Ruling

Arkansas AG requests expedited appeal of LEARNS Act ruling

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday filed a motion to expedite his appeal of a circuit court ruling that delays the effective date of the LEARNS Act, the governor’s signature education legislation. Griffin asked that the state Supreme Court respond by 8 a.m. Friday.

Griffin filed an appeal on July 3 of an order invalidating the law’s emergency clause, which would allow it go into effect immediately instead of 91 days after the end of the legislative session.

Pulaski County Judge Herbert Wright last month ruled the law’s emergency clause is invalid because it was not passed with a separate roll-call vote garnering a two-thirds majority, as required by the Arkansas Constitution.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-07-13/arkansas-ag-requests-expedited-appeal-of-learns-act-ruling

Courts.Arkansas.Gov/Courts.Arkansas.Gov

Judge voids Pope County casino license granted to Cherokee Nation

by Talk Business and Politics (staff@talkbusiness.net)

The contentious path to building a casino in Pope County took yet another turn Thursday (Jan. 12) when Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox ruled that Arkansas officials “unconstitutionally” granted a casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses.

Gulfside Casino Partnership had appealed a November 2021 decision by the Arkansas Racing Commission to grant the Pope County license to Cherokee Nation Businesses and its Legends Resort and Casino company.

The Cherokee Nation proposal was approved in a narrow 3-2 Racing Commission vote after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled ineligible the Gulfside Casino Partnership proposal in late October 2021. The state’s high court ruled that Gulfside did not have an official letter from an elected official during the active part of the application process, while Cherokee Nation did.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/01/judge-voids-pope-county-casino-license-granted-to-cherokee-nation/