By Chris Davis, Eagle View Contributor

On Tuesday, registered voters in Arkansas will rush to the polls to cast their votes for this year’s ballot questions. One ballot issue in particular will have the attention of quite a few. 

Ballot Issue Number 1 would amend the state constitution to give state lawmakers the ability to call the legislature (the General Assembly) into special session. 

According to the University of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture Research & Extension Public Policy Center, the speaker of the House and president of the Senate could  jointly decide to convene lawmakers OR two-thirds or more of the members of the Arkansas House of Representatives and Senate could sign a written proclamation calling for the special session. This would equal signatures from 67 of Arkansas’ 100 representatives and signatures from 24 of the state’s 35 senators. 

According to the  Public Policy Center, the state paid legislators $3.1 million in per diem, travel, and other expenses in 2021. That time period included all regular sessions and also two special sessions that lasted three days each. 

Some opponents of the proposed amendment suggest that allowing state legislators to call their own special sessions could be seen as a way for them to exploit that power; thus, this will end up costing the citizens more money. 

The ballot issue was referred to voters by the Arkansas legislature. Proponents have said that Arkansas is simply behind the times due to the fact that it is one of 14 states where only the governor has the power to call a special session. 

The main sponsors of the bill to place the proposed amendment on the ballot were Sen. Breanne Davis of Russellville and Rep. Frances Cavenaugh of Walnut Ridge. According to Ballotpedia, Davis said, “We wanted to ensure through [SJR10] that special sessions remain special by requiring a higher threshold to allow the legislature to call itself into special session. We also wanted to ensure that the legislative branch had the ability to call itself into a special session if necessary.”