The bill amends Arkansas law regarding initiative and referendum petitions by introducing a "cure period" for sponsors to address any insufficiencies identified by the Secretary of State. Specifically, if a petition is deemed insufficient, the Secretary of State is required to notify the sponsor in writing, detailing the reasons for the insufficiency. The sponsor will then have thirty days to correct the identified issues. Following the resubmission of the petition or signatures, the Secretary of State must determine their sufficiency within ten days and notify the sponsor of the outcome.

Additionally, the bill modifies existing provisions related to the verification and counting of signatures. It clarifies that, except as provided in the new subsection regarding the cure period, signatures that are found insufficient will not be counted for any purpose. This includes the initial count of signatures, and if the count is below the required threshold after the deadline for filing petitions, the petition will be declared insufficient without the possibility of accepting additional signatures to remedy the insufficiency.

Statutes affected:
SB 398: 7-9-111, 7-9-126(b), 7-9-126(d)