Morning News
Group Issues Legislative
Agenda: 10-year-old organization tries to counter influence of
business, special interests
By
Trish Mehaffey November 11, 2002 Key
Excerpt: The voting-reform issue has three parts -- early voting to
include Saturday and Sunday, same-day registration and voting and
instant runoff voting, Tarvin said.The instant runoff voting would
allow voters to rate the candidates who are running, in the event a
runoff is required, he said. This would eliminate a need to go back
to the polls for a second time. The voter would simply put down who
would be his or her second and third choices. Full Article: A
statewide coalition of grassroots and community groups announced
Sunday five points of legislation it wants to be considered by the
next Arkansas General Assembly. Representatives of the 50 groups in
the Arkansas Citizens First Congress held a news conference on the
Fayetteville square to discuss this year's five points: �Ģ Voting
reform; �Ģ Funding for domestic-violence shelters; �Ģ Establishing an
Arkansas Department of Agriculture; �Ģ Stronger conflicts-of-interest
laws; �Ģ Hate-crimes legislation. Dustin Duke, steering committee
member of First Congress, said the coalition was formed 10 years ago
to counter the influence of big business and special interest groups
in state politics. The group is holding news conferences and events
across the state to gain support from citizens and legislators on
the five points. The Fayetteville stop is part of the semiannual
bus tour to promote the issues, and 15 other stops are scheduled
over the next few months in Arkansas communities. Ed Tarvin,
steering committee and Green Party member, said the group met in Hot
Springs in July to decide what issues to promote during the state's
next General Assembly which begins in January. One representative
from each group explained the five points during the news
conference. The voting-reform issue has three parts -- early voting
to include Saturday and Sunday, same-day registration and voting and
instant runoff voting, Tarvin said. The instant runoff voting would
allow voters to rate the candidates who are running, in the event a
runoff is required, he said. This would eliminate a need to go back
to the polls for a second time. The voter would simply put down who
would be his or her second and third choices. Tarvin said being
able to vote on "Saturday and Sunday makes more sense because people
can vote on their days off. These are much more in line with the
reality of our lives." Duke said the group chose domestic violence
as an issue because Arkansas has one of the highest rates of
domestic violence. Last year, 21 deaths were attributed to domestic
violence, he said, and Arkansas is third in the nation for husbands
or boyfriends killing women. "Domestic violence is the No. 1 cause
of (homicides) in Pulaski County," Duke said. This bill would
provide more funding for the 34 domestic-violence shelters in the
state, he said. The group is proposing a rate increase of $10 to $13
in marriage-license fees to provide about $1 million for the
shelters. Teresa Mauer, steering committee member and farmer, said
establishing a Department of Agriculture makes sense for a state
that is in the top 10 of agricultural states. Arkansas and Rhode
Island are the only states without an agricultural department, she
said. The department could provide new opportunities in marketing
and provide farmers with federal funds that are usually disbursed
through agricultural departments, she said. "It would provide a
voice for every farmer and be an advocate at the state level," Mauer
said. Laws on conflict of interest should be in place to ensure
that a member of any state board or commission doesn't have a
personal financial interest in the decision being made, said Jenny
Holt, steering committee and Sierra Club member. As it stands now, a
member of a state board or commission is not required to disclose
conflicts of interest, and this bill would remedy that. A
hate-crimes bill is being proposed in Arkansas because hate crimes
affect not only the targeted individual -- for race, gender, sexual
orientation or religious discrimination -- but also the whole
community, said Georgia Lance, steering committee and Lavender Green
Party member. When someone is the target of a hate crime -- the
offender is saying that person doesn't have the right to exist, she
said. While Arkansas does not now have hate-crimes legislation,
Lance said Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi and Oklahoma all do. |