The secretary of state’s office — currently checking signatures on petitions gathered by Nancy Todd for a constitutional amendment to give her group four exclusive casino licenses in Arkansas — has been advised by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to disregard one objection filed to the form of the amendment. A Little Rock woman had challenged the legality of the amendment’s scheme to take taxing authority out of the hands of the legislature and split taxes among designated beneficiaries.
McDaniel continues to consider a much deeper legal challenge of the amendment’s sweep in a brief filed by a Little Rock law firm for the Southland casino-backed group that is trying to beat the new casino intiative.
UPDATE: Secretary of State Mark Martin has followed McDaniel’s recommendation and rejected this challenge.
UPDATE II: Martin also rejected Texas promoter Michael Wasserman’s appeal of the office’s finding that he hadn’t met a signature threshold for continued consideration of his casino amendment. He says he plans a court appeal.