73. ARKANSAS TERM LIMITATION AMENDMENT.
Preamble: The people of Arkansas find and declare that elected officials who remain in office too long become preoccupied with reelection and ignore their duties as representatives of the people. Entrenched incumbency has reduced voter participation and has led to an electoral system that is less free, less competitive, and less representative than the system established by the Founding Fathers. Therefore, the people of Arkansas, exercising their reserved powers, herein limit the terms of elected officials.§1. Executive Branch.
(b) No elected officials of the Executive Department of this State may serve in the same office more than two such four year terms.
§2. Legislative Branch.
(b) The Arkansas Senate shall consist of members to be chosen every four (4) years by the qualified electors of the several districts.
(c)
(B) A member first elected as a member of the General Assembly before January 1, 2021, who completes his or her sixteenth year of service during a term of office for which he or she has been elected may serve until the completion of that term of office.
(C) The years of service in both the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be added together and included to determine the total number of years in office of a member of the General Assembly first elected as a member of the General Assembly before January 1, 2021.
(D) A partial legislative term served as a result of a special election under Article 5, §6, or a two-year term served as a result of apportionment of the Senate shall not be included in calculating the total number of years served by a member of the General Assembly first elected as a member of the General Assembly before January 1, 2021.
(E)
(ii) Subsequent service in the General Assembly under subdivision (c)(1)(E)(i) of this section shall be as provided under subdivision (c)(2) of this section.
(ii) A member of the General Assembly first elected to the General Assembly on or after January 1, 2021, who serves twelve (12) or more consecutive years shall not be eligible for subsequent service in the General Assembly until four (4) years after the expiration of the last term of office in the General Assembly for which he or she was elected.
(C) Consecutive years of service in both the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be added together and included to determine the total number of consecutive years in office of a member first elected to the General Assembly on or after January 1, 2021.
(D)
(ii) A partial legislative term served as a result of a special election under Article 5, §6, shall not be included in calculating the total number of consecutive years served by a member of the General Assembly first elected to the General Assembly on or after January 1, 2021.
§3. Congressional Delegation.
(b) Any person having been elected to two or more terms as a member of the United States Senate from Arkansas shall not be certified as a candidate and shall not be eligible to have his/her name placed on the ballot for election to the United States Senate from Arkansas.
§4. Severability.
The provisions of this Amendment are severable, and if any should be held invalid, the remainder shall stand.§5. Provisions Self-executing.
Provisions of this Amendment shall be self-executing.§6. Application.
(b) All laws and constitutional provisions which conflict with this Amendment are hereby repealed to the extent that they conflict with this amendment.
