The Constitution of the Republic of Arkansas (in outline)
I. The Legislative Department -
A. Legislative power shall be vested in the General Assembly of the Republic of Arkansas and the people of the same, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
B. Popular Initiative and Referendum -
1. Laws, either as statutes or as amendments to the Constitution, may be passed by referendum if petitioned for by 1/10 of the registered voters in the Republic or if initiated by the President of the Republic with the consent of the Senate. These initiatives must be certified as executable by the Attorney-General of the Republic.
2. After a referendum is initiated, the President of the Republic shall designate a day no sooner than one month from the certification of the petition or the consent of the Senate and no later than 6 months afterwards on which voters shall cast ballots on the matter. It may also be placed on the ballot
at the next General Election with the consent of the Senate.
3. In order to pass, it must be approved by a majority of the voters casting ballots in the referendum and by a majority of voters in each of more than half the counties in the Republic. If, however, the referendum is for an amendment to the Constitution then it must be passed by a majority of the voters casting ballots and a majority of voters in each of two-thirds of the counties in the Republic.
C. The General Assembly - The General Assembly shall consist of a House of Representatives and a Senate.
1. The Senate -
a. Composition-
i.The Senate shall consist of twenty-five Senators each representing one of twenty-five geographical districts of roughly equal population, as determined at the last census, and fifteen Senators representing functional districts. Senators shall serve terms of 4 years.
ii. The functional districts shall consist of multiple-member constituencies, each represented proportionally to the number of electors casting ballots in those constitutuencies in the previous election, provided that each constituency receives at least one seat, and elected in single-seat races at large by preferential ballot. Those functional constituencies shall be as follows: (1) Labor Unions (2) Healthcare Professionals (3) Educational Professionals and Students (4) Business and Finance Professionals (5) Civil Servants (6) Clergy and Charitable Non-Profit Workers (7) Creative Artists and Entertainers (8) Legal Professionals and Law Enforcement Officials (9) Service Professionals (10) Farmers and Agricultural Workers
iii. Each geographic district shall return one Senator, who shall be elected by preferential ballot (Instant Runoff Voting).
iv. Every voter shall be entitled to cast one ballot in a geographic constituency and one in a functional constituency. If a voter is not entitled to vote in a constituency because of unemployment or because his or her primary occupation is domestic, he or she may either vote in the functional constituency pertaining to his last primary occupation or in the functional constituency of his or her spouse.
b. Officers
i. The President of the Senate shall be the Chancellor of the Republic.
ii. Other officers shall be appointed by the Chancellor with the consent of the Senate from the members thereof.
2. The House of Representatives-
a. Composition -
i. The House of Representatives shall consist of fifty Representatives representing fifty geographic districts and an additional number of members appointed from party lists to make the House proportional in the manner described in the Appendix for the Additional Member System as provided for by this Constitution. Representatives shall serve two-year terms.
ii. Each of the geographic districts for the House of Representatives shall be formed by dividing each Senate district into two House districts of equal population by the shortest possible line.
b. Officers - The Speaker of the House and other officers shall be elected by the members thereof.
c. Impeachment - For high crimes or misdemeanors, the House of Representatives may impeach any person holding an office of trust or profit under the Republic. Such impeachments shall be tried in the Senate, with the Vice President presiding or, if the Vice President himself is being tried, with the President of the Republic presiding. In order to be convicted, the accused must be found guilty by a majority of the whole number of members of the Senate, who shall be under oath. Penalties issued by a court of impeachment shall not exceed removal from office and barring from holding public office, but the person so convicted may be held liable in another court for violations of the law.
3. Legislative Process -
a. In order for any bill to become law it must be passed by both houses of the General Assembly.
b. Once a bill has been passed by both houses, it must be presented to the President of the Republic who, if he agrees, shall sign it, but if not, shall return the same to the House in which it originated with his objections, which shall be entered on the journal.
c. If a majority of the whole number of members of that house shall vote again to pass the bill, it shall immediately become law on the signature of the presiding officer of the same, certifying that the law has passed.
II. State Department -
A. Composition -
1. The State Department shall consist of the President, Chancellor, Treasurer of State, Secretary of State, and Attorney-General.
2. Each of the State Department officers shall be elected by the people for a four-year term concurrent with the Senate by preferential ballot.
B. Responsibilities of the President
1. The President shall represent the Republic to foreign powers and at home in a ceremonial manner in accordance with the advice given him by the Executive Department.
2. The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic, but may not make or declare war except on the advice of the Executive Department and may not appoint officers except in the manner prescribed by law.
3. The President shall have the authority to call for new elections to the Executive Department when the same has lost the confidence of both houses of the General Assembly.
4. The President shall appoint all judges whose appointment is not otherwise provided for in this Constitution with the advice and consent of the Senate.
5. The President shall have power, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to grant pardons and reprieves for violations of the law, except to himself or any of his immediate family.
C. Responsibilities of the Chancellor
1. The Chancellor shall preside over the Chancery Court of Equity, which shall have jurisdiction over all cases pertaining to equity and to those cases delegated to it by law.
2. The Chancellor shall be President of the Senate and shall determine its agenda and appoint the members of all committees within the same.
3. The Chancellor shall act as President in the case of a vacancy, in which case he shall vacate the office of Chancellor and a Vice Chancellor selected by the Senate shall take the office of Chancellor.
D. Responsibilities of the Treasurer of State
1. The Treasurer of State shall maintain all records of the revenue and expenditures of the Republic and shall be responsible for the collection of all taxes.
2. He shall appoint the Directors of the National Bank of Arkansas in accordance with the charter thereof as provided for by law.
3. He shall submit an annual budget for approval by the General Assembly, which may alter no expenditures or statutory requirements as passed by the Assembly.
E. Responsibilities of the Secretary of State
1. He shall maintain all vital records of the state and administer all elections.
2. He shall be responsible for the maintenance of the Capitol grounds.
F. Responsibilities of the Attorney-General
1. The Attorney-General shall prosecute national crimes in accordance with the instructions of the Executive Department and shall represent the state at law.
2. He shall advise the various departments of government on the implementation and interpretation of the Constitution.
III. The Executive Department -
A. Prime Minister
1. Executive power as granted by this Constitution shall be vested in a Prime Minister of the Republic, who shall serve at the pleasure of the General Assembly for a maximum term of twelve years.
2. The Prime Minister shall be elected in the following manner:
i. Upon the vacancy of the office of Prime Minister, the Senate shall convene and cast ballots for the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Representatives.
ii. The two persons having the highest number of votes shall then be presented to the House of Representatives, who shall vote for one of the two candidates. The person having the highest number of votes shall be elected Prime Minister.
iii. The Prime Minister shall serve until either a vote of no-confidence passes both houses or a period of four years has elapsed, at which time another election must be held. No person shall serve as Prime Minister for longer than twelve years.
B. The Prime Minister may delegate executive responsibility to ministers appointed by him in accordance with the provisions of the law.
IV. The Judicial Department -
A. The Supreme Court -
1. Final appellate authority shall be vested in a Supreme Court of the Republic, which shall consist of nine judges elected by the people of Arkansas for twelve year terms.
2. After the first election in consequence of this Constitution, the Supreme Court shall, by lot, be divided into three classes, the first of which shall vacate their seats after four years, the second, after eight, and the third, after twelve, so that every four years one-third of the Supreme Court is elected.
3. Members of the Supreme Court must, in order to stand for election, be nominated by at least 1/5 of the members of the General Assembly from either house.
B. The General Assembly shall, by law, provide for other courts inferior to the Supreme Court having jurisdiction over national crimes and civil cases.
C. Municipal Courts
1. Judges: Each county and special municipal district shall elect a Municipal Judge to hear cases arising from municipal law. He may be assisted by other judges in a manner determined by each municipality.
2. Responsibility for prosecuting cases arising under municipal law shall fall to the Municipal Attorney, who shall be appointed by the executive of the County or Special Municipal District with the consent of the assigned legislative assembly.
D. Chancery Court - All cases arising from equity shall be heard by the Chancery Court. The Chancellor may be assisted by Vice Chancellors appointed by him with the consent of the President of the Republic as provided for by law.
E. Justice of the Peace Courts -
1. Each county and special municipal district shall be divided into townships, within each of which shall be elected a justice of the peace, who will have jurisdiction over all non-felony traffic offenses, inquests, indictments, and warrants of arrest and search within the township. Justices of the Peace shall be elected for four-year terms.
2. Appeal from a Justice of the Peace Court shall be to the Quorum Court and, after this, to the Supreme Court of the Republic.
V. Municipalities
A. Counties -
1. Territory and Jurisdiction - The Republic is divided into counties, each of which has sole municipal authority over the territory within in it, with the exception of military bases and special municipal districts as designated by law.
2. Legislative Branch -
a. Legislative authority shall be granted to the Quorum Court of each county.
b.Each county is divided into townships, for each of which is elected a Justice of the Peace who shall, in addition to their duties as Justice of the Peace sit on the Quorum Court together with an equal number of County Commissioners, who shall be elected at large in single-seat races by preferential ballot for terms of two years.
c. The President of the Quorum Court shall be the County Vice President, but he shall have no vote unless the Court is equally divided.
3. Executive Branch -
a. Executive power over the County shall be vested in a County President who shall be elected by the people of the county by preferential ballot.
b. In the case of vacancy, the County Vice President shall assume the office of County President. The County Vice President shall be elected by the people of the county by preferential ballot. When the Vice President assumes the office of President, the Quorum Court shall elect another person as Vice President to serve the remainder of the term.
B. Special Municipal Districts -
1. Territory and Jurisdiction - State law may provide for certain urban areas to be self-governing as Special Municipal Districts having the same authority as Counties and exempted from county control.
2. Legislative Branch -
a. The Legislative Power of a Special Municipal District shall be vested in a City Assembly, which shall consist of 35 members elected proportionally by party list for terms of four years.
b. President of the City Assembly shall be the Mayor of the City, who shall be elected by the people thereof for a term of six years. However, he may not speak on a substantive issue in the Assembly nor vote unless authorized to do so by a majority of the assembly.
c. In order for any ordinance to pass, it must be approved by a majority of the City Assembly and signed by the mayor or, if he objects, then by a 2/3 majority of the City Assembly in a second vote.
2. Executive Branch - Executive Power shall be vested in a City Executive who shall be appointed by the President of the Republic with the consent of the City Assembly for a term of four years.
Appendix: Additional Member System for elections to the House of Representatives
1. Each party shall nominate a list of candidates. Every geographical district candidate shall subscribe to one of the duly registered lists of candidates, and the leader and name of the party to which that candidate subscribes shall be listed next to him or her on the ballot paper.
2. When casting a vote for one of the geographical candidates by preferential ballot, the first choice of each voter shall be counted as a vote for the party list to which the preferred candidate subscribes. In order for the votes for a list to be tallied in the overall percentage, that list must receive at least 5% of the total number of ballots cast or one geographical district seat.
3. The party whose geographical candidates received the highest number of seats (or, if this tied, then the one which received the highest number of seats and the lowest percentage) receives one candidate from his party list of candidates. This sum (geographical seats + 1) is divided by the percentage of votes won as first-choice preferences received by candidates from that party throughout the Republic.
4. This quotient is then multiplied by the percentage earned by each of the other parties who qualified to have their party votes counted. From this product is subtracted the number of geographical seats won by that party, and the resulting difference is the number of seats allotted to that party from their party list.
5. The seats allotted by party list to each party are filled in an order determined by the party itself according to its by-laws.
6. Each party list is limited to fifty members, but the number of members in House may change from election to election.
EXAMPLE: GEOGRAPHICAL SEATS PERCENTAGE LIST SEATS Total Seats
CONSERVATIVE 28 39 1 29
LIBERAL 20 35 6 26
NATIONALIST 1 17 12 13
SOCIALIST 1 9 6 7
75 Members
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