retiring the bonds. The ballot 35
115115 submitting the question to the voters shall be in substantially the following 36 HJR1008
116116
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118118 form and may be adjusted to reflect whether the proposed annual tax would be 1
119119 upon real property, personal property, or both real property and personal 2
120120 property: 3
121121 For a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal property 4
122122 within the city, to be pledged to an issue or issues of bonds not to exceed 5
123123 $ ___ , in aggregate principal amount, to finance capital improvements to or 6
124124 construction of the city library and to authorize the issuance of the bonds 7
125125 on such terms and conditions as shall be approved by the city. 8
126126 Against a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal 9
127127 property within the city, to be pledged to an issue or issues of bonds not to 10
128128 exceed $ ___ , in aggregate principal amount, to finance capital improvements 11
129129 to or construction of the city library and to authorize the issuance of the 12
130130 bonds on such terms and conditions as they shall be approved by the city. 13
131131 14
132132 SECTION 4. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 38, § 1, is amended to 15
133133 read as follows: 16
134134 § 1. Petition for tax levy — Election. 17
135135 Whenever 100 or more taxpaying electors of any county shall file a 18
136136 petition in the County Court asking that an annual tax on real and personal 19
137137 property real property, personal property, or both real property and personal 20
138138 property be levied for the purpose of maintaining and operating a public 21
139139 county library or a county library service or system and shall specify a rate 22
140140 of taxation not to exceed five mills (5) mills on the dollar on real 23
141141 property, or not to exceed five (5) mills on the dollar on personal property, 24
142142 or not to exceed five (5) mills on the dollar on each type of property, real 25
143143 property and personal property , the question as to whether said tax shall be 26
144144 levied shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such county at a 27
145145 general or special election. Such petition must be filed at least thirty 28
146146 days prior to the election at which it will be submitted to the voters. The 29
147147 ballot shall be in substantially the following form and may be adjusted to 30
148148 reflect whether the proposed annual tax would be upon real property, personal 31
149149 property, or both real property and personal property : 32
150150 FOR a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal property 33
151151 to be used for maintenance and operation of a public county library or county 34
152152 library service or system. 35
153153 AGAINST a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal 36 HJR1008
154154
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156156 property to be used for maintenance and operation of a public county library 1
157157 or county library service or system. 2
158158 3
159159 SECTION 5. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 38, § 5(a) and (b), 4
160160 concerning tax levies for capital improvements to or construction of a public 5
161161 county library or a county library service or system, are amended to read as 6
162162 follows: 7
163163 (a) Whenever 100 or more taxpaying electors of any county shall file a 8
164164 petition in the County Court asking that an annual tax on real and personal 9
165165 property real property, personal property, or both real property and personal 10
166166 property be levied for the purpose of capital improvements to or construction 11
167167 of a public county library or a county library service or system and shall 12
168168 specify a rate of taxation not to exceed three mills on the dollar on real 13
169169 property, or not to exceed three mills on the dollar on personal property, or 14
170170 not to exceed three mills on the dollar on each type of property, real 15
171171 property and personal property , the question as to whether said tax shall be 16
172172 levied shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such county at a 17
173173 general or special election. Such petition must be filed at least thirty 18
174174 days prior to the election at which it will be submitted to the voters. The 19
175175 ballot shall be in substantially the following form and may be adjusted to 20
176176 reflect whether the proposed annual tax would be upon real property, personal 21
177177 property, or both real property and personal property : 22
178178 FOR a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal property 23
179179 to be used for capital improvements to or construction of a public county 24
180180 library or county library service or system. 25
181181 AGAINST a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal 26
182182 property to be used for capital improvements to or construction of a public 27
183183 county library or county library service or system. 28
184184 (b) The voters may authorize the County Court to issue bonds as 29
185185 prescribed by law for capital improvements to or construction of the library 30
186186 and to authorize the pledge of all, or any part of, the tax authorized in 31
187187 Section 1 of this Amendment for the purpose of retiring the bonds. The ballot 32
188188 submitting the question to the voters shall be in substantially the following 33
189189 form and may be adjusted to reflect whether the proposed annual tax would be 34
190190 upon real property, personal property, or both real property and personal 35
191191 property: 36 HJR1008
192192
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194194 For a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal property 1
195195 within the county, to be pledged to an issue or issues of bonds not to exceed 2
196196 $ ___ , in aggregate principal amount, to finance capital improvements to or 3
197197 construction of the county library or county library service or system, and 4
198198 to authorize the issuance of the bonds on such terms and conditions as shall 5
199199 be approved by the County Court. 6
200200 Against a ___ mill tax on real property and a ___ mill tax on personal 7
201201 property within the county, to be pledged to an issue or issues of bonds not 8
202202 to exceed $ ___, in aggregate principal amount, to finance capital 9
203203 improvements to or construction of the county library or county library 10
204204 service or system, and to authorize the issuance of the bonds on such terms 11
205205 and conditions as shall be approved by the County Court. 12
206206 13
207207 SECTION 6. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 79, § 4(b), concerning 14
208208 millage rates levied against is amended to read as follows: 15
209209 § 4. [Income adjustments — Personal property millage rate — Uniform 16
210210 property tax rate requirement — Reassessment — Rollback adjustments]. 17
211211 (a) The General Assembly shall, by law, provide for procedures to be 18
212212 followed with respect to adjusting ad valorem taxes or millage pledged for 19
213213 bonded indebtedness purposes, to assure that the tax or millage levied for 20
214214 bonded indebtedness purposes will, at all times, provide a level of income 21
215215 sufficient to meet the current requirements of all principal, interest, 22
216216 paying agent fees, reserves, and other requirements of the bond indenture. 23
217217 (b) The millage rate levied against taxable personal property and 24
218218 utility and regulated carrier property in each taxing unit in the state shall 25
219219 be equal to the millage rate levied against real property in each taxing unit 26
220220 in the state. Personal property millage rates currently not equal to real 27
221221 estate millage rates shall be reduced to the level of the real estate millage 28
222222 rate; except to the extent necessary to provide a level of income sufficient 29
223223 to meet the current requirements of all principal, interest, paying agent 30
224224 fees, reserves, and other requirements of the bond indenture The millage rate 31
225225 levied against taxable personal property and utility and regulated carrier 32
226226 property in each taxing unit in the state and the millage rate levied against 33
227227 real property in each taxing unit in the state may be differing rates and are 34
228228 not required to be equal . 35
229229 (c)(b) The provisions of this section shall not affect or repeal the 36 HJR1008
230230
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232232 required uniform rate of ad valorem property tax set forth in Amendment 74. 1
233233 (d)(c) The General Assembly may, by law, prescribe the method and 2
234234 means for reassessing real property and establish the frequency of 3
235235 reassessment. However, reassessment shall occur at least once every five (5) 4
236236 years. 5
237237 (e)(d) Rollback adjustments under Article 16, Section 14 shall be 6
238238 determined after the adjustments are made to assessed value under this 7
239239 Amendment. 8
240240 9
241241 SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This amendment is effective on and after 10
242242 January 1, 2027. 11
243243 12
244244 SECTION 8. BALLOT TITLE AND POPULAR NAME. When this proposed 13
245245 amendment is submitted to the electors of this state on the general election 14
246246 ballot: 15
247247 (1) The title of this Joint Resolution shall be the ballot 16
248248 title; and 17
249249 (2) The popular name shall be "A Constitutional Amendment 18
250250 Concerning the Taxation of Personal Property and Real Property in the State 19
251251 of Arkansas; Authorizing the General Assembly to Reduce or Eliminate the 20
252252 Taxation of Personal Property by Law and to Create Exemptions by Law for the 21
253253 Taxation of Personal Property; and Repealing the Requirement that Personal 22
254254 Property and Real Property Be Taxed at an Equal Rate.". 23
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