How does an Arkansas water district amend the joint agreement that created it under the Interlocal Cooperation Act?
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This page answers the general question as of 2014. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Dan Bowers asked the AG to review an amendment to the resolution that formed the Carroll-Boone Water District. The original Joint Resolution dated March 4, 1976 created the district by combining the Boone County and Carroll County water districts under the Interlocal Cooperation Act (A.C.A. § 25-20-104). The 1976 resolution had been submitted to the AG at the time, was not acted on within 60 days, and was thus approved by operation of law under A.C.A. § 25-20-104(f)(3).
The proposed 2013 amendment came up the same review path. AG Dustin McDaniel concluded the amendment was in proper form and compatible with Arkansas law, and approved it. Two procedural notes accompanied the approval. First, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission had separately approved the amendment under A.C.A. § 25-20-106(a) (which requires approval by the state agency with constitutional or statutory control over the subject area). Second, the original 1976 resolution specified amendment by three-fourths vote of the joint board; the AG had no information on the actual vote but assumed compliance.
The opinion is a short formal approval, not a contested legal analysis. It is included in the AG opinion archive because A.C.A. § 25-20-104(f) routes such approvals through the office.
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
Q: What is the Interlocal Cooperation Act?
A: A.C.A. §§ 25-20-101 to -108 authorizes Arkansas counties, cities, school districts, and certain other public agencies to enter agreements for joint or cooperative undertakings. The Act sets up the procedures for forming, approving, and operating those agreements. It is the legal vehicle for many regional water, fire, and similar special-purpose entities.
Q: What is the AG's role in approving interlocal agreements?
A: A.C.A. § 25-20-104(f) requires that interlocal agreements be submitted to the AG for review. The AG must determine whether the agreement is in proper form and compatible with Arkansas law. If the AG does not act within 60 days, the agreement is "deemed approved" by operation of law (subsection (f)(3)).
Q: What is the Carroll-Boone Water District?
A: A regional water utility serving Boone and Carroll counties in northwest Arkansas. The district was formed in 1976 by joint resolution of the two county water districts under the Regional Water Distribution District Act (A.C.A. § 14-116-101 et seq.) and the Interlocal Cooperation Act.
Q: How is the original interlocal agreement amended?
A: By the procedure set out in the original agreement itself. The 1976 Carroll-Boone resolution required a three-fourths vote of the joint board (paragraph 11). The Interlocal Cooperation Act itself does not specify amendment procedures, so the agreement controls.
Q: Did the AG check whether the actual board vote was three-fourths?
A: No. The AG noted he had no information on the board's vote and proceeded on the assumption that the three-fourths requirement was met. The AG's review focuses on form and consistency with state law, not on factual verification of internal governance.
Q: Does any other state agency review the amendment?
A: Yes, when the subject matter is one where another state agency has constitutional or statutory control. A.C.A. § 25-20-106(a) required submission to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, which has authority over water distribution matters. The Commission approved the amendment separately.
Background and statutory framework
The Interlocal Cooperation Act, A.C.A. §§ 25-20-101 to -108, is the basic Arkansas statute on intergovernmental agreements. It defines "public agency" broadly to include water districts created under the Regional Water Distribution District Act (A.C.A. § 25-20-103(1)). It authorizes those agencies to enter agreements "for the joint or cooperative exercise of any power or authority or for the undertaking of any project which a single water district could exercise or undertake" (A.C.A. § 14-116-106(b)), and requires that such agreements follow the Interlocal Cooperation Act's procedures.
Section 25-20-104(f) routes the agreement through two state reviewers. The AG checks form and consistency with state law. Where the subject matter falls within another state agency's authority, that agency also reviews under A.C.A. § 25-20-106(a). For water distribution agreements, that agency is the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. Both reviewers must approve, or be deemed to have approved through inaction within 60 days, before the agreement takes effect.
The Act does not specify amendment procedures. By default, the parties' own agreement controls how it can be amended. The 1976 Carroll-Boone resolution chose a three-fourths vote of the joint board, presumably to balance the interests of the constituent county districts. Other interlocal agreements use different thresholds, including unanimous approval, simple majority, or election by the underlying member entities.
The 60-day rule in A.C.A. § 25-20-104(f)(3) ("Failure to disapprove an agreement submitted hereunder within sixty (60) days of its submission shall constitute approval thereof") functions as a fallback to keep the formation process moving. The 1976 Carroll-Boone Resolution was apparently approved through this fallback when the AG did not act within 60 days of the original submission.
Source
Original opinion text
STATE OF ARKANSAS
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
DUSTIN McDANIEL
Opinion No. 2014-005
January 27, 2014
Mr. Dan R. Bowers
Bowers Law Firm
Post Office Box 1797
Harrison, Arkansas 72602-1797
Dear Mr. Bowers:
This is in response to your request for my review and approval of the "Amendment to Resolution of the Carroll-Boone Water District" dated October 17, 2013 ("Amendment"). Your request is made pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act, specifically, A.C.A. § 25-20-104(f) (Supp. 2013).
You have provided a copy of the original March 4, 1976 "Resolution," under which the Boone County and Carroll County Water Districts resolved and agreed to form the Carroll-Boone Water District to pursue a joint or cooperative undertaking. My office was unable to locate a record of the original Resolution, but you have provided a copy of correspondence dated July 6, 1976, which states that the 1976 Resolution was in fact submitted to the Arkansas Attorney General but was not acted upon within sixty days. I will therefore assume the original Resolution was approved by operation of law.
You also submitted the Amendment to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission pursuant to A.C.A. § 25-20-106(a) (Repl. 2002), which requires approval by "the state officer or agency having the power of control" when an agreement deals with "the provision of services or facilities with regard to which an officer or agency of the state government has constitutional or statutory powers of control...." The Commission has issued its approval.
The Regional Water Distribution District Act specifically authorizes agreements of this sort, and further requires that such agreements be entered in accordance with the Interlocal Cooperation Act. The Interlocal Cooperation Act does not expressly address the matter of an agreement's amendment. But I note that the original Resolution in this case, in paragraph 11, provides for amendment by three-fourths vote of the joint board. I have no information regarding the board's vote; but assuming this was the applicable vote requirement and that the board so voted, it is my conclusion that the Amendment is in proper form and compatible with the laws of this state. It is therefore hereby approved.
Deputy Attorney General Elisabeth A. Walker prepared the foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
DUSTIN McDANIEL
Attorney General
DM:EAW/cyh
cc: Crystal Phelps, General Counsel
Arkansas Natural Resources Commission
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