Court Opinion

ID: 9652762
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 17:31:27.554594+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:53.524986
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, dissenting. It gives me no pleasure to dissent in a case where the objectives of the proposed initiated act are so clearly laudible. However, it is my duty and responsibility to point out the mistake that has been made by the sponsors of the proposed amendment and the majority of this court. I am in complete agreement with the majority concerning the law and precedent. My difference with them is in the interpretation of the popular name and ballot title. The popular name is short and simple-looking and clear, provided you know what a “lobbyist” is. Certainly the name does not explain the meaning of the word. To compound the error, the act itself uses the term in several different ways. The ballot title is supposed to give the voter a condensed version of the text of the proposal in sufficient detail to enable the voter to make an intelligent choice when voting on the proposal. Westbrook v. McDonald, 184 Ark. 740, 44 S.W.2d 331 (1931). The present ballot title does not meet this requirement. Most voters cast their vote with no more information than is contained in the ballot title. Publication and public discussion of the text cannot cure the defects in a ballot title. Since it is the single most influencing factor utilized by most voters in casting their ballots, it must be complete enough to convey the major components of the proposal. The ballot title commences: “A proposed act requiring lobbyist, as defined, to register with the Secretary of State if seeking to influence legislative or administrative actions of state government. . . .” Yet nowhere in the title is “lobbyist” defined or explained. By reading the text of the proposed act, one learns that indeed an ordinary citizen may be classified as a lobbyist by simply performing his civic duty to persuade his elected officials of the merits or faults of proposed legislation. The text defines a “lobbyist” as a person who “expends two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying. . . .” “Lobbying” is defined in the text to mean “communicating directly or soliciting others to communicate with any public official — with the purpose of influencing legislative action or administrative action.” The act does allow a citizen to spend two hundred and fifty dollars ($250), including postage, without being labeled a lobbyist, and consequently subjected to all the provisions of the act, provided the communication has first been filed with the Secretary of State or published in the news media. This smacks of censorship and prior restraint. It also is in direct violation of freedom of speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment. It would take clairvoyant powers to glean from the popular name or ballot title the fact that any active citizen who spends some time and money in an effort to keep in close contact with public officials might well end up violating the law. It seems to me we ought to be encouraging the citizens and their public servants to communicate instead of constructing barriers between them. Although perhaps unintended, the result is that only registered lobbyists will be allowed to sponsor “appreciation” dinners and receptions for legislators and other candidates and public officials. Since cities, civic clubs, churches and corporations are “persons” for the purposes of the act, they may be subject to the penalties of this law if they sponsor events with the intent of influencing public officials. Any group of persons who tries to block legislation or cause it to be enacted cannot expend more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in their efforts without being subject to the provisions of the act. The mailing of a thousand letters or brochures would place the group in the class of “lobbyists.” All persons engaged in “lobbying,” including ordinary taxpayers as well as professional lobbyists, will be subject to the prohibitions and penalties of the act. Average citizens who are interested in the performance of their public officials cannot possibly learn from the ballot title that they themselves are potential lobbyists. The term “lobbyist” as used by the media and perceived by the public means a person who works for pay rather than belief in a cause. It is a label which the ordinary person seeks to avoid. The act therefore will have a chilling effect on the relationship between the citizens and their public officials. The intent behind this proposal is worthy of much praise. However, good intentions alone are insufficient to present this matter to the people for a vote.