On Oct. 18 the Arkansas Supreme Court released its ruling that the votes on Issue 1 (“tort reform”) will NOT be counted on the Nov. 6, 2018 general election ballot. By a 6-1 vote, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s decision that the legislature improperly referred Issue 1 in violation of Art. 19, Sec. 22’s separate-vote requirement and its three-amendment per election limitation. The Court based that determination on its conclusion that the four sections of Issue 1 are not “reasonably germane” to each other or to a “general subject” under the test established by Forrester v. Martin. The Supreme Court’s ruling means that while Issue 1 will appear on the ballot, the Secretary of State is prohibited from counting the votes.
The Arkansas Trucking Association worked diligently through the Arkansans for Jobs and Justice Coalition and proudly collaborated with a diverse group of individuals and interests – including, but not limited to, the Arkansas State Chamber, the Arkansas Hospital Association, the Arkansas Medical Society, the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Health Care Association and the Poultry Federation – to amend our Constitution to allow Arkansas to grow jobs, improve our healthcare system and stabilize costs of doing business in this litigious environment. This coalition has worked extremely hard and spent nearly $3 million dollars to educate Arkansas voters.