By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — A bill to revive Arkansas’ former official nickname,“The Land of Opportunity,” failed to clear a House committee today.
House Bill 1005 by Rep. David Sanders, R-Little Rock, failed in a voice vote in the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. The bill sought to bring back the phrase that was Arkansas’ official nickname from 1953 until 1995, when the Legislature changed it to “The Natural State.”
Sanders originally proposed replacing “The Natural State” with “The Land of Opportunity,” but today he accepted an amendment proposed by Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, that would allow the state to keep its current nickname but declare that Arkansas would “also be known as The Land of Opportunity.”
Sanders told the committee he wants Arkansas to be known not only as a place to visit for its beautiful scenery but as a place to move to and start a family. He said the current nickname “is great, but I think there’s more to Arkansas.”
The bill would have no impact on the state budget because it would not require any changes, Sanders said.
State Tourism Director Joe Rice testified against the bill, saying it would dilute the effectiveness of efforts to brand Arkansas as the Natural State. He provided print-outs of Internet articles describing other places, including Iraq and Afghanistan, as lands of opportunity and said that phrase has “reached the point that it’s a cliche.”
Rep. Donna Hutchinson, R-Bella Vista, said she had received a call from a constituent who questioned whether Arkansas merited being called a land of opportunity.
“He said a third of our students fail military exams, over half of our students need remediation, a fourth of them can’t read, we’re next to the bottom in graduation rates, the federal government gives us a D in student achievement,” Hutchinson said.
Sanders said he did not see how anyone in an economically booming area like Northwest Arkansas could fail to see opportunities in Arkansas.
After the hearing, Sanders said it was possible he would bring the bill back but that it was not his top priority.
