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House panel approves bill requiring short fiscal-impact statements on statewide ballot measures

2589076 · March 12, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The House committee advanced legislation that would require a short, plain-language fiscal impact statement on statewide ballot measures, bringing Arkansas in line with a number of other states. Sponsors said the change will give voters a clearer picture of costs; opponents raised concerns about space limits and timing.

A House committee voted to pass as amended legislation that would require the Division of Finance and Administration to prepare a short, plain-language fiscal impact statement for statewide ballot measures, including citizen initiatives and legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

Representative Ray, sponsor of House Bill 16 37, told the committee the measure would place a “short, succinct fiscal impact statement” on the ballot so voters know the likely costs of a proposal before they vote. “When someone brings you an idea for a bill, the first thing we ask is, ‘How much is this going to cost?’” Ray said. “Voters deserve that…

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