Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB210 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
2		-	Act 274 of the Regular Session
3	2		SSS084 02/06/2025 9:18:51 AM SSS084
4	3		State of Arkansas 1
5	4		95th General Assembly A Bill 2
6	5		Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 210 3
7	6		4
8	7		By: Senator K. Hammer 5
9	8		By: Representative Underwood 6
10	9		7
11	10		For An Act To Be Entitled 8
12	11		AN ACT TO CREATE THE REQUIRE EXAMINING OF 9
13	12		AUTHORITATIVE DOCUMENTS ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW 10
14	13		CONCERNING INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM PETITIONS; TO 11
15	14		REQUIRE THE SIGNER TO READ THE BALLOT TITLE OF THE 12
16	15		PETITION IN THE PRESENCE OF A CANVASSER; TO DECLARE 13
17	16		AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 14
18	17		15
19	18		16
20	19		Subtitle 17
21	20		TO REQUIRE THE SIGNER TO READ THE BALLOT 18
22	21		TITLE OF THE PETITION IN THE PRESENCE OF 19
23	22		A CANVASSER; AND TO DECLARE AN 20
24	23		EMERGENCY. 21
25	24		22
26	25		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 23
27	26		24
28	27		SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Title. 25
29	28		This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Require Examining of 26
30	29		Authoritative Documents Act". 27
31	30		28
32	31		SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 7 -9-103(a)(1)(A), concerning the signing of 29
33	32		initiative and referendum petitions, is amended to read as follows: 30
34	33		(a)(1)(A) A After reading the ballot title of the petition in the 31
35	34		presence of the canvasser or having the ballot title of the petition read 32
36	35		aloud to him or her in the presence of the canvasser, a person who is a 33
37	36		registered voter of this state may sign his or her own name and print his or 34
38	37		her own name, address, birth date, and the date of signing on an initiative 35
39	38		or referendum petition in his or her own proper handwriting, and not 36 SB210
40	39
41	40		2 02/06/2025 9:18:51 AM SSS084
42	41		otherwise, to order an initiative or referendum vote upon a proposed 1
43	42		amendment or a proposed or referred act. 2
44	43		3
45	44		SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 7 -9-103(c), concerning misdemeanor offenses 4
46	45		for a person acting as a canvasser, notary, sponsor, or agent of a sponsor, 5
47	46		is amended to add an additional subdivision to read as follows: 6
48	47		(10) As a canvasser, knowingly accepts a signature when the 7
49	48		person signing the petition has not read the ballot title of the petition in 8
50	49		the presence of the canvasser or the ballot title of the petition has not 9
51	50		been read aloud to the person in the presence of the canvasser. 10
52	51		11
53	52		SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 7 -9-109(a) is amended to read as follows: 12
54	53		(a) Each petition containing signatures shall be verified in 13
55	54		substantially the following form by the canvasser's affidavit thereon as a 14
56	55		part thereof: "State of Arkansas 15
57	56		County of _____________ 16
58	57		I, (print name of canvasser), being duly sworn, state that each of the 17
59	58		foregoing persons signed his or her own name to this sheet of the petition in 18
60	59		my presence. To the best of my knowledge and belief, each signature is 19
61	60		genuine and each signer is a registered voter of the State of Arkansas, 20
62	61		_____________ County, or City or Incorporated Town of _____________. At all 21
63	62		times during the circulation of this signature sheet, an exact copy of the 22
64	63		popular name, ballot title, and text was attached to the signature sheet , and 23
65	64		each signer read the ballot title of the petition or had the ballot title of 24
66	65		the petition read to the signer in my presence . My current residence address 25
67	66		is correctly stated below. 26
68	67		Signature _____________ 27
69	68		Current residence _____________ 28
70	69		Indicate one: _____________ Paid Canvasser _____________ 29
71	70		Volunteer/Unpaid Canvasser 30
72	71		Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____________ day of 31
73	72		_____________, 20_____________ 32
74	73		Signature _____________ 33
75	74		Clerk, Notary, Judge, or J.P. 34
76	75		Seal _____________”. 35
77	76		36 SB210
78	77
79	78		3 02/06/2025 9:18:51 AM SSS084
80	79		SECTION 5. DO NOT CODIFY. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this act 1
81	80		are declared to be severable and the invalidity of any provision of this act 2
82	81		shall not affect other provisions of the act which can be given effect 3
83	82		without the invalid provision. 4
84	83		5
85	84		SECTION 6. DO NOT CODIFY. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and 6
86	85		determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the process 7
87	86		for citizens to propose initiated acts and amendments to the Arkansas 8
88	87		Constitution is critical to a well -functioning democracy in this state; that 9
89	88		it is of the utmost importance that the integrity of the initiative process 10
90	89		be strengthened through this act so that petitioners and voters maintain a 11
91	90		high degree of confidence in the soundness of their right to legislate as 12
92	91		citizens of Arkansas; and that this act is immediately necessary because any 13
93	92		delay in the implementation of this act would disrupt the initiative process 14
94	93		for the 2026 general election, which would have a detrimental effect on the 15
95	94		public peace, health, and safety of Arkansas. Therefore, an emergency is 16
96	95		declared to exist, and this act being immediately necessary for the 17
97	96		preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become effective 18
98	97		on: 19
99	98		(1) The date of its approval by the Governor; 20
100	99		(2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, 21
101	100		the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the 22
102	101		bill; or 23
103	102		(3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is 24
104	103		overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto. 25
105	104		26
106	105		27
107		-	~~APPROVED: 3/12/25~~ 28
	106	+	28
108	107		29
109	108		30
110	109		31
111	110		32
112	111		33
113	112		34
114	113		35
115	114		36