Ethics Reform Petition Drive to Start at State Capitol
By: Marci Manley, KARK 4 News
Updated: February 12, 2013
A push for signatures in support of ethics reform starts tomorrow, and the first canvassing effort will be inside the State Capitol.
The group made an effort to bring the issue before voters last year, but ran out of time to gather enough signatures.
In the run up to 2014, they're getting started sooner, by asking state legislators where they stand on the issue.
"These legislators are our voice. This is our democracy," said co-founder of the Regnat Populus Group and high school teacher Paul Spencer. "We want to be able to show the people in each Arkansas district how their legislators want to be remembered in history."
Among the changes to state law, the ballot issue would restrict legislators to a two-year cooling off period prior to becoming a registered lobbyist. It would also require corporate campaign contributions go to political action committees instead of individual candidates to eliminate a "co-op" of the democratic system, as Spencer says.
The group plans to publish a list of legislators who are willing to sign and those who decline to back the measure.
If you would like to participate in the canvassing effort, the group is meeting in the Capitol rotunda at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The group made an effort to bring the issue before voters last year, but ran out of time to gather enough signatures.
In the run up to 2014, they're getting started sooner, by asking state legislators where they stand on the issue.
"These legislators are our voice. This is our democracy," said co-founder of the Regnat Populus Group and high school teacher Paul Spencer. "We want to be able to show the people in each Arkansas district how their legislators want to be remembered in history."
Among the changes to state law, the ballot issue would restrict legislators to a two-year cooling off period prior to becoming a registered lobbyist. It would also require corporate campaign contributions go to political action committees instead of individual candidates to eliminate a "co-op" of the democratic system, as Spencer says.
The group plans to publish a list of legislators who are willing to sign and those who decline to back the measure.
If you would like to participate in the canvassing effort, the group is meeting in the Capitol rotunda at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
