09/25/2026
Arkansas ALERT: VOTE NO on Issue 3!
Folks , the REPUBLICAN State Senator who was lead sponsor of the bill that RAISED YOUR ELECTRICITY was the lead sponsor of Issue 3 .
Our Republican Governor should have refused to sign it.
Instead she approved it.
With a REPUBLICAN controlled government , this REPUBLICAN led issue, approved by the REPUBLICAN Governor is CORPORATE WELFARE ripe for corruption opportunities . ( Never mind the fact that ISSUE 3 conflicts with the Republican Party Platform )
Folks, we've been down this road before and a slew of REPUBLICANS got caught lining their own pockets with kickbacks from YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
ARKANSAS ISSUE 3:
BEFORE WE HAND GOVERNMENT MORE POWER OVER PUBLIC MONEY, REMEMBER THE GENERAL IMPROVEMENT FUND SCANDAL.
Remember the General Improvement Fund (GIF)?
Taxpayer money intended for public improvements became the center of a federal corruption investigation involving legislators, lobbyists, nonprofit organizations, bribery and kickbacks.
*REPUBLICAN State Senator Jon Woods was convicted on 15 federal counts and sentenced to more than 18 years in prison.
*REPUBLICAN representative Micah Neal pleaded guilty to conspiracy and admitted receiving approximately $38,000 in bribes.
* REPUBLICAN Jeremy Hutchinson admitted accepting 350 thousand dollars in bribes for directing GIF money to a business.
DEMOCRAT Representative Henry Wilkes plead guilty to taking 95 thousand in bribes to direct 245 thousand in GIF money to his business buddies .
Federal investigators documented how approximately $600,000 in public funds was directed through the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District to two nonprofit organizations in exchange for bribes.
This was not a hypothetical concern about government corruption.
It happened right here in Arkansas.
NOW CONSIDER WHAT ISSUE 3 WOULD AUTHORIZE.
The proposed constitutional amendment would allow the legislature to establish new economic development programs using public money for loans and grants.
( sound familiar?)
It would also authorize economic development districts with powers to:
• Issue bonds exempt from certain existing constitutional debt restrictions.
• Levy taxes, assessments and other charges on property within their boundaries.
• Receive public funding and financial support from local governments.
• Exempt property within their boundaries from ordinary property taxes, including school district property taxes, while allowing the districts to impose their own taxes and charges.
The amendment would also take precedence over conflicting constitutional provisions and judicial interpretations.
But Arkansas taxpayers have legitimate questions about how these programs would operate, who would receive the money and what protections would prevent another public funding scandal.
HERE IS MY QUESTION FOR THE LEGISLATORS WHO PUT ISSUE 3 ON THE BALLOT:
What specific safeguards would prevent public money from being directed to businesses or organizations with political connections?
Who would independently verify that recipients are legitimate, that projects are completed and that promised jobs are actually created?
Would every grant, loan, recipient and financial relationship with public officials be disclosed to the public?
What happens when a taxpayer-funded project fails?
And why are voters being asked to amend our Constitution before the legislature has enacted the detailed rules governing these new programs?
In other words, VOTERS ARE BEING ASKED TO AUTHORIZE THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK BEFORE THE FINAL IMPLEMENTING RULES HAVE BEEN ENACTED !
( sound familiar ? Nancy Pelosi saying we have to pass the bill before we can find out what's in it.)
The General Improvement Fund scandal demonstrated what can happen when public money, political influence and inadequate oversight intersect.
Issue 3 is a different proposal, and its passage would not automatically recreate the former GIF program. But the history of that scandal makes the need for enforceable accountability impossible to ignore.
Vote NO on ISSUE 3.
Because LESS Government is better government .
If you want real ECONOMIC GROWTH, you must first have ECONOMIC FREEDOM.
Free market enterprise and capitalism works when the government stays out of the way . -Jan Morgan
Jan Morgan Jan Morgan for Arkansas