Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
                                           Act 951 of the Regular Session
 State of Arkansas              As Engrossed:       S4/6/21 H4/13/21
 93rd General Assembly                        A Bill
 Regular Session, 2021                                                             SENATE BILL 614
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 By: Senator B. Davis
 By: Representative M. Gray
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                                   For An Act To Be Entitled
                AN ACT TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING PAID
                CANVASSERS; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE
                COMPENSATION OF PAID CANVASSERS; TO DECLARE AN
                EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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                                               Subtitle
                         TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING PAID
                         CANVASSERS; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING
                         THE COMPENSATION OF PAID CANVASSERS; AND
                         TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
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 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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        SECTION 1.        Arkansas Code  7-9-103(a), concerning signing a petition,
 penalty for falsification, and notice of suspected forgery, is amended to add
 additional subdivisions to read as follows:
                (5)      A person shall not act as a canvasser unless he or she is
 citizen of the United States.
                (6)      A person shall not act as a canvasser unless he or she is a
 resident of this state.
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        SECTION 2.        Arkansas Code  7-9-109, concerning the form of
 verification for petitions and the penalty for false statements, is amended
 to add additional subsections to read as follows:
        (e)    A canvasser who witnesses signatures on a petition part but
 knowingly allows another canvasser who did not witness all signatures on a
     *MLD305*                                                                    04-13-2021 09:54:34 MLD305
     As Engrossed:        S4/6/21 H4/13/21                                            SB614
 petition part to execute a false verification affidavit with respect to that
 petition part commits a Class D felony.
       (f)   A sponsor, sponsor's agent, or representative commits a Class D
 felony if a sponsor, sponsor's agent, or representative:
                (1)    Knowingly pays a canvasser for petitioner signatures on a
 petition part not personally witnessed by that paid canvasser; or
                (2)    Knowingly submits to the Secretary of State a petition part
 where the verifying canvasser has not witnessed each signature on that
 petition part.
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       SECTION 3.       Arkansas Code  7-9-601(a)(2), concerning the hiring and
 training of paid canvassers, is amended to add additional subdivisions to
 read as follows:
                        (E)   Instruct the paid canvasser to provide the sponsor
 sufficient information of the paid canvassers identity to allow the sponsor
 to obtain the criminal history and criminal record of the paid canvasser
 within thirty (30) days before the date that the paid canvasser begins
 collecting signatures;
                        (F)   Obtain the criminal history and criminal record of the
 paid canvasser; and
                        (G)   Contact the appropriate authority in the state or
 jurisdiction if a paid canvasser's criminal history and criminal record
 indicate an open or pending criminal charge that constitutes a disqualifying
 offense to determine the ultimate disposition or current status of the
 charge.
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       SECTION 4.       Arkansas Code  7-9-601(b), concerning the hiring and
 training of paid canvassers, is amended to read as follows:
       (b)(1)     To verify that there are no criminal disqualifying offenses on
 record, a sponsor shall obtain, at the sponsors cost, from the Division of
 Arkansas State Police, a current state and federal criminal history and
 criminal record search on every paid canvasser to be registered with the
 Secretary of State.
                (2)    The criminal history and criminal record search required by
 this section shall be obtained within thirty (30) days before the date that
 the paid canvasser begins collecting signatures.
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     As Engrossed:        S4/6/21 H4/13/21                                             SB614
                (3)    Upon submission of the sponsors list of paid canvassers to
 the Secretary of State, the sponsor shall certify to the Secretary of State
 that each paid canvasser in the sponsors employ has passed a criminal
 background check no disqualifying offenses in accordance with this section.
                (4)    A willful violation of this section by a sponsor or paid
 canvasser constitutes a Class A misdemeanor.
                (5)    The sponsor shall bear the ultimate burden of proving that a
 paid canvasser registered by the sponsor does not have a disqualifying
 offense in an administrative proceeding or judicial proceeding.
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          SECTION 5.     Arkansas Code  7-9-601(c), concerning the hiring and
 training of paid canvassers, is amended to read as follows:
          (c)   As used in this section, paid canvasser means a person who is
 paid or with whom there is an agreement to pay money or anything of value
 before or after a signature on an initiative or referendum petition is
 solicited in exchange for soliciting or obtaining a signature on a petition.
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          SECTION 6.     Arkansas Code  7-9-601(d)(3), concerning the hiring and
 training of paid canvassers, is amended to read as follows:
                (3)(i)     A signed statement taken under oath or solemn affirmation
 stating that the person has not pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or been
 found guilty of a criminal felony offense or a violation of the election
 laws, fraud, forgery, or identification theft disqualifying offense in any
 state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, or
 any other United States protectorate;.
                         (ii)   As used in this section, "disqualifying offense"
 means:
                                (a)   A felony;
                                (b)   A violation of the election laws;
                                (c)   Fraud;
                                (d)   Forgery;
                                (e)   Counterfeiting;
                                (f)   Identity theft;
                                (g)   A crime of violence, including assault, battery,
 or intimidation;
                                (h)   Harassment;
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     As Engrossed:       S4/6/21 H4/13/21                                            SB614
                             (i)   Terroristic threatening;
                             (j)   A sex offense, including sexual harassment;
                             (k)   A violation of the drug and narcotics laws;
                             (l)   Breaking and entering;
                             (m)   Trespass;
                             (n)   Destruction or damage of property;
                             (o)   Vandalism;
                             (p)   Arson; or
                             (q)   A crime of theft, including robbery, burglary,
 and simple theft or larceny;
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      SECTION 7.       Arkansas Code  7-9-601, concerning the hiring and training
 of paid canvassers, is amended to add additional subsections to read as
 follows:
      (g)(1)     It is unlawful for a person to pay or offer to pay a person, or
 receive payment or agree to receive payment, on a basis related to the number
 of signatures obtained on a statewide initiative petition or statewide
 referendum petition.
               (2)    This subsection does not prohibit compensation for
 circulating petitions but only compensation for obtaining signatures when the
 compensation or compensation level is impacted by or related to the number of
 signatures obtained.
               (3)    A signature obtained in violation of this subsection is void
 and shall not be counted.
               (4)    A violation under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
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      SECTION 8. DO NOT CODIFY.         Severability.
      (a)   All provisions of this act, including all sections, subsections,
 and subdivisions, are severable and if any portion of this act is declared
 invalid for any reason, then all remaining sections, subsections, and
 subdivisions of this act shall remain in full effect.
      (b)   It is the intent of the General Assembly that the sections,
 subsections, and subdivisions of this act are severable, notwithstanding
 whether the act, section, sections, subsection, subsections, subdivision, or
 subdivisions at issue are:
               (1)    Meant to accomplish a single purpose;
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     As Engrossed:    S4/6/21 H4/13/21                                              SB614
            (2)    Interrelated; or
            (3)    Dependent upon each other.
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      SECTION 9.    EMERGENCY CLAUSE.       It is found and determined by the
 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that petition canvassers in the
 State of Arkansas have been approaching Arkansas voters without first passing
 the required criminal history and criminal record searches; that the use of
 canvassers who have not passed criminal history and criminal record searches
 poses a threat to the health and safety of voters who may give personal
 information to canvassers with disqualifying offenses; that this act protects
 voters from criminal canvassers; and that this act is immediately necessary
 because the Supreme Court's decision in Thurston v. Safe Surgery Arkansas,
 2021 Ark. 55, has invalidated the current version of  7-9-601, leaving
 voters with inadequate protections from criminal canvassers.        Therefore, an
 emergency is declared to exist, and this act being immediately necessary for
 the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety shall become
 effective on:
            (1)    The date of its approval by the Governor;
            (2)    If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor,
 the expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the
 bill; or
            (3)    If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is
 overridden, the date the last house overrides the veto.
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                                      /s/B. Davis
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                                 APPROVED: 4/27/21
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Statutes affected: 
Old version SB614 Original - 3-30-2021 09:02 AM: 7-9-103(a), 7-9-601(a), 7-9-601(b), 7-9-601(c), 7-9-601(d), 7-9-601
Old version SB614 V2 - 4-6-2021 01:23 PM: 7-9-103(a), 7-9-109, 7-9-601(a), 7-9-601(b), 7-9-601(c), 7-9-601(d), 7-9-601
Old version SB614 V3 - 4-13-2021 09:56 AM: 7-9-103(a), 7-9-109, 7-9-601(a), 7-9-601(b), 7-9-601(c), 7-9-601(d), 7-9-601
SB 614: 7-9-103(a), 7-9-109, 7-9-601(a), 7-9-601(b), 7-9-601(c), 7-9-601(d), 7-9-601
Act 951: 7-9-103(a), 7-9-109, 7-9-601(a), 7-9-601(b), 7-9-601(c), 7-9-601(d), 7-9-601