Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H3/14/23
2 94th General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2023 HOUSE BILL 1601
4
5 By: Representative Ray
6 By: Senator J. Payton
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO CREATE A LICENSE FOR A PAID CANVASSER; TO
10 REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO PROMULGATE RULES
11 FOR A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CANVASSERS AND FOR THE
12 LICENSING OF PAID CANVASSERS; TO AMEND THE LAW
13 CONCERNING PAID CANVASSERS; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY;
14 AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
15
16
17 Subtitle
18 TO CREATE A LICENSE FOR A PAID CANVASSER;
19 TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO
20 PROMULGATE RULES FOR A TRAINING PROGRAM
21 FOR CANVASSERS AND FOR THE LICENSING OF
22 PAID CANVASSERS; AND TO DECLARE AN
23 EMERGENCY.
24
25
26 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
27
28 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative findings and intent.
29 (a) The General Assembly finds that:
30 (1) Through Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, the people
31 of Arkansas have reserved to themselves the power to propose legislative
32 measures, laws, and amendments to the Arkansas Constitution and to enact or
33 reject the proposed measures, laws, and amendments at the polls independently
34 of the General Assembly;
35 (2) The citizens of this state have an expectation that their
36 right of initiative and referendum will be respected and that the process of
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1 gathering signatures of registered voters will be free of fraud, forgery, and
2 other illegal conduct by sponsors, canvassers, notaries, and petitioners;
3 (3) Historically, the invalidity rate for signatures on
4 initiatives and referendums has been high;
5 (4) From 2016-2022, the Secretary of State has reviewed
6 petitions submitted by at least fourteen (14) different sponsors of proposed
7 amendments, initiated acts, or referendums and found the validity rate of
8 signatures to range between twenty-five percent (25%) and thirty-six percent
9 (36%);
10 (5) Paid petition-gatherers are employed for their ability to
11 collect signatures and have an incentive to submit large numbers of
12 signatures to justify their employment and therefore have an incentive to
13 produce signatures for their sponsor even if the signatures are invalid or
14 fraudulent;
15 (6) Absent an effort to address these issues:
16 (A) Untrained political canvassers will continue to obtain
17 and submit high levels of fraudulent, forged, or otherwise facially invalid
18 signatures;
19 (B) Unscrupulous sponsors and canvassers will continue to
20 have an incentive to submit fraudulent, forged, or otherwise facially invalid
21 signatures and make false statements to the Secretary of State;
22 (C) The Secretary of State will be forced to expend extra
23 state resources to verify whether signatures are valid or invalid; and
24 (D) The general public will continue to lose confidence
25 and trust in the integrity of the initiative process; and
26 (7) Efforts to ensure training and competency of paid signature-
27 gatherers would make the sponsors and paid signature gatherers more
28 accountable to the people, facilitate the operation of the initiative
29 process, reduce fraud in obtaining signatures and filing petitions, conserve
30 state resources, and help restore confidence and trust in the initiative
31 process.
32 (b) Therefore, it is the intent of the General Assembly to create a
33 license for paid canvassers to prevent fraud and protect the integrity of the
34 process of collecting signatures on initiative petitions and referendum
35 petitions to increase public confidence.
36
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1 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 7-9-601 is repealed.
2 7-9-601. Hiring and training of paid canvassers — Definitions.
3 (a)(1) A person shall not provide money or anything of value to
4 another person for obtaining signatures on a statewide initiative petition or
5 statewide referendum petition unless the person receiving the money or item
6 of value meets the requirements of this section.
7 (2) Before a signature is solicited by a paid canvasser the
8 sponsor shall:
9 (A) Provide the paid canvasser with a copy of the most
10 recent edition of the Secretary of State's initiatives and referenda
11 handbook;
12 (B) Explain the Arkansas law applicable to obtaining
13 signatures on an initiative or referendum petition to the canvasser;
14 (C)(i) Provide a complete list of all paid canvassers'
15 names and current residential addresses to the Secretary of State.
16 (ii) If additional paid canvassers agree to solicit
17 signatures on behalf of a sponsor after the complete list is provided, the
18 sponsor shall provide an updated list of all paid canvassers' names and
19 current residential addresses to the Secretary of State;
20 (D) Submit to the Secretary of State a copy of the signed
21 statement provided by the paid canvasser under subdivision (d)(3) of this
22 section;
23 (E) Instruct the paid canvasser to provide the sponsor
24 sufficient information of the paid canvasser's identity to allow the sponsor
25 to obtain the criminal history and criminal record of the paid canvasser
26 within thirty (30) days before the date that the paid canvasser begins
27 collecting signatures;
28 (F) Obtain the criminal history and criminal record of the
29 paid canvasser; and
30 (G) Contact the appropriate authority in the state or
31 jurisdiction if a paid canvasser's criminal history and criminal record
32 indicate an open or pending criminal charge that constitutes a disqualifying
33 offense to determine the ultimate disposition or current status of the
34 charge.
35 (3) Upon filing the petition with the Secretary of State, the
36 sponsor shall submit to the Secretary of State a:
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1 (A) Final list of the names and current residential
2 addresses of each paid canvasser; and
3 (B) Signature card for each paid canvasser.
4 (b)(1) To verify that there are no disqualifying offenses on record, a
5 sponsor shall obtain, at the sponsor's cost, from the Division of Arkansas
6 State Police, a current state criminal history and criminal record search on
7 every paid canvasser to be registered with the Secretary of State.
8 (2) The criminal history and criminal record search required by
9 this section shall be obtained within thirty (30) days before the date that
10 the paid canvasser begins collecting signatures.
11 (3) Upon submission of the sponsor's list of paid canvassers to
12 the Secretary of State, the sponsor shall certify to the Secretary of State
13 that each paid canvasser in the sponsor's employ has no disqualifying
14 offenses in accordance with this section.
15 (4) A willful violation of this section by a sponsor or paid
16 canvasser constitutes a Class A misdemeanor.
17 (5) The sponsor shall bear the ultimate burden of proving that a
18 paid canvasser registered by the sponsor does not have a disqualifying
19 offense in an administrative proceeding or judicial proceeding.
20 (c) As used in this section, “paid canvasser” means a person who is
21 paid or with whom there is an agreement to pay money or anything of value
22 before or after a signature on an initiative or referendum petition is
23 solicited in exchange for soliciting a signature on a petition.
24 (d) Before obtaining a signature on an initiative or referendum
25 petition as a paid canvasser, the prospective canvasser shall submit in
26 person or by mail to the sponsor:
27 (1) The full name and any assumed name of the person;
28 (2) The current residence address of the person and the person's
29 permanent domicile address if the person's permanent domicile address is
30 different from the person's current residence address;
31 (3)(A) A signed statement taken under oath or solemn affirmation
32 stating that the person has not pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or been
33 found guilty of a disqualifying offense in any state of the United States,
34 the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, or any other United States
35 protectorate.
36 (B) As used in this section, “disqualifying offense”
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1 means:
2 (i) A felony;
3 (ii) A violation of the election laws;
4 (iii) Fraud;
5 (iv) Forgery;
6 (v) Counterfeiting;
7 (vi) Identity theft;
8 (vii) A crime of violence, including assault,
9 battery, or intimidation;
10 (viii) Harassment;
11 (ix) Terroristic threatening;
12 (x) A sex offense, including sexual harassment;
13 (xi) A violation of the drug and narcotics laws;
14 (xii) Breaking and entering;
15 (xiii) Trespass;
16 (xiv) Destruction or damage of property;
17 (xv) Vandalism;
18 (xvi) Arson; or
19 (xvii) A crime of theft, including robbery, burglary,
20 and simple theft or larceny;
21 (4) A signed statement that the person has read and understands
22 the Arkansas law applicable to obtaining signatures on an initiative or
23 referendum petition; and
24 (5) A signed statement that the person has been provided a copy
25 of the most recent edition of the Secretary of State's initiatives and
26 referenda handbook by the sponsor.
27 (e) A sponsor shall maintain the information required under this
28 section for each paid canvasser for three (3) years after the general
29 election.
30 (f) Signatures incorrectly obtained or submitted under this section
31 shall not be counted by the Secretary of State for any purpose.
32 (g)(1) It is unlawful for a person to pay or offer to pay a person, or
33 receive payment or agree to receive payment, on a basis related to the number
34 of signatures obtained on a statewide initiative petition or statewide
35 referendum petition.
36 (2) This subsection does not prohibit compensation for
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1 circulating petitions but only compensation for obtaining signatures when the
2 compensation or compensation level is impacted by or related to the number of
3 signatures obtained.
4 (3) A signature obtained in violation of this subsection is void
5 and shall not be counted.
6 (4) A violation under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
7
8 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 7, Chapter 9, Subchapter 6, is amended
9 to add additional sections to read as follows:
10 7-9-601. Hiring and training of paid canvassers — Definitions.
11 As used in this subchapter:
12 (1) “Disqualifying offense” means:
13 (A) A felony;
14 (B) A violation of federal or state election law;
15 (C) Fraud;
16 (D) Forgery;
17 (E) Counterfeiting;
18 (F) Identity theft;
19 (G) A crime of violence, including assault, battery, or
20 intimidation;
21 (H) Harassment;
22 (I) Terroristic threatening;
23 (J) A sex offense, including sexual harassment;
24 (K) A violation of the federal or state drug and narcotics
25 laws;
26 (L) Breaking and entering;
27 (M) Trespass;
28 (N) Destruction or damage of property;
29 (O) Vandalism;
30 (P) Arson; or
31 (Q) A crime of theft, including robbery, burglary, and
32 simple theft or larceny; and
33 (2) “Paid canvasser” means a person who is paid or with whom
34 there is an agreement to pay money or anything of value before or after a
35 signature on an initiative petition or referendum petition is solicited in
36 exchange for soliciting a signature on a petition.
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1
2 7-9-602. Licensing of paid canvassers — Secretary of State.
3 (a) A person employed as a paid canvasser in the State of Arkansas
4 shall hold a license issued by the Secretary of State.
5 (b) The Secretary of State shall:
6 (1) Have the authority to issue a license to an applicant for a
7 license to be a paid canvasser if the applicant:
8 (A) Submits an application in writing;
9 (B) Satisfactorily completes a criminal history and
10 criminal record check that does not reveal a disqualifying offense, as
11 defined under § 7-9-601;
12 (C) Completes all training required by the Secretary of
13 State;
14 (D) Passes the test administered by the Secretary of
15 State; and
16 (E) Pays all fees associated with the criminal background
17 and criminal history check.
18 (2) Offer in-person and online training for canvassers that:
19 (A) Is offered to:
20 (i) Applicants for a paid canvasser license; and
21 (ii) Unpaid canvassers;
22 (B) Is a minimum of eight (8) hours;
23 (C) Provides the canvasser a digital copy of the most
24 recent edition of the Secretary of State's Initiatives and Referenda
25 Handbook; and
26 (D) Explains the Arkansas law, rules, and procedures
27 applicable to obtaining signatures on an initiative petition or referendum
28 petition to the canvasser; and
29 (E)(i) Includes an examination that applicants are
30 required to pass to obtain the license.
31 (ii) The examination under subdivision (b)(2)(E)(i)
32 of this section shall ensure applicants demonstrate proficiency in the:
33 (a) Rules of the Secretary of State for
34 collecting signatures on an initiative petition or referendum petition;
35 (b) Law related to initiatives and referenda;
36 (c) Practice of collecting signatures; and
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1 (d) Procedure for submitting signatures to the
2 Secretary of State.
3 (c) Canvassers who are not paid canvassers may attend the training
4 offered under subdivision (b)(2) of this section but shall not be required to
5 comply with the requirements of subdivision (b)(1) of this section.
6 (d) The Secretary of State shall promulgate rules under the Arkansas
7 Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq. to establish the licensing
8 process under this section.
9
10 7-9-603. Grounds for revocation, suspension, or refusal.
11 The Secretary of State shall revoke, suspend, or refuse to issue a
12 license for violation of this s