Can the Arkansas Department of Information Systems provide IT services to the Arkansas Municipal League?

Plain-English summary

Claire Bailey, director of the Arkansas Department of Information Systems (DIS), asked AG Dustin McDaniel whether DIS could provide IT services to the Arkansas Municipal League. The Department's authority under A.C.A. § 25-4-105(a) lets it provide information technology services to "state agencies, other governmental entities, nongovernmental first responder entities, and other quasi-governmental entities." The Municipal League is not a state agency, not a "governmental entity" in the strict sense, and not a "nongovernmental first responder" (defined in § 25-4-103(10) as law-enforcement, fire, and EMS personnel deployed to emergencies). So the question turned on whether the League qualified as "other quasi-governmental entities," a phrase the statute does not define.

The AG offered a careful, conditional answer: probably yes, but no definitive bright line. He started with the dictionary: "quasi-" means "seemingly, apparently but not really." That tells you the entity must share attributes with a governmental body without being one, but does not say how many attributes or which ones.

He then identified three core attributes that he found significant for purposes of § 25-4-105(a)(2)(B):

1. Tax-dollar funding. Most of the League's operating funds come from member municipalities, which in turn use tax dollars to pay their annual fees and service charges.

2. Public purpose. The League's self-stated central purpose is "to advance the interest and welfare of the people residing in the cities and towns of Arkansas."

3. Governance by elected officials. The League's president is a sitting, elected municipal official. The League's Executive Committee, made up of elected municipal officials acting in their official capacities, sets policy and supervises the Executive Director.

The AG also flagged a fourth supporting fact: the General Assembly has treated League employees as "municipal employees" for purposes of the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System (A.C.A. § 24-4-101(24)(A)).

Conclusion: a court would likely treat the League as a "quasi-governmental entity" within the meaning of § 25-4-105(a)(2)(B), allowing DIS to provide IT services to it. The opinion does not invent a controlling definition of "quasi-governmental"; it predicts how a court would read the term against the League's specific attributes.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. 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

What does "quasi-governmental" mean for state-services purposes in Arkansas? At the time of this opinion, there was no statutory or judicial definition. The AG identified three core attributes a court would likely look for: funding tied to tax dollars, a public purpose, and governance by elected officials or their designees. Entities sharing those attributes were likely to qualify under A.C.A. § 25-4-105.

Could private nonprofits get DIS services as quasi-governmental? The opinion did not address all nonprofits. Private nonprofits that depend on private donations, serve private memberships, and are governed by self-selected boards would lack the three core attributes and would be much harder to fit under the term. The League's tax-funded, elected-governance, public-purpose structure was specifically what tipped the call.

Does the AG's "probably yes" answer give DIS legal cover? AG opinions are persuasive but not binding on courts. DIS could reasonably rely on this opinion to extend IT services to the League, but a court could still take a narrower reading of "quasi-governmental" if litigation arose.

Why didn't the AG just propose a definition?
Settled office practice: where the legislature has not defined a term, the AG (an executive officer) does not formulate a "controlling definition." The role is to interpret existing law, not to legislate.

What is the Arkansas Municipal League?
A statewide nonprofit association of Arkansas cities and towns that lobbies, trains municipal staff, publishes legal references, and offers shared services. The League is funded by member-municipality fees and overseen by an Executive Committee of elected municipal officials.

Background and statutory framework

A.C.A. § 25-4-105 lists the Department of Information Systems' powers and duties, including providing IT services to four categories of consumers: state agencies, other governmental entities, nongovernmental first responder entities, and other quasi-governmental entities. Only the first three are statutorily defined. "Quasi-governmental entities" is the open category.

A.C.A. § 25-4-103(10) defines "nongovernmental first responder" as law enforcement personnel, fire department personnel, and emergency medical personnel deployed to "bioterrorism attacks, terrorist attacks, catastrophic or natural disasters, and other emergencies."

A.C.A. § 24-4-101(24)(A) (Supp. 2013) defines "municipal employees" for retirement-system purposes to include employees of the Arkansas Municipal League. The opinion treats this as supporting evidence that the legislature has consistently treated the League as adjacent to municipal government.

The AG's statutory construction follows the standard Arkansas approach: when a term has no statutory or judicial definition, look to common meaning, including dictionary definitions, and then evaluate whether the entity in question shares the attributes the term implies.

Citations

• A.C.A. § 25-4-105 (DIS powers and duties)
• A.C.A. § 25-4-105(a) (categories of consumers DIS may serve)
• A.C.A. § 25-4-105(a)(2)(B) (quasi-governmental entities category)
• A.C.A. § 25-4-103(10) (definition of nongovernmental first responder)
• A.C.A. § 24-4-101(24)(A) (Supp. 2013) (Municipal League employees as municipal employees for APERS)
• Arkansas Municipal League, "Policies and Goals, 2013-2014" (League purpose)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

STATE OF ARKANSAS

THe ATTORNEY GENERAL
Dustin McDANIEL

Opinion No. 2013-154

February 26, 2014

Claire Bailey, Director

Arkansas Department of Information Systems
One Capitol Mall

Post Office Box 3155

Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-3155

Dear Ms. Bailey:

You have asked for my opinion on whether the Arkansas Department of Information Systems (DIS) is authorized to provide information technology services to the Arkansas Municipal League. I have paraphrased your background information and question as follows:

Arkansas Code section 25-4-105(a) states that DIS has the power and duty to provide “information technology services to state agencies, other governmental entities, nongovernmental first responder entities, and other quasi-governmental entities.” The statutes do not define the term “other quasi-governmental entities.” Does the Arkansas Municipal League qualify as a “quasi- governmental entity” such that, under section 25-4-105(a), DIS is authorized to provide the League with information technology services?

RESPONSE

The absence of any statutory or judicial definition of the term “quasi- governmental entity” prevents me from definitively answering your question. Nevertheless, I believe that a court faced with your question would probably hold that, at least for purposes of section 25-4-105, the Arkansas Municipal League qualifies as a “quasi-governmental entity” because, though it is clearly not itself a

323 CENTER STREET, SUITE 200 * LiTTLE Rock, ARKANSAS 72201 TELEPHONE (501) 682-2007 « Fax (501) 682-8084 INTERNET WEBSITE * http://www.ag.state.ar.us/

Claire Bailey, Director

Arkansas Department of Information Systems
Opinion No. 2013-154

Page 2

governmental entity, the League shares with governmental entities a common purpose, funding source, and leadership.

DISCUSSION

DIS’s powers and duties, which are codified at A.C.A. § 25-4-105, include the following: “Providing information technology services to state agencies, other governmental entities, nongovernmental first responder entities, and other quasi- governmental entities.” The Arkansas Municipal league is not a state agency, governmental entity, or a nongovernmental first responder.’ Thus, DIS can only provide information technology services to the League if it qualifies as a “quasi- governmental entity.”

But no statute or case defines the term “quasi-governmental entity.” Further, because the term is never used again in DIS’s statutory scheme, we cannot attempt to discern the term’s meaning by examining how the General Assembly used it in context. Thus, in the absence of either a technical, statutory, or a judicial definition of the term, we are restricted to considering its common meaning.

The prefix “quasi-” means “seemingly, apparently but not really.’” The difficulty here is that the statute does not make clear the degree to which the nongovernmental entity must resemble or share attributes with a governmental entity. In other words, it is difficult to determine the number and type of attributes that should be possessed by a nongovernmental organization in order for it to be considered “quasi-governmental” for purposes of section 25-4-105(a)(2)(B).

Nevertheless, we can identify at least three attributes that are both essential to governmental organizations and possessed by the League.

' The term “nongovernmental first responder” is defined in section 25-4-103(10) as “state and law enforcement personnel, fire department personnel, and emergency medical personnel] who will be deployed to bioterrorism attacks, terrorist attacks, catastrophic or natural disasters, and other emergencies,”

? New Oxford American Dictionary 1429 (Oxford Univ. Press, 2010).

Claire Bailey, Director

Arkansas Department of Information Systems
Opinion No. 2013-154

Page 3

First, the two entities are funded with tax dollars. It is my understanding that most of the League’s operating funds are provided by municipalities who pay annual fees and service charges from tax dollars.’

Second, the two entities have a public purpose. The League’s self-stated “central purpose” is “to advance the interest and welfare of the people residing in the cities and towns of Arkansas.”

Third, the two entities are led by elected officials or their appointees/designees. It is my understanding that whoever serves as the President of the League is (and has always been) a sitting, elected municipal official. Further, the League is governed by an “Executive Committee” that serves as its chief policy-making body and supervises the League’s Executive Director who, in turn, hires and supervises the League’s staff. In short, elected municipal officials, who are acting in their official capacities, serve as a kind of board of directors for the League.

In addition to sharing the foregoing core attributes, the League’s employees are defined as “municipal employees” for purposes of the Arkansas Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Therefore, I believe a court faced with your question would probably hold that, at least for purposes of section 25-4-105(a)(2)(B), the Arkansas Municipal League qualifies as a “quasi-governmental entity” because, though it is clearly not itself a governmental entity, the League shares with governmental entities a common purpose, funding source, and leadership.

3 Arkansas Municipal League, “Policies and Goals, 2013-2014,” adopted at the 79th Annual Convention (June 21, 2013), p. 4.

‘Td.

> A.C.A. § 24-4-101(24)(A) (Supp. 2013) (“‘Municipal employees’ means all employees whose
compensations are payable, either directly or indirectly, by participating municipal public employers and includes employees of the Arkansas Municipal League, employees of the water and sewer system of any city divided by a state line, and employees of the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System.) (emphasis added).

Claire Bailey, Director

Arkansas Department of Information Systems
Opinion No, 2013-154

Page 4

Assistant Attorney General Ryan Owsley prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.

Sincerely,

Attorney General

DM:RO/cyh