Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to the Arkansas
Constitution.
1 State of Arkansas
2 93rd General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2021 SJR 2
4
5 By: Senator A. Clark
6
7 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
8 AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW
9 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO CONVENE IN EXTRAORDINARY
10 SESSION UPON THE REQUEST OF A MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS
11 OF EACH HOUSE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY; AND TO PROVIDE
12 FOR CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THE GENERAL
13 ASSEMBLY MAY EXTEND AN EXTRAORDINARY SESSION CALLED
14 AT THE REQUEST OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
15
16
17 Subtitle
18 A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ALLOW THE
19 GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO CONVENE IN
20 EXTRAORDINARILY SESSION UPON THE REQUEST
21 OF A MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS OF EACH
22 HOUSE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
23
24
25 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
26 STATE OF ARKANSAS, AND BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, A MAJORITY OF ALL
27 MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE AGREEING THERETO:
28
29 That the following is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of
30 the State of Arkansas, and upon being submitted to the electors of the state
31 for approval or rejection at the next general election for Representatives
32 and Senators, if a majority of the electors voting thereon at the election
33 adopt the amendment, the amendment shall become a part of the Constitution of
34 the State of Arkansas, to wit:
35
36 SECTION 1. Arkansas Constitution, Article 5, 5, is amended to read
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1 as follows:
2 5. Regular and fiscal sessions.
3 (a) The General Assembly shall meet at the seat of government every
4 year.
5 (b) The General Assembly shall meet in regular session on the second
6 Monday in January of each odd-numbered year to consider any bill or
7 resolution. The General Assembly may alter the time at which the regular
8 session begins.
9 (c)(1) Beginning in 2010, the General Assembly shall meet in fiscal
10 session on the second Monday in February of each even-numbered year to
11 consider only appropriation bills. The General Assembly may alter the time at
12 which the fiscal session begins.
13 (2) A bill other than an appropriation bill may be considered in
14 a fiscal session if two-thirds (2/3) of the members of each house of the
15 General Assembly approve consideration of the bill.
16 (d) The General Assembly, by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members
17 elected to each house of the General Assembly, may alter the dates of the
18 regular session and fiscal session so that regular sessions occur in even
19 numbered years and the fiscal sessions occur in odd-numbered years.
20 (e)(1) The General Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon
21 the written request of a majority of the members of each house of the General
22 Assembly.
23 (2) Upon the submission of one (1) or more petitions to the
24 Governor containing the signatures of at least a majority of the members of
25 each house of the General Assembly, the Governor shall issue a proclamation
26 convening the General Assembly in extraordinary session at the requested
27 time.
28 (3) The petitions submitted to the Governor and the proclamation
29 issued by the Governor shall indicate without limitation:
30 (A) The purpose for which the General Assembly shall be
31 convened; and
32 (B) The date and time at which the General Assembly shall
33 be convened.
34 (4)(A) No other business than the purpose set forth in the
35 petitions and the proclamation shall be transacted at the extraordinary
36 session until the same shall have been disposed of; after which the General
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1 Assembly may, by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the members elected to
2 both houses, entered upon their journals, remain in session for a period not
3 exceeding fifteen (15) days.
4 (B)(i) If the General Assembly has disposed of the
5 purposes of the extraordinary session under this subsection (e) and the
6 Governor has declared a disaster emergency applicable to all or a portion of
7 the State of Arkansas, the General Assembly may, by a vote of a majority of
8 all the members elected to both houses, entered upon their journals, remain
9 in session for the duration of the disaster emergency.
10 (ii) If the General Assembly votes to remain in
11 session under subdivision (e)(1)(B)(i) of this section, it may enact
12 legislation necessary to resolve or mitigate the disaster emergency.
13 (iii) The General Assembly shall adjourn the
14 extraordinary session within three (3) days of the termination of the
15 disaster emergency declaration.
16 (5) This section does not restrict the authority of the Governor
17 to convene an extraordinary session of the General Assembly under Arkansas
18 Constitution, Article 6, 19.
19
20 SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This amendment shall be effective on and
21 after November 9, 2022.
22
23 SECTION 3. BALLOT TITLE AND POPULAR NAME. When this proposed
24 amendment is submitted to the electors of this state on the general election
25 ballot:
26 (1) The title of this Joint Resolution shall be the ballot
27 title; and
28 (2) The popular name shall be "A Constitutional Amendment to
29 Allow the General Assembly to Convene in Extraordinary Session Upon the
30 Request of a Majority of the Members of Each House of the General Assembly
31 and to Provide for Certain Circumstances in Which the General Assembly May
32 Extend an Extraordinary Session Called at the Request of the General
33 Assembly".
34
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36
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