FORT SMITH -- A local group plans to gather signatures to place Sunday sales of alcohol for off-premises consumption on a future ballot for voters to decide.
There was little discussion to be had regarding the selling of alcohol on Sundays among members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors during a study session Tuesday.
The talks surrounding Sunday alcohol sales recently arose during a citizens forum at a recent meeting, said City Administrator Jeff Dingman.
State law provides only one path for the sale of alcohol on Sundays for off-premises consumption, and that is by a citizen-petitioned measure placed on the ballot.
The issue will be on the ballot if a petition filed with the city clerk is signed by 15% of qualified electors.
"And that's the only way that this process can happen," Dingman said. "The petition must be signed by 15% of the qualified electors in the city who passed a vote in the last governor election."
In response to questions from city directors, city staff confirmed that the city cannot take any action and that such a change must be citizen-led.
City Director Christina Catsavis asked whether the next election in November would change the number of signatures needed for a petition.
Currently, the number petitioners would need to reach is 3,120. However, that number will change after November's election, it was confirmed. City staff also confirmed it is too late for such a measure to be added to the general election in November.
Fort Smith resident and founder of The Riverboy Foundation Rhyan Besco, who spoke with the board during the study session, said he, along with a group of volunteers, plans to gather signatures.
In fact, the group worked hard during the city's St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl in March to gather signatures for just such a petition. That effort produced over 1,000 signatures, kick-starting the conversation, Besco said.
During the study session, City Clerk Sherri Gard recommended the group seek legal counsel before beginning a signature-gathering effort.
"I feel it's important because I believe so much in Fort Smith and it is competing with not just surrounding areas but major cities like Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, Los Angeles -- I want us to always be up to par with what's going on culturally," Besco said.
Under Arkansas law, anyone selling alcohol on a Sunday without a permit can be found guilty of a violation fined up to $250. A person holding a permit may sell alcohol for on-premises consumption between 10 a.m. and midnight Sundays.
The law also says an exception to the ban on Sunday sales for off-premises consumption can be made if voters in a county or city approve Sunday sales.
In 2010, a petition calling for a referendum that would have allowed for the Sunday sale of alcohol for off-premises consumption circulated in the city; however, Gard said she has no record of that petition being filed.
On Aug. 20, the Hot Springs Board of Directors unanimously approved an ordinance to place Sunday alcohol sales in the city on the November ballot after the necessary number of signatures was gathered for a petition.
More than 20 cities in Arkansas allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays, including Fayetteville. Fayetteville filed the required documents allowing alcohol sales on Sundays in December 2024.
Arkansas has a long history of "blue laws," which were mostly enacted in 1837, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Initially, Arkansas laws prohibited all sales on Sundays. Blue laws in Arkansas included bans on card games, hunting, horse racing and other activities on Sundays.
In Fort Smith, one of the most notable removals of a historic blue law was when the city tossed an ordinance, sometimes referred to the "Footloose ordinance," that banned dancing on Sundays in 2018.