The chairman of Arkansas Term Limits believes legislators are being deceptive and self-serving regarding a measure on the November ballot.
Speaking to several groups last week, including the Blytheville Rotary Club, Tim Jacob expressed his concerns over "The Arkansas Elected Officials Ethics Transparency and Financial Reform Amendment of 2014," a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment.
According to Jacob, the proposal would increase a state representative's potential time in office from 6 years to 16 and a state senator's from 8 to 16.
He noted the term limits of other state officials -- the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, etc. -- would not be affected by the measure.
"I welcome a debate about this issue," Jacob said. "Good people disagree. I have friends that aren't necessarily for term limits. I believe in them, strongly. But you can't debate if you're going to hide. Term limits is nowhere in the name. In the ballot title, they do mention it; it's the 139th word and 140th word. Good people can disagree, but this is deceptive. This is not what the vote is about."
He added: "They'd rather fight us and fool us rather than represent us."
Jacob said legislators have an opportunity this session to name it correctly or remove it from the ballot.
He contends the only ones in favor of the amendment are lobbyists and the legislators themselves.
"This is a self-serving amendment," Jacob said. "The Legislature has picked the name. We are trying to get them to at least say term limits in the name so that people know what they're voting on. All we're asking for is a fair vote. If we have a fair vote, this thing will go down again."
"You only hide things that you're ashamed of and they're ashamed of what they're doing right now in the legislature," he added.
Jacob noted the legislature tried something similar in 2004.
According to Jacob, that year, legislators offered an amendment on the ballot that claimed to enact term limits, something that would actually double the term limits agreed to by Arkansas voters in 1992.
"But it didn't say that; it said enact term limits," Jacob said. "We thought that was unfair because many people might think, 'I thought we already had term limits, but OK, I'm for it.' We don't want to fool the voters with something like this. We thought they should have said lengthen, maybe extend, double. Use words like that. But it came to the ballot and it said, enact term limits."
Jacob and others spoke against the amendment at different venues around the state, and voters ended up defeating the measure by 70 percent, which is more than the 60 percent that created term limits in 1992.
"Seventy percent of the voters is beyond a landslide," Jacob said. "We didn't say term limits; we didn't shout term limits; we roared term limits as voters in this state."
He pointed out the 1992 Constitutional amendment was the biggest yes vote in Arkansas history.
After its passage, Jacob said legislators took the issue to court, but the Supreme Court upheld term limits with a 7-0 vote.
"However you feel about this issue, I think it's best to trust the voters," Jacob said.
State Reps. Wes Wagner of Manila and Monte Hodges of Blytheville both voted in favor of the measure last April.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com