Shannon Newton
President, ATA
I’m sure you’ve noticed, it’s election season again.
Even if you don’t own a calendar, incessant commercials signal it. Candidates smile up at us from postcards in mailboxes or stand with their families in front of flags on television screens to make the case for how they will bring us progress or retrieve something lost. Do we like them, trust them, align with their ideals?
In addition to names, titles and political parties on the ballot, there are also issues. They’re numbered and nameless, making them harder to connect the choice we make to the future consequences. It’s not always apparent from ballot title language how each is relevant to our lives or livelihood.
There will be three issues on the Arkansas ballot this November, and while none of them may overtly appear like “trucking issues,” actually, each could impact our industry. Issue 1, referred by the Legislature last spring, would extend eligibility for Arkansas Lottery Scholarships to students pursuing technical education, including diesel tech or CDL training at community colleges. Good news for our workforce.
Issue 3 aims to ease and expand access to medical marijuana. It is funded by the marijuana industry with the intent to increase their market size in Arkansas. Ease of access inevitably leads to increased usage which presents safety challenges on our roadways and job sites and reduces the population of eligible professional drivers. All are bad news for our workforce.
Issue 2 is the most contentious and confusing measure on the ballot. It seeks to end a years-long dispute about a casino located in Pope County. To best explain what casino gaming has to do with trucking, we must go back to the 2018 election cycle and 2019 legislative session.
In 2018, Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment authorizing casinos in Crittenden, Garland, Pope and Jefferson counties. This became Amendment 100 and effectively allowed facilities in Hot Springs and West Memphis to expand casino operations and established a process for licensing new casinos in Pope and Jefferson counties. Despite lackluster support within Pope County, the measure passed with 54% of the statewide vote.
Expanded (and heavily taxed) gaming created a new source of revenue at a time when state leaders were crafting the highway funding package of 2019. The $300 million deal that was struck included several streams of revenue: increased gas and diesel tax, registration fees from hybrid and electric vehicles, making a once temporary half-cent sales tax permanent AND claiming a portion of taxes from the recently approved casinos.
Issue 2 seeks to eliminate Pope County from Amendment 100, reducing the number of casinos from four to three, thus reducing both the potential tax revenue and funds available for investment in Arkansas infrastructure. Until the casino tax proceeds exceed $35 million, the state’s general revenue is on the hook to make up any difference. Reducing the number of casinos and the tax revenue derived from them extends the burden on the general revenue fund and delays additional investment in infrastructure. Bad news for our highways and the office of our workforce.
All three issues will appear on the printed ballots, however, cases are still pending before the Supreme Court about whether votes will be counted. When I cast my ballot I’ll be considering what I believe is best for our workforce and our industry; for increasing access to scholarship funds, against reducing potential highway funding, and against expanding access to medical marijuana. It has never been more important to do your research and be informed about candidates and issues. Regardless of how you plan to vote, please plan to vote.
