Arkansas Amendment 1 (1996)
From Ballotpedia
Arkansas Amendment 1, described as the Establish a uniform minimum property tax millage rate for maintenance and operation of schools act, was on the November 5, 1996 election ballot in Arkansas as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. It became the 74th amendment to the Arkansas Constitution, and is referred to as Arkansas Amendment 74. It requires the state government to provide 25 mills of property tax.
In 2005, fourteen Arkansas school districts filed a lawsuit against the State of Arkansas contending that they were given less money than they should have been given under the terms of Amendment 1. The schools claim that in 2006, they should have received $16 million more than they did receive, saying also that the state uses money to offset general revenue dollars that should go to education.
An hearing was held before the Arkansas Supreme Court on May 21, 2009 on the merits of the lawsuit. The state's highest court is expected to issue a final ruling in the lawsuit in several months.[1]
The 2009 session of the Arkansas State Legislature approved a public school budget of $2.7 billion for fiscal year 2010 to cover the per-student "foundational funding" that is required by the Arkansas Supreme Court. $940 million of that $2.7 billion is supposed to come from Amendment 74 funds.
Election outcome
| Amendment 74 (Amendment 1 of 1996) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes
| 407,719 | 51.9% | ||
| No | 378,017 | 48.1% | ||
| Total votes | 785,736 | 100.00% | ||
| Voter turnout | NA% | |||
See also
External links
- 1996 Arkansas ballot measure election results
- List of Arkansas ballot measures from 1938-2006
- Arkansas public school districts
- Amendment 74
References
- ↑ Arkansas Democrat Gazette, "Justices question basis of schools' lawsuit over funding", May 22, 2009
