Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas
2 94th General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2023 SENATE BILL 493
4
5 By: Senator G. Stubblefield
6
7 For An Act To Be Entitled
8 AN ACT TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION CONCERNING
9 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS; TO AMEND THE
10 DEFINITION OF "ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS" UNDER
11 ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 12, § 5; TO DECLARE AN
12 EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
13
14
15 Subtitle
16 TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION
17 CONCERNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS;
18 TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "ECONOMIC
19 DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS" UNDER ARKANSAS
20 CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 12, § 5; AND TO
21 DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
22
23
24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
25
26 SECTION 1. Pursuant to authority granted to the General Assembly by
27 Arkansas Constitution, Article 12, § 5(d), Arkansas Constitution, Article 12,
28 § 5(c)(1), concerning the definition of "economic development projects", is
29 amended to read as follows:
30 (1) “Economic development projects” means the land, buildings,
31 furnishings, equipment, facilities, infrastructure, and improvements that are
32 required or suitable for the development, retention, or expansion of:
33 (A) Manufacturing, production, and industrial facilities;
34 (B) Research, technology, and development facilities;
35 (C) Recycling facilities;
36 (D) Distribution centers;
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1 (E) Call centers;
2 (F) Warehouse facilities;
3 (G) Job training facilities;
4 (H) Regional or national corporate headquarters
5 facilities; and
6 (I) Sports complexes designed to host local, state,
7 regional, and national competitions, including without limitation baseball,
8 softball, and other sports tournaments; and
9 (J) Facilities for the retail sale of goods;
10
11 SECTION 2. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the
12 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that Acts 2019, No. 798, added
13 retail facilities to the list of projects that qualify as economic
14 development projects under the Local Job Creation, Job Expansion, and
15 Economic Development Act of 2017; that Acts 2019, No. 798, did not amend
16 Arkansas Constitution, Article 12, § 5, to include retail facilities in the
17 list of economic development projects for which a county, city, town, or
18 other municipal corporation may obtain or appropriate money; that this
19 discrepancy prevents counties, cities, towns, and other municipal
20 corporations from investing in economic development projects that would bring
21 much needed revenues and jobs to their areas; and that this act is
22 immediately necessary because counties, cities, towns, and other municipal
23 corporations are at risk of losing economic development projects, which will
24 negatively affect the job market and the tax revenues in the area. Therefore,
25 an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being immediately necessary
26 for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become
27 effective on:
28 (1) The date of its approval by the Governor;
29 (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor,
30 the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the
31 bill; or
32 (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is
33 overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto.
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