Arkansas Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Arkansas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Does an Arkansas sheriff need the county judge's approval to award a retiring deputy his service pistol, given that the county judge controls disposal of county property?
No. § 12-15-302 lets the sheriff award the pistol on his own. The general rule that the county judge disposes of county property is overridden by this specific statute, and the legislature's silence o…
Our city scheduled a referendum special election five months after certification. Was that lawful, or did we miss the 120-day deadline in the elections code?
A reviewing court would likely find the City of Ozark's decision to hold a referendum special election about five months after certification (November 18, 2025) was lawful. The two statutes (A.C.A. § …
When a city reimburses the county for its share of election expenses, does the formula's denominator include voters from unincorporated areas of the county or just voters from cities and towns?
Yes, the denominator includes all voters who cast ballots in the election countywide, including unincorporated-area voters. The denominator is not limited to municipal voters. A.C.A. § 7-5-104(a)(2) c…
Does Act 751 of 2025 stop our civil service commission from interviewing candidates for promotion to corporal or sergeant, or does it only restrict interviews for new hires?
Only new hires. The new ban on commissioners 'engaging in interviews' in section 14-51-301(b)(3)(B)(ii) applies only to applicants from outside the department, that is, candidates for appointment. Com…
Can the Arkansas Crime Victims Reparations Board pay benefits to a claimant who has a prior felony conviction for criminally injurious conduct?
No. AG Tim Griffin read A.C.A. § 16-90-712(a)(5) and (a)(6) as two separate prohibitions: subsection (a)(5) categorically bars reparations to anyone with a felony conviction involving criminally injur…
Can an Arkansas city order a homeowner to connect to the city sewer when their property is more than 300 feet from the line?
No. The 2024 AG opinion concluded a city cannot lawfully require a homeowner to connect to the city sewer when the property is more than 300 feet from a current sewer line. State law (A.C.A. § 14-235-…
Do voters in Arkansas city-manager cities still have to approve compensation for the board of directors before the board can set its own salaries?
Yes. The two Arkansas statutes can be read in harmony. Section 14-61-110 (1989) requires voter authorization before city directors and mayors can be paid. Section 14-47-114(a) (1991) lets the board se…
Do part-time police officers in Arkansas cities get the 15-day annual vacation that the statute requires for police department employees?
Yes. Section 14-52-106(a)(1) requires the head of each police department to grant 'each employee' at least 15 working days of annual vacation with full pay. The statute does not say full-time only. Th…
If an organization's salaried employee collects ballot-petition signatures as part of their job, does Arkansas law treat them as a 'paid canvasser' subject to the registration and background-check rules?
Yes. An employee who solicits petition signatures as part of their job duties is paid 'in exchange for' soliciting signatures, even if their salary stays the same regardless. They are a 'paid canvasse…
Can a public water utility release customer-usage data after stripping out names, or is the data itself confidential?
No. Even if you strip out names and addresses, customer-usage data from a public water system or municipally owned utility is itself exempt from Arkansas FOIA disclosure. The General Assembly listed c…
When the only Arkansas greyhound-racing franchise stops conducting races, where does the casino-tax revenue earmarked for greyhound purses go?
The 17.5% of casino tax revenue that Amendment 100 reserves for racing purses can only go to a 'Franchise holder' that is actually 'operating' its franchise. If Southland Greyhound Park has stopped ra…
When the Arkansas General Assembly passes a law in a special session without an emergency clause and without a stated effective date, when does the law actually take effect?
January 14, 2022. Under Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, a non-emergency act takes effect on the 91st day after the session adjourns sine die. The 93rd General Assembly's post-recess session …
Can a county use circuit court automation funds to pay the salary of a sheriff's office employee who collects fines, or a circuit clerk's office employee, when neither works on courtroom technology?
No. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-13-704(b)(2)(A)(ii) requires the circuit court automation fund to be used solely for circuit-court-related technology. Paying the salary of a county employee whose job has no c…
Under Arkansas's medical marijuana law, can an employer designate any job that handles confidential information as a 'safety sensitive position', or only jobs handling criminal investigation files?
Any job working with confidential information can qualify, not just criminal investigation files. The AG read Amendment 98's definition disjunctively: confidential information is one type of safety-se…
Act 349 of 2021 set the school board candidate filing window as 'ninety days before a general election', but Arkansas holds school elections in odd-numbered years when there is no general election. How should the law be applied?
The AG concluded a literal reading would make the statute impossible to apply for November 2021 school board elections, so a strong argument exists to interpret 'ninety days before a general election'…
Does Arkansas's 5% in-state bidding preference for public agencies apply only to commodity purchases, or also to construction contracts that include some materials cost?
Only to commodities. The 5% preference for Arkansas-resident firms applies when a public agency is buying 'commodities' (materials and equipment for public works) by competitive bidding. It does not a…
If a juvenile gets multiple consecutive sentences for crimes that include a homicide, do the parole eligibility waiting periods stack?
Yes. Where a juvenile was convicted of multiple offenses and at least one involved another person's death, the AG read § 16-93-621(a)(2)(A) to allow stacking of parole eligibility periods, because the…
Does an Arkansas town selling its water system have to follow both the water-system-specific statutes and the general municipal property sale rules, including competitive bidding?
Yes. The town's sale was governed by both Ark. Code Ann. section 14-199-302 et seq. (water-system-specific preconditions like the council resolution and ratepayer petition) and section 14-54-302 (gene…
Can a city's Advertising and Promotion Commission use A&P tax money to build a youth-programming auditorium next to its existing convention center?
Yes, likely. AG Rutledge concluded the A&P Commission may spend its funds either as a convention center 'extension' (if annexed) or as a 'public recreation facility' under Ark. Code Ann. § 26-75-606, …
Does Arkansas's law against running for two offices on the same election date apply to school board candidates?
No, school district offices are not within § 7-5-111's scope. The AG concluded that Act 158 of 2017's addition of 'district' to the statute does not include the office of school-district director, bec…
When did the Arkansas Public School Health Services Advisory Committee created by Acts 414 and 935 cease to exist?
December 31, 2017. Act 935 of 2015 amended Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-709 to fix that termination date, replacing the earlier December 31, 2014 sunset in Act 414 of 2013.
Can an Arkansas district judge issue a no-contact order at a bond hearing before the defendant is arraigned, and what penalty applies if it's violated?
A pre-arraignment no-contact order is enforceable but only as criminal contempt (Class C misdemeanor). The Class A misdemeanor penalty in Ark. Code Ann. § 16-85-714(d) applies only to no-contact order…
Can an Arkansas county attorney petition the State Auditor for abandoned mineral lease proceeds, or only the original holder before transfer to the Auditor?
AG Rutledge concluded that the Auditor of State is not a 'holder' under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-28-403(a)(2)(A). A county attorney's petition for abandoned mineral proceeds held under court-receiver lease…
Can an Arkansas county get state reimbursement for a juvenile probation officer salary even when two different officers each held the position less than a year?
The AG concluded the answer was likely yes. When two certified officers between them filled the same full-time position for a full year and the county paid the full year's salary, the county likely qu…
Does the carve-out in Ark. Code Ann. § 21-5-406(e)(3)(C) exempt every SEBCO benefit from state oversight, or only the specific plan as it existed on July 1, 1995?
Only the specific 1995 plan. The Executive Director of the Employee Benefits Division can supervise any SEBCO product or plan that was not part of the benefit plan in effect on July 1, 1995. If SEBCO …
Does the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act's ban on the lottery 'issuing bonds' stop the lottery office from running a self-bonding pool for retailers?
No. The statute's bond prohibition refers to debt instruments, not to performance or surety bonds, so the lottery office could adopt a rule pooling retailer fees in place of surety bonds.
Can the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission have its surplus trust fund money invested in securities other than certificates of deposit?
Yes, but only during the FY2016 window that the AWCC's 2015 appropriation act opened. The special language in Act 969 of 2015 displaced the usual rule that the State Treasurer first park surplus trust…
Are Arkansas fifth-grade, sixth-grade, and 'encore' art and music teachers, whose class roster changes through the day, entitled to the same per-teacher classroom funding their grade-level colleagues receive?
Yes. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-21-303(b), every pre-K through sixth-grade teacher gets the greater of $20 per student enrolled more than half the day or a flat $500 for the year, so teachers whose clas…
Can an Arkansas city pass a blanket ordinance permanently exempting itself from the Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act's requirement that public funds be used only for shielded outdoor light fixtures?
No to a blank exemption. The AG said any cost-prohibitive exemption ordinance under the Shielded Outdoor Lighting Act must reflect the cost analysis the statute requires, and the AG flagged most other…
How does a burial association in Arkansas legally dissolve, and what role does the Burial Association Board play in the dissolution or merger process?
The dissolution path depends on whether the association is incorporated and under which nonprofit-corporation act. The Burial Association Board has no clear statutory authority to regulate dissolution…
Under the 2015 amendments to Arkansas's Public School Choice Act, what does a school district have to do to claim a desegregation-related exemption, and does the Department of Education review that claim?
A district must immediately submit proof from a federal court that it has a genuine conflict with an active desegregation order or plan. The Department of Education does not have statutory authority t…
Who appoints the Director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism: the State Parks Commission or the Governor?
Both have a role. The AG read all three relevant statutes harmoniously: the Commission nominates (or submits candidates), the Governor approves the nominee, and the Senate then consents under § 25-13-…
When the Arkansas Chief Justice is absent or unable to serve, how is an acting Chief Justice selected, and is the statutory seniority rule consistent with Amendment 80?
Yes, the two provisions can be read harmoniously. Both restrict the pool of acting-Chief-Justice candidates to the remaining elected associate Justices, and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-10-101(d) further speci…
In Arkansas, can a deputy prosecuting attorney serve on a county election commission when the elected prosecutor (the deputy's supervisor) appears on that county's ballot?
Yes. The AG read 'paid employee of a candidate' in Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109(c)(1) as referring to someone paid by the candidate, not merely supervised by the candidate. Deputy prosecutors are paid by …
When Arkansas law requires 'at least three' of four tourism-industry seats on a city advertising and promotion commission to be lodging or restaurant owners, can a city ordinance require all four?
Yes. The AG read the phrase 'at least three' in Ark. Code Ann. § 26-75-605(a)(1)(B) as setting a floor, not a ceiling. Eureka Springs's ordinance requiring all four tourism-industry seats on its Adver…
Under Arkansas's 1,000-foot rule for retail liquor permits, does 'schoolhouse' include private schools and day care centers, and did Act 1172 of 2015 change what counts as a schoolhouse?
The AG read 'schoolhouse' in Ark. Code Ann. § 3-4-206 to mean a building used as a school or for giving instruction, generally including both public and private facilities and most day care centers. A…
Does the Arkansas AG need to approve a cooperation agreement between Little Rock and the Capitol Zoning District Commission?
No. A specific 2013 statute (A.C.A. § 22-3-308) governs Capitol Zoning District cooperation with Little Rock and does not require AG approval. Plus the agreement doesn't fit the Interlocal Cooperation…
Can an Arkansas county trade in used equipment toward a lease-purchase of new equipment without going through bidding?
Yes. The county purchasing statute (A.C.A. § 14-22-106) controls and exempts used-goods trade-ins from bidding, whether the underlying transaction is a sale or a lease with option to purchase. The mor…
Does an Arkansas law requiring consolidated school districts to donate or lease unused buildings to charter schools and other entities apply to districts consolidated before 2013?
No. A.C.A. § 6-21-108(b)(3), enacted in 2013, does not apply retroactively to school districts whose consolidation and two-year vacancy window both predated the statute's effective date. The statute a…
If an Arkansas county interlocal agreement leaves out the six-month termination clause, can a party still withdraw on six months' notice?
Yes, if the agreement was silent. The statutory six-month withdrawal right in A.C.A. § 14-14-910(c)(3)(E) is read into a county interlocal agreement that does not address termination. But if the contr…
Can two Arkansas counties join together to build and operate a single jail located in only one of the counties?
Yes. State law authorizes regional jail facilities created by interlocal agreement, and that authority qualifies the older requirement (from 1838) that every county build a jail within its own borders…
If an Arkansas regional intermodal authority leases facilities to a private business, does the private lessee inherit the authority's tax exemptions?
No. The tax exemptions under A.C.A. § 14-143-121 attach only to the regional intermodal authority itself and to its property used exclusively for public purposes. A private lessee enjoys no inherited …
When does the 30-day clock start for an Arkansas teacher to sign and return a teaching contract under the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act?
When the district notifies the teacher the contract is reasonably available, not when the teacher physically receives it. A district can email the teacher that the contract is in the superintendent's …
Can Arkansas poll workers using electronic poll books take voter ID steps out of the order in A.C.A. § 7-5-305?
Yes. The statute lists steps that must occur before voting but doesn't dictate their order. The State Board of Election Commissioners has interpreted the statute that way in its training materials, an…
Does Arkansas's concealed-carry ban on Highway Department grounds reach the private property next door to a Highway Department building?
No. A.C.A. § 5-73-306(3)(A) bans concealed carry in Highway Department buildings and on grounds adjacent to them, but only when the grounds are owned or controlled by the Department. Private property …
Why did Arkansas reject a cannabis-legalization ballot title in 2014?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment because the text contained ambiguities he could not resolve in a ballot title: the opening verb was in the imperative mood, the mea…
Can a city annex an unincorporated area surrounded on three sides if the fourth side borders Corps of Engineers lake property?
Probably not. Arkansas Act 1243 of 2013 lets a city annex a three-sided unincorporated pocket only when the fourth side is a state border, a 'military base,' a state park, or a national forest. Land m…
If an Arkansas city council resolution to hold partisan primaries uses outdated language, is it still effective, and is it binding?
Yes on both counts. A.C.A. § 7-7-201(b)(1) impliedly repealed part of A.C.A. § 14-42-206(a), substituting the county board of election commissioners for political party committees as the entity that c…
Can the Arkansas Department of Information Systems provide IT services to the Arkansas Municipal League?
Probably yes. A.C.A. § 25-4-105 lets DIS provide IT services to state agencies, governmental entities, first responders, and 'quasi-governmental entities.' The term is undefined, but the AG predicted …
What services must an Arkansas city actually provide to land it has annexed, and what can landowners do if the city doesn't deliver?
The 'services' a city owes annexed landowners are whatever services are described in the annexation ordinance itself, not the broader laundry list defined for other purposes in A.C.A. § 14-40-2002. Th…
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Attorney general opinions in Arkansas are written by the Arkansas Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.