BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE EIGHTY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THESTATE OF ARKANSAS AND BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, A MAJORITY OF ALLMEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO:That the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution ofthe State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the statefor approval or rejection at the next general election for Senators andRepresentatives, if a majority of the electors voting thereon at the electionadopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the Constitution ofthe State of Arkansas, to wit:SECTION 1. (a)(1) Citizens of the state of Arkansas have a right tohunt, fish, trap, and harvest wildlife.(2) The right to hunt, fish, trap, and harvest wildlife shall besubject only t 1 o regulations that promote sound wildlife conservation andmanagement and are consistent with Amendment 35 of the Arkansas Constitution.(b) Public hunting, fishing, and trapping shall be a preferred meansof managing and controlling nonthreatened species and citizens may usetraditional methods for harvesting wildlife.(c) Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to alter, repeal, ormodify:(1) Any provision of Amendment 35 to the Arkansas Constitution;(2) Any common law or statute relating to trespass, privateproperty rights, eminent domain, public ownership of property, or any lawconcerning firearms unrelated to hunting; or(3) The sovereign immunity of the State of Arkansas.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE EIGHTY-SEVENTH GENERALASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND BY THE SENATE, A MAJORITY OF ALLMEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO:That the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution ofthe State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the statefor approval or rejection at the next general election for Representativesand Senators, if a majority of the electors voting thereon at the electionadopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the Constitution ofthe State of Arkansas, to wit:SECTION 1. Governmental Bonds and Loans. (a) The maximum lawful ratesof interest on bonds issued by governmental units in the State of Arkansas asset forth in various provisions and amendments to the Arkansas Constitutionof 1874, including Article 19, paragraph 13, and Amendment Nos. 30, 38, 62, 65, and78, are removed.(b) The maximum lawful rate of interest on loans made by or togovernmental units in the State of Arkansas as set forth in Article 19, paragraph 13of the Arkansas Constitution of 1874 is removed.(c) Except 1 as may be established by the General Assembly pursuant toSection 8 of this amendment, there shall be no maximum lawful rate on bondsissued by and loans made by or to governmental units.SECTION 2. Loans by Federally Insured Depository Institutions. Themaximum lawful rate of interest, discount points, finance charges, or othersimilar charges that may be charged, taken, received, or reserved from timeto time in any loan or financing transaction by or to any federally insureddepository institution having its main office in this State shall be themaximum rate of interest that was applicable to federally insured depositoryinstitutions under 12 U.S.C. -- 1831u effective on March 1, 2009.SECTION 3. Other Loans. The maximum lawful rate of interest onloans or contracts not described in Sections 1 and 2 shall not exceedseventeen percent (17%) per annum.SECTION 4. Energy Efficiency Project Bonds -- Issuance -- Terms andConditions.(a) A governmental unit, under laws adopted by the General Assembly,may issue bonds to finance all or a portion of the costs of energy efficiencyprojects. The bonds may bear such terms, be issued in such manner, and besubject to such conditions as may be authorized by the General Assembly. Thebonds authorized by Section 4 shall be governmental bonds subject to theprovisions of Section 1 of this amendment.(b) Bonds may be secured by a pledge of the savings from the energyefficiency project and may be repaid from general revenues, special revenues,revenues derived from taxes or any other revenues available to thegovernmental unit.(c) The authority conferred by this Section 4 shall be supplemental toother constitutional provisions which authorize the issuance of bonds.SECTION 5. Definitions. (a) The term "bonds" means all bonds, notes,certificates, financing leases, or other interest-bearing instruments orevidences of indebtedness.(b) The term "Federal Reserve Primary Credit Rate" means the PrimaryCredit Rate, or such successor rate, as established by and in effect in theFederal Reserve B 1 ank in the Federal Reserve District in which Arkansas islocated.(c) The term "federally insured depository institution" means a statebank, a national bank, or a savings association, as such terms are defined in12 U.S.C. -- 1813 as such statute existed on January 1, 2009, the deposits ofwhich are insured by the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation, or itssuccessor.(d) The term "governmental unit" means the State of Arkansas; anycounty, municipality, school district, or other political subdivision of theState of Arkansas; any special assessment or taxing district establishedunder the laws of the State of Arkansas; and any agency, board, commission,or instrumentality of any of the foregoing.(e) The term "loan or financing transaction by or to a federallyinsured depository institution" means all direct or indirect advances offunds and moneys that are conditioned on the obligation of a person or entityto repay the funds and moneys pursuant to loan agreements, lease agreements,installment sale agreements, security agreements, notes, bill of exchange, orother evidence of debt or other instruments or documents evidencing theindebtedness and are made by or to a federally insured depositoryinstitution.(f) The term "loans made by or to governmental units" means all director indirect advances of funds and moneys that are conditioned on theobligation of a person or entity to repay the funds and moneys pursuant toloan agreements, lease agreements, installment sale agreements, securityagreements, notes, or other instruments or documents evidencing theindebtedness and are made by or to governmental units.SECTION 6. Miscellaneous.(a) The provisions of this amendment are not intended and shall not bedeemed to supersede or otherwise invalidate any provisions of federal lawapplicable to loans or interest rates including loans secured by residentialreal property.(b) All contracts under Section 3 having a rate of interest in excessof the maximum lawful rate shall be void as to principal and interest and theGeneral Assembly shall prohibit the same by law.SECTION 7. The ballot title for this amendment shall be:An amendment providing that constitutional provisions setting themaximum lawful rate of interest on bonds issued by and loans made by or togovernmental units are repealed; the maximum lawful rate of interest on loansby federally insured depository institutions shall remain at the rateresulting from the federal preemption effective on March 1, 2009;establishing that the maximum lawful rate of interest on any other loan orcontract shall not exceed seventeen percent (17%) per annum; authorizinggovernmental units to issue bonds to finance energy efficiency projects andallowing such bonds to be repaid from any source including general revenuesderived from taxes; providing that any federal laws applicable to loans orinterest rates are not superseded by the amendment; and repealing Article 19,paragraph 13, and the interest rate provisions of Amendment Nos. 30, 38, 62, 65, and78 of the Arkansas Constitution.SECTION 8. Nothing in this amendment shall limit the power of theGeneral Assembly to fix, from time to time, one or more interest rate limitson various types of bonds issued by and loans made by or to governmentalunits.SECTION 9. If this amendment or the application thereof to any personor circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the amendment and itsapplication to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is heldinvalid shall not be affected.SECTION 10. The provisions of this amendment, other than theprovisions of Section 4 of this amendment, shall be self-executing.SECTION 11. The General Assembly may by a three-fourths vote of eachhouse of the General Assembly amend the provisions of this amendment so longas the amendments are germane to this amendment and consistent with itspolicy and purposes.SECTION 12. The provisions of this amendment shall apply to all bondsissued and loans made after the effective date of this amendment.SECTION 13. 1 The effective date of this amendment is January 1, 2011.SECTION 14. This amendment shall repeal Article 19, paragraph 13, and theinterest rate provisions of Amendment Nos. 30, 38, 62, 65, and 78 of theArkansas Constitution.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE EIGHTY-SEVENTH GENERALASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND BY THE SENATE, A MAJORITY OF ALLMEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO:That the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution ofthe State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the statefor approval or rejection at the next general election for Representativesand Senators, if a majority of the electors voting thereon at the electionadopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the Constitution ofthe State of Arkansas, to wit:SECTION 1. Amendment 82(d) of the Constitution of Arkansas is amended to read as follows:(d) The General Assembly to may authorize theissuance of bonds bearing the full faith and credit of the State of Arkansas,if the prospective employer planning an economic development project iseligible under criteria established by law.