Latest news with #JohnPayton
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas lawmakers refer three proposed constitutional amendments to 2026 ballot
Rep. Matt Duffield, R-Russellville, and Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, present a proposed constitutional amendment to affirm Arkansans' right to keep and bear arms to the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) Three proposed constitutional amendments are expected to appear on Arkansas voters' 2026 ballots after receiving legislative approval this week. The House and Senate approved three Republican-led measures and sent them to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' desk: A proposal to affirm that the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 'is a natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed.' A proposal to allow the Legislature to create economic development districts throughout the state The Citizens Only Voting Amendment, to affirm that only U.S. citizens can vote in Arkansas, which is already the law All three proposals received approval from the House and Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs before each chamber voted on them. The Legislature is allowed to refer a maximum of three amendments to voters during every regular session. Lawmakers referred only one measure to the 2024 ballot, a proposal for trade-school students to be eligible for scholarship lottery funds, which voters overwhelmingly approved in November. The proposal pertaining to gun rights would alter the portion of the Arkansas Constitution that echoes the federal Second Amendment. The concise language of the amendment would clarify that the right to keep and bear arms extends to 'the possession and use of' ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components. The proposed amendment did not generate discussion on the Senate floor last week or on the House floor Tuesday. House sponsor Rep. Matt Duffield, R-Russellville, gave an eight-minute speech encouraging his colleagues to support the measure. 'At the end of the day, the Second Amendment and our own right to keep and bear arms in the Arkansas Constitution is not about hunting, it's not about sport-shooting and it's not about self-protection,' Duffield said Tuesday. 'It's about a citizen's last line of defense against tyranny, and it's part of our nation's DNA.' Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, was the Senate sponsor of the amendments pertaining to firearms and noncitizen voting. Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle, sponsored the Citizens Only Voting Amendment and told the House on April 7 that language in state constitutions that say 'every citizen' or 'any citizen' can vote is 'a floor rather than a ceiling.' '[Existing language] protects your right and my right as a citizen, but it's insufficient because it leaves room for other people to be added to that list,' Ray said. Noncitizen voting is already illegal in federal elections. Noncitizen voting in local elections is rare nationwide, but it has been legalized in a handful of cities, leading to backlash from conservatives. House Bill 1422, another proposed measure to further ensure citizens do not vote in Arkansas, failed in the House in March. The bill needed 67 House votes because part of it would have amended the state Constitution, and 53 Republicans supported the bill while 14 more did not vote. Rep. Diana Gonzales Worthen, D-Springdale, expressed opposition to both the bill that failed and the proposed amendment that passed. She told her colleagues both times that noncitizens do not attempt to vote because it would cost them their path to U.S. citizenship. Thirteen states — including Louisiana, Oklahoma and Missouri — have amended their constitutions since 2020 to specify that noncitizens cannot vote in those states. The amendments pertaining to noncitizen voting and gun rights passed the House and Senate mostly along party lines, while the economic development amendment had bipartisan support in both chambers. This proposed amendment defines an economic development district as 'a designated area within a city, county, or cooperative area established under authority granted by the General Assembly to promote economic development.' Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, introduced the measure in the Senate. 'What we're trying to do is level the playing field with our neighboring states,' House sponsor Rep. Howard Beaty, R-Crossett, told his colleagues Wednesday. '…It's going to allow direct local incentives to be made, potentially for retail, for housing, to clean up blight in your communities, and it's going to have the ability for local control, where your local communities can decide what's important to them.' The proposed amendment generated 45 minutes of debate on the House floor. Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, said she disliked that the proposal says 'loans and grants of public money' will support economic development projects. 'The taxpayer is who this will roll down the hill upon if it should fail,' Lundstrum said. 'I think this particular idea needs more vetting and more time.' Rep. Carol Dalby, R-Texarkana, expressed support for the measure. 'You come through Texarkana, you cross that state line and you see the economic development that happens in Texas,' Dalby said. 'It's not for lack of trying [in] Texarkana, Arkansas or Miller County, Arkansas. I guarantee you we fight constantly to get things into our district, and here's what we hear all the time: 'I can go across the state line and I can get a better deal.' Proposed constitutional amendments require a simple majority of voter approval to go into effect. All three amendments would be effective Jan. 1, 2027 if approved.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prison bill gains some traction in Arkansas Senate, but not enough to advance
Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, listens as Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, speaks in favor of SB 354 on the Senate floor on April 8, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) An appropriation for a new 3,000-bed state prison failed to pass the Arkansas Senate for the fifth time on Tuesday, despite gaining support from earlier holdouts. Senate Bill 354 aims to appropriate three-quarters of a billion dollars for the prison. But the $750 million measure has been stuck in the Senate for a week as the legislative session barrels to a projected close on April 16. Sen. John Payton, who previously voted against the measure, joined 20 of his colleagues in supporting SB 354 Tuesday because he said the executive branch addressed some of his concerns, including potential staffing issues. Prison appropriation bill remains stuck in Arkansas Senate Noting the success of a steel mill in rural Mississippi County in attracting roughly 2,000 employees, Payton said state officials have demonstrated their ability to recruit workers from long distances. He also credited Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for construction of a new state crime lab that he said is ahead of schedule and expected to come in under budget. 'I still can't promise you or guarantee you that it will be a success…but I can say that I'm willing to trust and give 'em a chance because they've proven to me that they have done their homework,' Payton said. The Wilburn Republican said he voted present the last two times as he processed the new information he received and ultimately chose to cast an affirmative vote Tuesday because he doesn't want to be the deciding vote. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Jonesboro Republican who has previously cast votes for, against and present, again cast an affirmative vote for SB 354 Tuesday, bringing the total to 21 votes for the bill. While that's the most support SB 354 has received thus far, an appropriation bill requires a three-fourths majority or 27 votes to advance out of the Senate. The proposal to construct a prison in rural Franklin County has caused controversy for months because local community members said they were blindsided by Sanders' announcement that the state spent about $3 million to purchase 815 acres near Charleston for the prison last fall. Supporters of the project, including Sanders, say the prison is needed to address overcrowding in county jails, which house state inmates because of a shortage of beds in state facilities. Opponents have criticized a lack of transparency and the cost of the project, an estimated $825 million. They've also questioned the feasibility of the construction site and the ability to attract a sufficient workforce. Sen. Bryan King, a Green Forest Republican who has adamantly opposed the prison from the start, on the Senate floor Tuesday argued the state 'embarrassingly' has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country because Arkansas has high crime rates. If crime isn't stopped on the front end, Arkansas will end up 'in a financial death spiral' because the state won't be able to build enough prisons to incarcerate sufficient people to escape it, King said. 'I'd still appreciate a no vote because we are not holistically taking care of the problem,' he said. 'This thing of building prisons and incarceration rates, if we don't take care of the crime rate first, it's like putting out the smoke instead of putting out the fire.' Sen. Breanne Davis, a Russellville Republican who has consistently voted in favor of SB 354, challenged an assertion by King that incarceration should be more of a shared partnership between the state and counties. King has repeatedly said larger counties that contribute to the majority of the state's inmates need to do more. The populations of jails and prisons are different, according to Davis who said the issue with overcrowding is that local law enforcement officials don't have a place to put people they need to arrest. 'I believe that would show that we need a facility to house prisoners so that people that are committing crimes that deserve to be in county jail, which again is different than prison, have a place to be in county jail; otherwise we just have criminals roaming the streets,' she said. 'I've got four kids. I mean I want to have a safe community, and we've got law enforcement officers, but we've got nowhere to put people who are committing crimes. So we're just turning them out, letting them go.' King agreed there's a difference between county jails and prisons, but he still had problems with the Franklin County prison project, including its estimated cost and his concerns that it won't adequately address mental health issues. King was one of nine senators who voted against SB 354 Tuesday, one fewer than Monday. Cabot Republican Sen. Ricky Hill, who has consistently voted against the bill, changed his vote to present Tuesday. SB 354's lead sponsor, Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, told the Advocate Monday he intends to run his bill every day until lawmakers conclude their work on April 16. If the measure fails to gain enough support by the end of the legislative session, Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, last week said he expects the governor to call a special session to secure the funding, according to the Saline Courier. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Iconic Restaurant Chain Is Making Some Big Changes To Revamp Its Image
2024 was a difficult year for the restaurant industry, but Applebee's has been suffering poor business for years. With the brand in dire need of a refresh, some locations are taking big steps toward a new and (hopefully) more profitable Applebee's experience to bring customers back. Major restaurant franchisor Dine Brands recently announced its "Lookin' Good" program to radically redesign 47 Applebee's locations. Among these, 30 remodels will be completed in 2025. However, Applebee's is not facing this rebrand entirely alone. Dine Brands will be combining five Applebee's locations with another one of its iconic chain restaurants, IHOP, to expand on a successful dual restaurant concept. Applebee's reimagining is meant to improve customer satisfaction with an updated menu focusing on value. These Applebee's locations will feature modern designs and kitchens streamlined for offsite business like take-out and delivery, which Dine Brands says now accounts for a significant percentage of its business. Read more: 13 Fast Food Onion Rings, Ranked Worst To First Plagued by a legacy of scathing Applebee's reviews online, the chain has already made several bold steps toward a rebrand. In 2021, Applebee's launched a branding campaign around country music after the song "Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes, which prominently features the restaurant in its lyrics, went viral. The song temporarily boosted Applebee's sales, but the benefits did not last forever. It's been a long slide down for a chain restaurant that was once at the forefront of industry technology. Applebee's was an early adopter of ziosks, the table-mounted tablets that let customers easily place and edit orders. These were available at some Applebee's as early as 2014. Another revolutionary concept that has performed well for Applebee's is its combination restaurants with IHOP. Applebee's/IHOP locations proved popular enough internationally that they were introduced to the U.S. last year, where, according to CEO John Payton, they generated as much as twice the revenue as standalone locations for either brand. Expanding this dual restaurant concept should help continue to grow Applebee's financial prospects. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal. Sign in to access your portfolio
