SB468

Senate Bill 468 establishes a process for voters in Arkansas to decide whether their public water systems should add fluoride to their water supply. The bill permits a public water system—defined as one serving 5,000 or more people—to hold an election on the issue if initiated by a petition signed by at least 5% of the total votes cast for circuit clerk in the previous election, or by a majority vote of the county's quorum court. Elections would be held during general election cycles, with a restriction preventing subsequent elections on the same issue for at least four years. The bill mandates that if a majority of voters in the counties served by a system choose to prohibit fluoridation, the water system must discontinue it within 30 days. Additionally, the bill amends existing law to ensure that the results of such a public election supersede any prior or current decisions made by a water system's board regarding fluoridation. This legislation effectively decentralizes the decision-making process for water fluoridation from administrative or board-level control to the public voting process.