(Photo: Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Sheffield Nelson has turned in thousands of petitions in an effort to place an increase on the natural gas severance tax on the November ballot.
Nelson on Friday submitted 4,650 pages of petitions that he says contain 69,717 signatures from registered voters. His initiated act proposal needs at least 62,507 signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Election officials will conduct a rough count of the signatures and have up to 30 days to verify that they're from registered voters.
Nelson's proposal would raise the tax to 7 percent and the money would go toward Arkansas roads. Nelson is a former natural gas executive.
An opposition campaign funded by natural gas companies has spent more than $1.2 million opposing the measure.
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