The Balance Wheel: Fall 2003
Little Solutions to Big Problems
Arkansas’ Successful 1/8 Conservation Sales Tax
Offers Template for Other States
background | must-do's
| sourcebook
By: Steve Wilson
Quite honestly when I agreed to give a presentation on
Arkansas’s 1/8 cent conservation sales tax initiative at the 2003 ACI
conference this summer, I didn’t expect there to be much interest from
many other states. But, after arriving at the conference and hearing
all the horror stories of employee layoffs, budget cuts, and entire
programs being eliminated, it was no shock to find my room full of folks
desperate to find some solutions.
State wildlife and conservation agencies across the country
are suffering budget problems because they always seem to be at the
end of the line when legislatures hand out tax dollars for what are
perceived to be greater societal needs such as education, prisons, medical
care, infrastructure, and just about anything else on the list. Arkansas
was a little different due to an amendment in the state’s constitution
passed by the public in 1944 . While this amendment gave the Arkansas
Game and Fish Commission the independence it wanted, it limited it’s
funding to only those revenues derived through the sale of hunting and
fishing licenses, permits, and other fees related to hunting and fishing.
In other words, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission couldn’t receive
any general tax money even if the legislature wanted to give it to us.
With hunting and fishing licenses sales leveling off and the cost of
doing business on the increase, it didn’t take us very long to start
looking for some type of long-term solution to our problem and we didn’t
have to look very far to find it. We looked north of our border to the
“Show Me” state, Missouri.
In 1976, Missouri voters adopted a state constitutional
amendment which raised the general sales tax by 1/8th-cent and dedicated
that revenue to their politically independent Department of Conservation.
After many considerations to solve our budget problems with band-aid
solutions such as licenses increases, voluntary donations, check-off
programs, excise taxes on sporting goods, etc. a 1/8 –cent conservation
sales tax seemed to be the only real solution for the Arkansas Game
and Fish Commission to survive in the future.
This endeavor really involves two separate campaigns.
One is getting an initiative on the ballet for public vote and the other
is getting a majority of the public to vote for a tax increase. In Arkansas
there are a couple of ways to get an initiative on the ballot. You can
gather signatures on a petition requiring signatures of at least 10%
of the registered voters in the state OR the legislature can appoint
up to three initiatives for the ballot during their legislative session.
Arkansas succeeded in obtaining enough petition signatures
to put an initiated constitutional amendment on the 1984 general election
ballot. But, the public would not approve a 1/8-cent sales tax designated
for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The vote failed by a margin
of 55 to 45.
After an attempt in 1986 to gather enough petition signatures
was aborted due to a technical interpretation of a new federal law threatening
the state’s food stamp program, the agency decided to re-evaluate their
approach and develop a new strategy for another run at it in 1994. The
Commission worked closely with members of the General Assembly with
hopes of convincing them to select it as one of their three amendments
for the November 1994 general election ballot. Since the first attempt
to acquire the tax, the Commission agreed to diversify and offer to
share the 1/8-cent tax money with three other state agencies in dire
need of funding. The Game and Fish Commission and the state Parks and
Tourism Department agreed to share the proceeds of a 1/8-cent tax increase
and even broadened their reach by including two other constituencies---the
Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Keep Arkansas Beautiful program.
It worked. Getting it on the 1994 general election ballot, that is.
While the General Assembly did agree to include it on the ballot and
the drive appeared headed for success, the measure was knocked off the
ballot by court order because the Secretary of State failed to legally
advertise the amendments.
The 1995 legislature put the amendment back on the ballot
for the 1996 election. We repeated our 1994 campaign efforts with a
few subtle strategy shifts and a new governor came forward late in the
campaign with an extraordinary show of support for the amendment. Election
night was excruciating, and the campaign did not learn until 2:00 p.m.
the following day that the amendment had passed with a 50.6 percent
of the vote. We did it.
Arkansas now receives 45% of a 1/8-cent sales tax amounting
to about $30 million a year. This is in addition to the revenues derived
from the sales of hunting and fishing licenses, permits, timber sales,
and other traditional sources of revenue.
How did we do it? It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it!
Following is a random list of “must do’s” if you are considering a similar
challenge in your state:
Conduct A Benchmark Poll To Identify Public
Perceptions
You need to know how the public feels about designated
taxes, how they would vote, what messages receive the most favorable
responses, and so forth. You need to know what they would like for you
to spend the money on if additional revenues were raised. What the general
public thinks of your agency will greatly determine the approach and
strategy you take. You must know these things in order to know what
type message to send to whom at what time.
Develop And Cultivate Relationship With Legislature
Like it or not, you HAVE to have the support of your
elected officials. Keep in mind that the very folks who will be voting
on your initiative are the very ones voting on them to represent them.
So, you must make each representative feel comfortable and confident
that if they support your efforts, they will not risk loosing the next
election.
Share Your Wealth
Sharing our wealth with our Department of State Parks,
Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Keep Arkansas Beautiful program
also diversified our supporters. This was a way for all of us to reach
our non-traditional audiences. We didn’t care which one of the agencies
the voters were supporting when they came to the polls, a yes vote for
one was a yes vote for all.
Legal Guidance
Legal assistance is necessary to draft the language of
the amendment, to comply with the minute legal details of what must
be done to assure its placement on the ballot, applicable federal and
state fund-raising laws and reporting requirements, and to even defend
the amendment in court if necessary.
Plan For Conservation
Most tax payers don’t mind paying a tax as long as they
know they are getting something in return. And, since all politics are
local, you will need to prepare a county by county extensive spending
plan of the new revenue. This “Plan for Conservation” should include
justification for spending new money on a prioritized lists of repairs,
improvement, acquisition, new programs, and other needs. These lists
should be a reflection of the publics comments gathered in the poll
and at the public meetings. Give them what they want.
Get Employees On Board
While there are limitations on what state employees can
and can not do related to politics and campaigns, it is a MUST to have
all your employees at least pulling in the same direction. Each employee
needs to clearly understand what part they play in the campaign. Our
employees were instructed to go and tell the public what a “yes” vote
would mean and what a “no” vote would mean. We could not ask for a yes
vote, merely tell them what would happen if it passed or failed. Your
employees should be your most effective group of volunteers to carry
the message for you.
Show And Tell Video/Publications
Obviously we don’t sell very many licenses and state
parks don’t rent very many cabins by showing our worst facilities on
the covers of our visitor’s guides and other publications. Thus, a majority
of the public had never seen the buildings about to fall or the levies
about to break. So, the development of a short “crisis” video/publication
helped tell the story of real needs, proposed spending, and consequences
if there is no new funding.
Organize A Speakers Bureau
A successful tax campaign requires a grassroots effort:
it cannot be achieved solely through media advertising. Along with training
employees, it is imperative you offer your statewide volunteers the
training and support they need. Every employee and volunteer were encouraged
to schedule appearances and give presentations at every available civic
club, church group, festival, banquet, wildlife meeting, garden club
meeting, etc. An information packet (including the crisis video/publication)
was vital to getting the message out.
Fund-Raising
Everything takes money. Two of the four agencies benefiting
from the tax money had in place nonprofit Foundations that helped with
fund-raising and volunteer efforts. Devise a realistic campaign budget
with a timeline for target amounts. Reserve about 60 percent of the
funds for advertising. If very many candidates will be running and/or
there are very many ballot issues, it will be critical to reserve television
ad time as early as possible to obtain good time slots.
Education
All of us working in the Information and Education/Communications
field have always preached that education is a long- term investment.
Realizing it took three attempts over a number of years for both Missouri
and Arkansas to pass the tax, I believe proves that very point. Maybe
it just takes that long to get around to educating the majority of the
public…a great investment of time and money, but an investment well
worth it.
Much of this information was
taken from a book called:
ODYSSEY OF SURVIVAL: A History
of the Arkansas Conservation Sales Tax
Available for $10 from:
Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation
Att: Steve Smith
#2 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205
(501) 223-6396
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