Farm lobby cites benefits of Arkansas’s existing term limits laws

Arkansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest agricultural advocacy organization, announced Thursday that it has joined the Arkansans for Common-Sense Term Limits Coalition and will oppose Issue 3 on the November ballot.

Citing existing term limits that apply to members of the Arkansas General Assembly and current membership-defined policy that opposes stricter term limits, Farm Bureau’s board of directors voted Wednesday afternoon to join the coalition.

“The term limits Arkansas’s citizens passed in 2014 are strict enough,” said Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach, a third-generation farmer from Manila (Mississippi County). “The thought that an out-of-state group can dump a half-million dollars in our state to push their national agenda is disturbing.”

The Issue 3 campaign would lead to virtually all existing legislators being forced to leave the General Assembly by 2022. “That means the influence of legislative staff, lobbyists and career bureaucrats will dramatically increase,” said Veach. “The impact would be felt especially hard in rural areas because of the time and smaller pool of people willing to run for public office.

“If Issue 3 were to somehow pass, Arkansas would be saddled with the most severe term limits in the country.”

The measure would also prohibit the legislature from addressing term limits in a future amendment proposal, an unprecedented restriction on legislative authority.

“As a matter of policy, we support lengthening the existing term of service eligible under current term limits law,” Veach said.

Farm Bureau will work to educate its membership on the dangers of Issue 3, and point out pitfalls created by the measure.

Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of more than 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.

For more information, contact:

Steve Eddington
(501) 228-1383
steve.eddington@arfb.com

or

Rob Anderson
(501) 228-1640
rob.anderson@arfb.com