July 2024

LITTLE ROCK – With the deadline for submittal of signatures on statewide ballot initiatives fast approaching, Attorney General Tim Griffin reissued guidance on the rules that govern the collection of signatures: “As the July 5 deadline for signature submission draws near, there will likely be many people across the state this week making a final push to collect signatures for various ballot measures. It is imperative that both voters and canvassers understand and adhere to Arkansas’s laws on the collection of signatures for ballot initiatives. This benefits all involved; it protects the signatures from being challenged legally and upholds faith in our democratic process.”

Let me start by saying I am not an attorney. I have been attending the city council meetings, workshops and special meetings in the City of Bull Shoals for the calendar year 2024. Each of these meetings has been met with angry residents yelling at members of the city council and the mayor.

The state Attorney General has sued two pharmacy benefit managers, alleging that they contributed to the dramatic rise in the abuse of painkillers that has ravaged Arkansas. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are companies that act as the middleman in transactions between wholesale manufacturers and the people who pay for prescription drugs, such as drug store chains, health insurance companies and government health care agencies.