LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
The Arkansas attorney general’s office cleared the way on Wednesday for supporters of a ballot measure requiring government agencies to verify all those seeking public benefits in the state are legal U.S. residents to begin gathering signatures.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved the language of the proposed initiated act by Secure Arkansas, allowing the group to begin collecting the 61,974 signatures necessary to put it before voters in November.
Jeannie Burlsworth, a chairwoman for Secure Arkansas, has said the group plans to collect many of the signatures at polling places during the state’s May 20 primary.
If approved by voters, the proposal would require those older than 13 seeking public benefits from a state agency to sign an oath saying they live legally in the country. The group says those who falsely fill out an affidavit could face perjury charges. Verification would not be required for emergency medical treatment, prenatal care or public school enrollment.
Burlsworth said Wednesday she hopes to begin distributing petitions to supporters around the state as soon as Wednesday.
“We’ve got a real grassroots effort and we will get the signatures we need. This is just one huge mountain we had to tackle and we’ve got something in place to see this through,” she said.
Burlsworth said she hoped to boost fundraising for the measure and may hire workers to help gather signatures. Secure Arkansas said that it had raised only $800.17 in March, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state Ethics Commission.
Gov. Mike Beebe would not say Wednesday whether he supports or opposes the measure, but said that some of the proposals in the measure may already be included in state law.
“There are a lot of similarities with existing law and existing regulations between what the previous initiated act proposal had in it and what’s already the practice and law in Arkansas. ... To the extent it already is the law, it becomes redundant and to the extent that it’s different, people should have the opportunity to look at that,” Beebe said.
