Fourth and final try on a final constitutional amendment today -- UPDATE

After the Joint Committee on Constitutional Amendments referred HJR1004 out yesterday for consideration as the third and final constitutional amendment to appear on the November, 2010 ballot, we're back where we started. An agreement was struck yesterday afternoon to send the bill back to committee to adopt a friendly amendment that included language from SJR6, a competing proposed constitutional amendment. In the late afternoon, we heard objections from the Attorney General regarding the language of the proposed amendment. The friendly amendment appeared on an afternoon calendar yesterday and has been engrossed into the bill. However, we're bringing a new amendment into the committee this morning in hopes that the different interests on and around the committee agree with it and don't decide to go in different directions. Otherwise, this morning's 8:00 meeting may not produce a final proposed constitutional amendment.

Update (8:00 a.m.): We're now in committee and are in the process of adopting Amendment No. 3 (already engrossed late yesterday) and Amendment No. 4 (on the desks this morning) to HJR1004. Both amendments have now been adopted. We're now hearing an explanation of the newly-amended bill, which merges HJR1003, HJR1004, and SJR6. It deals with the following:

(1) Interest rates on governmental bonds and loans;
(2) Modifies the maximum lawful rate on loans not described in section 1 above; and
(3) Make savings from performance-based energy efficiency projects revenue under the revenue bond statutes.

It'll have a very long ballot title, but we'll leave that up to the groups who market this proposal to the voters. The ballot title is as follows:

An amendment providing that constitutional provisions setting the maximum lawful rate of interest on bonds issued by and loans made by or to governmental units are repealed; the maximum lawful rate of interest on loans by federally insured depository institutions shall remain at the rate resulting from the federal preemption effective on March 1, 2009; establishing that the maximum lawful rate of interest on any other loan or contract shall not exceed seventeen percent (17%) per annum; authorizing governmental units to issue bonds to finance energy efficiency projects and allowing such bonds to be repaid from any source including general revenues derived from taxes; providing that any federal laws applicable to loans or interest rates are not superseded by the amendment; and repealing Article 19, § 13, and the interest rate provisions of Amendment Nos. 30, 38, 62, 65, and 78 of the Arkansas Constitution.

Update II: The proposal passes unanimously. It will appear on this afternoon's House calendar after being engrossed. Assuming it passes, it will be voted on by the full Senate tomorrow, the last scheduled day of the legislative session. It will then appear on the November, 2010 ballot along with the other two proposed constitutional amendments that have already been referred. Assuming it makes it out of the legislature, it's unlikely that any of the groups helping merge this proposal will challenge it on account of germaneness. However, the risk still exists. This campaign will be well organized and financed, but I also suspect we'll see significant opposition as well. This will be interesting to follow in the coming year.

Update III: Speaking of the other proposed constitutional amendments, the Texarkana Gazette opines on the hunt/fish/trap amendment this morning. Its verdict: unnecessary.