Since the ratification of Amendment 20 in 1934, which requires a statewide vote on general-obligation bonds, this is the record on bond referenda:
1941 — Voters approved Gov. Homer Adkins’ plan to refund and restructure the state’s highway debts. The debt was retired in 1972.
1949 — Gov. Sid McMath’s $28 million highway bond program was approved. The bonds were paid off in 1960.
1961 — Voters defeated Gov. Orval E. Faubus’ $60 million bond program to build at college campuses, the State Hospital and the Children’s Colony by a margin of more than 2 to 1.
1965 — A $150 million highway bond program was defeated 2 to 1.
1984 — Sewer-system bonds were approved with 53 percent of the vote at the general election.
1988 — Another sewer and water bond issue was approved by 55 percent at the general election.
1990 — Savings bonds for college construction and equipment were approved by 53 percent at the general election.
1996 — Gov. Jim Guy Tucker’s $3.5 billion highway-building program backed by motor-fuel and sales tax increases was defeated 6 to 1 at a special election.
1999 — Voters at a special election approved Gov. Huckabee’s $575 million interstate highway bonds.