Issue 4 is on the November ballot and I’ll be voting NO.
It authorizes up to $500 million in state general, obligation bonds so the ANRC can make loans and grants for water systems, sewers, irrigation, wetlands, and pollution projects. Everyone agrees Arkansas is billions behind on infrastructure. We are currently over 10 billion behind in these needs.
The problem is how this is structured. 60 of our 75 counties are already struggling to pay their bills. A loan plus interest is still debt they have to service. Vague language leaves open who gets cheap loans versus grants and how projects are chosen. That creates room for mistakes that set communities further back instead of helping them.
The process also concentrates power. Before bonds can be sold in any two year window, the Commission sends the Governor a plan with selection criteria and a requested amount. The Governor consults the Chief Fiscal Officer and the Legislative Council, then decides whether to authorize the sale.
Combined with Issue 3’s economic development language, that looks a lot like making it easier for the current administration to steer large projects, data centers or whatever comes next, into communities whether they’re ready or not.
I don’t trust handing this Governor that kind of discretion over hundreds of millions in state backed debt. We need infrastructure upgrades. We don’t need another vaguely worded bond program that adds debt and centralizes the decisions. That is why I will be a NO on Issue 4.