Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to the Arkansas
Constitution.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2025 SJR 3 3
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By: Senator B. King 5
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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 8
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING 9
THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION; 10
PROVIDING THAT EACH COMMISSIONER SHALL REPRESENT A 11
DISTRICT COMPRISED OF CERTAIN COUNTIES OF THE STATE; 12
PROVIDING THAT A COMMISSIONER SHALL RESIDE WITHIN HIS 13
OR HER DISTRICT; AMENDING AND CLARIFYING THE DUTIES 14
OF THE SENATE REGARDING ADVICE AND CONSENT FOR 15
APPOINTMENTS TO THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION AND THE 16
REMOVAL OF COMMISSIONERS; AND PROVIDING FOR THE 17
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AMENDMENT. 18
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Subtitle 21
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONCERNING 22
THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE STATE HIGHWAY 23
COMMISSION. 24
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY -FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 26
STATE OF ARKANSAS, AND BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, A MAJORITY OF ALL 27
MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO: 28
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THAT the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of 30
the State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the state 31
for approval or rejection at the next general election for Representatives 32
and Senators, if a majority of the electors voting thereon at the election 33
adopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the Constitution of 34
the State of Arkansas, to wit: 35
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 2, is amended to 1
read as follows: 2
§ 2. Qualifications and appointment of members — Terms of office of 3
first commission. 4
(a) Within ten days after the convening of the General Assembly of the 5
State of Arkansas in the year 1953, the The Governor, by and with the advice 6
and consent of the Senate under subsection (c) of this section , shall appoint 7
five (5) persons who are qualified electors of the State to constitute the 8
State Highway Commission for terms of two, four, six, eight and ten years 9
respectively. The terms of the persons so appointed shall be determined by 10
lot. The Commissioners to be appointed from the State at large; provided, 11
however, that no two Commissioners shall be appointed from any single 12
Congressional District . 13
(b)(1) The Commissioners shall be appointed as follows: 14
(A) One (1) Commissioner who resides within and represents 15
District 1, which shall consist of the counites of Baxter, Boone, Carroll, 16
Clay, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Independence, 17
Izard, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Randolph, Searcy, 18
Sharp, Stone, and Van Buren; 19
(B) One (1) Commissioner who resides within and represents 20
District 2, which shall consist of the counties of Faulkner, Pulaski, and 21
Saline; 22
(C) One (1) Commissioner who resides within and represents 23
District 3, which shall consist of the counties of Benton, Crawford, 24
Sebastian, and Washington; 25
(D) One (1) Commissioner who resides within and represents 26
District 4, which shall consist of the counties of Calhoun, Clark, Columbia, 27
Dallas, Garland, Grant, Howard, Hot Spring, Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, 28
Little River, Logan, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita, Pike, Perry, Polk, Scott, 29
Sevier, and Yell; and 30
(E) One (1) Commissioner who resides within and represents 31
District 5, which shall consist of the counites of Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, 32
Chicot, Cleveland, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Jackson, Jefferson, Lee, 33
Lincoln, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, St. 34
Francis, White, and Woodruff. 35
(2)(A) A Commissioner shall reside within the district he or she 36 SJR3
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represents during his or her term. 1
(B) If a Commissioner no longer resides within the 2
district he or she represents during his or her term, the Governor shall 3
remove the Commissioner under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 4. 4
(c)(1) When the name of an appointee is submitted to the Senate for 5
advice and consent, only the members of the Senate who reside within the 6
district under subsection (b) of this section that would be represented by 7
the appointee shall provide advice and consent regarding the appointment. 8
(2) Advice and consent for an appointee to the Commission 9
requires a majority vote of the members of the Senate considering the 10
appointment under subdivision (c)(1) of this section. 11
(d)(1) In the event of rejection by the members of the Senate under 12
subsection (c) of this section of a person whose name has been so submitted, 13
the Governor shall within five (5) days after receipt of written notice from 14
the Secretary of the Senate of such rejection submit the name of another 15
appointee to fill such vacancy. 16
(2) In the event the Governor should within five (5) days 17
thereafter fail to appoint or fail to submit to the Senate for confirmation 18
the name of any person to be appointed, the members of the Senate who reside 19
within the district under subsection (b) of this section subject to the 20
appointment shall proceed to make the appointment of a Commissioner of its 21
their own choice by a majority vote of the members of the Senate who reside 22
within the district. 23
(e) A Commissioner shall serve a term of ten (10) years. 24
(f)(1) The General Assembly may, by a three -fifths (3/5) vote of each 25
house, amend the distribution of counties among districts under subsection 26
(b) of this section in the regular session following each federal decennial 27
census. 28
(2) If a redistribution of counties among districts under 29
subdivision (f)(1) of this section results in a Commissioner no longer 30
residing within the district he or she represents: 31
(A) A vacancy shall be declared by the Governor with 32
regard to the Commissioner who no longer resides within the district as a 33
result of the redistribution of counties; and 34
(B) A Commissioner shall be appointed under Arkansas 35
Constitution, Amendment 42, § 5 to fill the unexpired term. 36 SJR3
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1
SECTION 2. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 3, is repealed. 2
§ 3. Terms of office of members. 3
Upon the expiration of the foregoing terms of said Commissioners, a 4
successor shall be appointed by the Governor in the manner provided for in 5
Section 2 for a term of ten years, which term shall thereafter be for each 6
member of the Commission. 7
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 4, is amended to 9
read as follows: 10
§ 4. Removal of members — Hearing — Review and appeal. 11
A Commissioner may be removed by the Governor only as provided in this 12
amendment or for the same causes as apply to other constitutional officers 13
after a hearing which may be reviewed by the Chancery Court for the First 14
District Pulaski County Circuit Court, with right of appeal therefrom to the 15
Supreme Court, such review and appeal to be without presumption in favor of 16
any finding by the Governor or the trial court, and provided further, in 17
addition to the right of confirmation hereinabove reserved to the Senate, the 18
full membership of the Senate may, upon the written request of at least Five 19
(5) of its members that a member or members of the Commission Commissioner 20
should be removed therefrom, proceed, when in session, to hear any and all 21
evidence pertinent to the reasons for removal. The member or members 22
Commissioner whose removal is so requested shall be entitled to be heard in 23
the matter and to be represented before the Senate by legal Counsel. These 24
proceedings conducted by the Senate shall be public and a transcript of the 25
testimony so heard shall be prepared and preserved in the journal of the 26
Senate. The taking of evidence either orally or by deposition shall not be 27
bound by the formal rules of evidence. Upon the conclusion of the hearing, 28
the Senate, sitting as a body in executive session, may remove said member or 29
members of the Commission the Commissioner by a majority vote conducted by 30
secret ballot. 31
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SECTION 4. Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 5, is amended to 33
read as follows: 34
§ 5. Vacancies — Filling. 35
(a) Vacancies on the State Highway Commission due to resignations, 36 SJR3
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death, or removal, or a Commissioner residing outside his or her district as 1
a result of a redistribution of counties under Arkansas Constitution, 2
Amendment 42, § 2(f), shall be filled by appointment of the Governor for the 3
unexpired term within thirty (30) days from the date of such vacancy. 4
(b) Upon failure of the Governor to fill the vacancy within thirty 5
(30) days, the remaining Commissioners shall make the appointment for the 6
unexpired term. 7
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SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE AND IMPLEMENTATION. 9
(a) This amendment is effective on and after January 1, 2027. 10
(b) The changes to the membership of the State Highway Commission 11
under Section 1 of this amendment shall be implemented by the filling of 12
vacancies on the Commission as follows: 13
(1)(A) The Commissioner serving on the effective date of this 14
amendment whose term expires in 2027 shall, upon the expiration of his or her 15
term, be replaced by a Commissioner who shall reside within and represent 16
District 1 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 2(b). 17
(B) If a vacancy occurs in the position of the 18
Commissioner whose term expires in 2027 prior to the expiration of his or her 19
term: 20
(i) The appointment to fill the vacancy shall be for 21
the unexpired term; and 22
(ii) The appointee to fill the vacancy shall reside 23
within and represent District 1 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 24
2(b); 25
(2)(A) The Commissioner serving on the effective date of this 26
amendment whose term expires in 2029 shall, upon the expiration of his or her 27
term, be replaced by a Commissioner who shall reside within and represent 28
District 5 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 2(b). 29
(B) If a vacancy occurs in the position of the 30
Commissioner whose term expires in 2029 prior to the expiration of his or her 31
term: 32
(i) The appointment to fill the vacancy shall be for 33
the unexpired term; and 34
(ii) The appointee to fill the vacancy shall reside 35
within and represent District 5 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 36 SJR3
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2(b); 1
(3)(A) The Commissioner serving on the effective date of this 2
amendment whose term expires in 2031 shall, upon the expiration of his or her 3
term, be replaced by a Commissioner who shall reside within and represent 4
District 3 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 2(b). 5
(B) If a vacancy occurs in the position of the 6
Commissioner whose term expires in 2031 prior to the expiration of his or her 7
term: 8
(i) The appointment to fill the vacancy shall be for 9
the unexpired term; and 10
(ii) The appointee to fill the vacancy shall reside 11
within and represent District 3 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 12
2(b); 13
(4)(A) The Commissioner serving on the effective date of this 14
amendment whose term expires in 2033 shall, upon the expiration of his or her 15
term, be replaced by a Commissioner who shall reside within and represent 16
District 2 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 2(b). 17
(B) If a vacancy occurs in the position of the 18
Commissioner whose term expires in 2033 prior to the expiration of his or her 19
term: 20
(i) The appointment to fill the vacancy shall be for 21
the unexpired term; and 22
(ii) The appointee to fill the vacancy shall reside 23
within and represent District 2 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 24
2(b); and 25
(5)(A) The Commissioner serving on the effective date of this 26
amendment whose term expires in 2035 shall, upon the expiration of his or her 27
term, be replaced by a Commissioner who shall reside within and represent 28
District 4 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 2(b). 29
(B) If a vacancy occurs in the position of the 30
Commissioner whose term expires in 2035 prior to the expiration of his or her 31
term: 32
(i) The appointment to fill the vacancy shall be for 33
the unexpired term; and 34
(ii) The appointee to fill the vacancy shall reside 35
within and represent District 4 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 42, § 36 SJR3
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2(b). 1
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SECTION 6. BALLOT TITLE AND POPULAR NAME. When this proposed 3
amendment is submitted to the electors of this state on the general election 4
ballot: 5
(1) The title of this Joint Resolution shall be the ballot 6
title; and 7
(2) The popular name shall be "A Constitutional Amendment 8
Concerning the Membership of the State Highway Commission; Providing That 9
Each Member of the State Highway Commission Shall Represent a District 10
Comprised of Certain Counties of the State; Providing That a Member of the 11
State Highway Commission Shall Reside Within His or Her District; Amending 12
and Clarifying the Duties of the Senate Regarding Advice and Consent for 13
Appointments to the State Highway Commission and the Removal of 14
Commissioners; and Providing for the Implementation of the Amendment. ". 15
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