§ Ark. Code § 7-9-128Fiscal impact statement

(a) Within ten (10) business days of a sponsor submitting an original draft under § 7-9-107,
the Attorney General shall determine if the proposed measure has a financial impact by virtue of:
(1) Increasing or decreasing state revenues, costs, expenditures, or indebtedness; or
(2) Establishing, repealing, or modifying one (1) or more taxes.
(b) If the Attorney General certifies a ballot title and popular name under § 7-9-107(d) and he
or she determines that the proposed measure has a financial impact under subsection (a) of this
section, he or she shall refer the proposed measure and the certified ballot title and popular name
within three (3) business days to the Department of Finance and Administration.
(c) Upon the referral of a proposed measure under subsection (b) of this section, the
department shall prepare an unbiased, good faith fiscal impact statement for the proposed
measure, not exceeding one hundred (100) words plus one hundred (100) additional words per
revenue source created or impacted by the proposed measure, that contains:
(1) A description of the total estimated fiscal impact of the proposed measure over the time
period or time periods determined by the department to be most useful in understanding the
estimated fiscal impact of the proposed measure;
(2) If the proposed measure would increase taxes, decrease taxes, or impose a new tax, a dollar
amount representing the total estimated increase or decrease for each type of tax affected under
the proposed measure, a dollar amount showing the estimated amount of a new tax, and a dollar
amount representing the total estimated increase or decrease in taxes under the proposed
measure;
(3) If the proposed measure would increase a particular tax or tax rate, the tax percentage
difference and the tax percentage increase for each tax or tax rate increased;
(4) If the proposed measure would result in the issuance or a change in the status of bonds,
notes, or other debt instruments, a dollar amount representing the total estimated increase or
decrease in public debt under the proposed law;
(5) A dollar amount representing the estimated cost or savings, if any, to state government
entities under the proposed measure;
(6) If the proposed measure would increase costs to state government, a listing of all sources
of funding for the estimated costs; and
(7) A concise description and analysis titled “Funding Source”, not to exceed one hundred (100)
words for each funding source, of the funding source information.
(d) Following the certification of a ballot title and popular name under § 7-9-107(d), the
sponsor of the proposed measure may provide information to the department that he or she
believes would assist the department in preparing the unbiased, good faith fiscal impact
statement under subsection (c) of this section.
(e) If the department requests information from a state agency or other public entity that is
necessary for the completion of the fiscal impact statement under this section, the state agency
or other public entity shall provide the requested information by the date identified by the
department.
(f) If the department determines that the fiscal impact of the proposed measure cannot be
determined, the department may indicate that the fiscal impact cannot be determined in the
fiscal impact statement.
(g) The department shall forward the fiscal impact statement under subsection (c) of this
section to the Secretary of State by the seventy-sixth day before the general election.
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INITIATIVES, REFERENDA, ETC.
7-9-203
(h)(1) If the fiscal impact statement under subsection (c) of this section exceeds two hundred
(200) words, the department shall prepare an additional version of the fiscal impact statement
that does not exceed two hundred (200) words.
(2) The version of the fiscal impact statement that does not exceed two hundred (200) words
shall be included on the ballot under § 7-9-117(d) in lieu of the version of the fiscal impact
statement exceeding two hundred (200) words.
(i) The sponsor of a proposed measure shall not be charged any costs associated with the
preparation of the fiscal impact statement under this section.
(j) When determining the number of words in a fiscal impact statement under this section, the
department shall not include numerals and associated special characters in the word count,
including without limitation dollar signs and percentage symbols.