Senate committee approves change to avoid standalone, unchanged millage elections in odd years

The Senate Education Committee on an unspecified date approved an amendment to a bill designed to prevent standalone, unchanged school millage questions from appearing on odd-year ballots.

Senator Justin Boyd, sponsor, told the committee that the proposal aims to stop elections that have no practical effect: "If you have a millage that is unchanged, then having a vote on it doesn't change anything...basically, it was a taxpayer funded opinion poll," Boyd said. Lindsey French of the Association of Arkansas Counties joined Boyd to explain the amendment's wording.

The amendment narrows the change to odd-numbered years, where primaries or general elections are not already scheduled, and clarifies the appointment rule so an appointee must be a qualified elector of the school district. Lindsey French said the revised language "specifies they're only in odd numbered years" and that the committee was returning "a cleaner bill and a better bill." The sponsors said even-numbered-year primary and general elections would continue to carry millage questions when required.

Committee members took no extended debate and there was no public testimony recorded on the transcript about this item. The committee chair called for the question; the clerk recorded an affirmative voice response and the bill was passed out of committee.

The amendment's supporters said it will reduce the need to open polling places and spend public funds when the only item on the ballot would be an unchanged millage rate. No statutory citations were listed in discussion beyond references to a constitutional requirement that certain millages appear on ballots.

The committee moved on after the vote to nonlegislative business including introducing pages to the chamber.