What does the Arkansas AG's approval of an interlocal cooperation agreement for a regional crisis stabilization unit involve?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2018. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue submitted a proposed interlocal cooperation agreement to AG Leslie Rutledge for approval. The agreement covered the six counties in the Sebastian County Mental Health Catchment Area (Sebastian, Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Scott, and Polk) and each incorporated municipality within those counties. The purpose was joint funding of the Sebastian County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit, a facility authorized by Act 423 of 2017 (the Criminal Justice Efficiency and Safety Act of 2017, with the relevant section codified as the Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Protocol Act of 2017 at Ark. Code Ann. § 20-47-801 et seq.).
Under Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(f), interlocal agreements between or among public agencies must be reviewed by the Attorney General for proper form and consistency with state law before they take effect. The AG walked through the required content of an interlocal agreement (duration, separate legal entity if any, purposes, financing, termination procedure, property disposal, and any other necessary matters) and confirmed that the submitted agreement satisfied each. The AG approved the agreement as submitted.
This is a routine but legally important opinion: regional crisis stabilization units pull mental-health crisis services out of jails and emergency rooms and put them in treatment-oriented facilities, and that requires multi-county funding and governance. The AG's approval signed off on the legal structure for one of the early regional CSUs in Arkansas.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2018. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Q: What is a crisis stabilization unit?
A: A short-term, treatment-oriented facility that diverts people in mental-health or behavioral-health crisis away from jails and emergency rooms. Act 423 of 2017 authorized regional CSUs in Arkansas. The substantive provisions on the protocol and on the units themselves are codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 20-47-801 et seq.
Q: Why does an interlocal agreement need AG approval?
A: Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(f) of the Interlocal Cooperation Act requires that an interlocal agreement among public agencies be submitted to the Attorney General for approval as proper in form and consistent with state law before it becomes effective.
Q: What is a "public agency" under the Interlocal Cooperation Act?
A: Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-103(1)(B) defines a public agency to include any political subdivision of the state. Counties and incorporated municipalities are political subdivisions, so all the parties to this agreement qualified.
Q: What does an interlocal agreement have to specify?
A: Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(c) lists six required terms: duration, identity of any separate legal entity created to do the work, purposes, financing and budget, termination and property disposal, and any other necessary matters. Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(d) adds two more if no separate legal entity is created: an administrator or joint board, and a method for handling real and personal property.
Q: What is the legal source of the regional CSU's authority?
A: Act 423 of 2017, codified in scattered sections, including Ark. Code Ann. § 20-47-801 et seq. (the "Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Protocol Act of 2017"). That statutory framework is what authorizes counties and municipalities to jointly establish and fund a regional CSU.
Q: Does AG approval mean the agreement is bulletproof?
A: AG approval signs off on the form and statutory consistency of the agreement. It is not a guarantee against future disputes about implementation, funding shortfalls, or governance. But it is a required threshold for the agreement to take effect.
Q: How does this fit into the broader picture?
A: Arkansas's first regional crisis stabilization units were stood up under Act 423 of 2017 in a handful of catchment areas, including Sebastian County. The interlocal agreement structure lets multiple counties pool funding, share governance, and coordinate referrals so the facility is sustainable.
Background and statutory framework
The Interlocal Cooperation Act (Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-101 et seq.) lets public agencies do jointly any governmental power they could each exercise alone. Section 25-20-104(a) is the operative grant: any governmental power exercisable by a public agency may be exercised jointly with another public agency that has the same power. The required content of an agreement is in subsection (c), with additional content required in subsection (d) when no separate legal entity is created.
Act 423 of 2017 created or expanded several pieces of Arkansas's behavioral health and criminal justice infrastructure. The piece relevant here is the Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Protocol Act of 2017, codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 20-47-801 et seq., which authorized regional CSUs and the cooperative arrangements needed to fund them.
The AG's role under section 25-20-104(f) is gatekeeping. Without AG sign-off, the agreement is not effective. The opinion's affirmative finding of compliance is the legal hook that lets the parties begin pooled operations.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Ark. Code Ann. § 20-47-801 et seq. (Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Protocol Act of 2017)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-101 et seq. (Interlocal Cooperation Act)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-103(1)(B) (definition of public agency)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(a) (joint exercise of governmental powers)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(c) (required content of interlocal agreements)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(d) (additional content when no separate legal entity)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 25-20-104(f) (Attorney General approval requirement)
- Acts 2017, No. 423 (Criminal Justice Efficiency and Safety Act of 2017)
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2018-055
June 15, 2018
The Honorable Daniel Shue
Prosecuting Attorney
Twelfth Judicial District
901 South B Street, Suite 209
Fort Smith, AR 72901
Dear Mr. Shue:
You have requested approval, pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act, of a proposed agreement between the counties and cities in the Sebastian County Mental Health Catchment Area (Sebastian, Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Scott, and Polk Counties and each incorporated municipality in those six counties). This agreement concerns the establishment of a regional crisis stabilization unit authorized under Act 423 of 2017.
You have submitted a copy of the agreement, entitled "Interlocal Agreement," the terms of which provide for the parties' joint, cooperative action regarding the funding of the Sebastian County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit. You seek my approval of the Interlocal Agreement, pursuant to the statutory requirement that I approve as proper in form and consistent with state law any interlocal agreement to undertake a joint enterprise between or among "public agencies."
The Interlocal Cooperation Act requires that interlocal agreements for joint or cooperative action specify the following items:
(1) The duration of the agreement;
(2) The identity of any separate legal entity to conduct the undertaking;
(3) The purposes of the agreement;
(4) The manner of financing the joint or cooperative undertaking and of establishing and maintaining a budget for it;
(5) The methods of accomplishing termination of the agreement and for the disposal of property (if any) upon termination;
(6) Any other necessary and proper matters.
In addition, if the interlocal agreement does not establish a separate legal entity to conduct the joint or cooperative undertaking, it must specify the following items:
(1) The provision for an administrator or a joint board that will be responsible for administering the joint or cooperative undertaking; and
(2) The manner of acquiring, holding, and disposing of real and personal property (if any) used in the joint or cooperative undertaking.
With respect to the range of permissible agreements under the Interlocal Cooperation Act, subsection 25-20-104(a) provides in pertinent part that "[a]ny governmental powers, privileges, or authority exercised or capable of exercise by a public agency of this state alone may be exercised and enjoyed jointly with any other public agency of this state which has the same powers, privileges, or authority under the law . . . ." In my opinion, this grant of authority would generally include an agreement between political subdivisions to cooperate in the funding of a regional crisis stabilization unit authorized under Ark. Code Ann. § 20-47-801 et seq.
Having reviewed the Interlocal Agreement, I find that it meets all of the requirements set forth above. Accordingly, I hereby approve the Interlocal Agreement as submitted.
Sincerely,
Leslie Rutledge
Attorney General
Get today's answer for your situation
You just read a 2018 opinion on this question. Ezel checks the current Arkansas statutes and case law and answers your specific situation, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the law it relies on.