Amendments filed to select Supreme Court Justices, extend county terms

Arkansas voters may decide next year on a plan to select – versus elect – the state’s Supreme Court justices, if a constitutional amendment proposal is referred to the voters by the legislature.

Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, filed House Joint Resolution 1005 Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol. Justices on the Arkansas Supreme Court and other judges are elected on a non-partisan basis.

The proposed amendment would change state law by creating a selection process and retention system for members of the state’s highest court. A 15-member Judicial Nominating Commission would choose Supreme Court Justices through a merit selection system. The commission would have six members appointed by the governor, one member each by the House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore, six members of the Arkansas Bar Association and one member “selected by not less than eight members of the commission.”

Shepherd says the proposal would allow the commission to submit three names to the Governor for a Supreme Court justice position, with the Governor selecting one of the choices for an eight-year term on the high court. Once selected, Supreme Court judges could remain in office if voters retain them at the ballot.

“At the general election next before his or her term expires, a justice of the Supreme Court may seek retention in office by filing with the Secretary of State not less than 120 days before the date of the general election a declaration of candidacy to succeed himself or herself as a justice of the Supreme Court,” Shepherd’s proposed amendment states.

The retention system would involve having a “Yes” or “No” column on the ballot with the words, “Shall (Justice ?) be retained in office?”

“If the decision is yes, the justice …. Shall be retained in office for an eight-year term. If the decision is no or if no declaration of candidacy is filed, the office shall be vacant upon expiration of the term then being served,” the measure reads.

A justice not retained by voters would not be eligible for appointment and there would be unlimited terms on retention “except for retirement as may be provided by the General Assembly for a maximum retirement age,” according to the proposal.

If the resolution is referred to voters for the Nov. 2016 election and approved, it would take effect Jan. 1, 2017.

NEW AMENDMENT PROPOSALS
There were three other proposed constitutional amendments filed Tuesday, a day ahead of the deadline for filing proposals.
They include:
• House Joint Resolution 1004, sponsored by Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena. The bill would “propose an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution providing that state funds expended in support of public education not exceed a certain percentage of overall state expenditures.

• Senate Joint Resolution 1005, sponsored by Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest. The bill would extend the terms of all county officials from two to four years, allow quorum courts to refer to voters whether or not justices would serve two or four year terms and ban county officials from being elected or appointed to another civil office in the state.

• Senate Joint Resolution 6, sponsored by Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale. The bill would create an amendment in which lottery proceeds shall be used solely to pay “the operating expenses of lotteries, to fund or provide for scholarships and grants to citizens of this state enrolled in public or private non-profit two year or four year colleges.

Wednesday is the deadline for legislators to turn in proposed amendments to be considered for the 2016 general election.

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
The House State Agencies and Governmental Agencies committee is scheduled to take up House Bill 1113 at a 10 a.m. hearing Wednesday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, would eliminate the dual status of a state holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

The bill failed in committee earlier this session and Bell said last week he and Rep. Fred Love, D-Little Rock, were working to get the “overall bill accomplished.”

The following is a list of committee meetings scheduled Wednesday in the Arkansas General Assembly:
• Joint Committees
9 a.m. – Joint Budget Committee, Room A, MAC

• House Committees
10 a.m. – Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs, Room 130.
10 a.m. – Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, Room 138.
10 a.m. – City, County and Local Affairs, Room B, MAC.
10 a.m. – Insurance and Commerce, Room 149.
10 a.m. – State Agencies and Governmental Affairs, Room 151.
12 p.m. – Rules, Room B, MAC.

• Senate Committees
10 a.m. – Education, Room 207.
10 a.m. – Judiciary, Room 171.
10 a.m. – Public Health, Welfare and Labor, Room 272.
10 a.m. – Revenue and Taxation, OSC.
10 minutes after adjournment – Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs, Room 309.

The House and Senate will convene at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.