Can the Arkansas legislature force counties to give sheriff's deputies the same vacation as municipal police?
Plain-English summary
Representative DeAnn Vaught noted that municipal police officers in Arkansas are statutorily entitled to at least three weeks of paid annual vacation under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-106, but no analogous statute applies to sheriff's deputies and other county law enforcement officers. She asked whether the legislature could amend Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805 (a county-government statute that touches on quorum-court authority over employee policies) to require counties to provide at least the same vacation leave to county officers.
The AG's answer was no. The reason is constitutional, not statutory. Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution gives quorum courts the power to "fix the number and compensation of deputies and county employees." That allocation of authority is in the constitution itself, so the legislature cannot override it by amending § 14-14-805. Section 14-14-805 simply reflects the constitutional grant; it does not enlarge legislative power.
What quorum courts can do, on their own, is voluntarily set vacation, sick leave, or other compensation policies for county law enforcement that mirror the municipal § 14-52-106 standards. The AG made the point that "fairness" between city and county officers, while a real policy question, is not a problem the legislature can solve by mandating county compensation. It is something each quorum court has to address.
What this means for you
State legislators considering a parity bill
Amendment 55 blocks statewide mandates that fix county-employee compensation. If you want county officers to have leave parity with municipal officers, the routes are: (1) make a non-binding legislative finding or a model policy that quorum courts can adopt, (2) attach incentives such as state funding contingent on adopting parity, or (3) propose a constitutional amendment narrowing § 4 of Amendment 55. A direct statutory mandate on county leave is likely unconstitutional under this opinion.
Quorum courts and county judges
Your court is the body with the constitutional authority to set sheriff's office vacation, sick leave, and other compensation. You can choose to match the municipal three-week minimum, exceed it, or set a different package. If your county has not formally adopted leave policies for sheriff's office personnel, this opinion is a reminder that the responsibility sits with you, not with the legislature.
Sheriffs and deputies
Your leave benefits are set by the county quorum court, not by state law. If you want a change, your route is the quorum-court budget and ordinance process: meet with members, present comparable data from cities and other counties, and ask the court to adopt the policy. Statewide legislation cannot give you municipal-equivalent leave; only your county can.
County HR managers and attorneys
Treat municipal police leave as a comparator, not as a floor binding on county sheriffs. When you draft sheriff's office personnel policies, base them on quorum-court ordinances. Document the quorum court's adoption of any leave entitlements so the policy is enforceable as county law.
Common questions
Q: Why does Amendment 55 trump the legislature here?
A: Amendment 55, § 4 says the quorum court fixes the compensation of deputies and county employees. That is a direct constitutional grant. The legislature cannot pass a statute that overrides a power the constitution puts in the quorum court.
Q: What does municipal police law guarantee that county law does not?
A: Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-106(a)(1) requires that each city police chief grant employees annual vacation leave of not less than fifteen working days with full pay. There is no parallel statewide minimum for sheriff's office employees.
Q: Could a county still match the municipal benefit?
A: Yes. The opinion is explicit that quorum courts may, on their own, give county law enforcement officers paid vacation matching § 14-52-106. The constitutional issue is only with a statewide mandate.
Q: Is § 14-14-805 a useless statute?
A: No. It restates and operationalizes the quorum court's constitutional authority. The opinion's point is that any legislative attempt to use § 14-14-805 to force a county leave standard would not actually expand legislative power, because the constitution put that authority in the quorum court.
Q: Could the legislature use a state-funding incentive instead?
A: The opinion does not address that approach. As a practical matter, conditional-funding statutes that leave the county free to refuse the funds (and the strings) generally avoid the Amendment 55 problem. An attorney specializing in Arkansas county finance can advise on the boundaries.
Q: Does this analysis cover sheriffs as well as deputies?
A: Sheriffs are constitutional officers whose compensation is governed by separate provisions of the Arkansas Constitution and statutes. Deputies and other sheriff's office employees fall squarely under the Amendment 55 quorum-court power discussed here.
Q: What about bargaining or unionization?
A: Arkansas does not have a statewide collective-bargaining law for public employees. Sheriff's office leave is a quorum-court matter. Some counties negotiate with employee groups voluntarily; others set policy unilaterally.
Background and statutory framework
Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution, adopted in 1974, restructured county government to give counties greater home-rule authority. Section 1 of the amendment states that "[a] county acting through its Quorum Court may exercise local legislative authority not denied by the Constitution or by law." Section 4 specifies that the quorum court has the power to "fix the number and compensation of deputies and county employees."
Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805 enumerates limitations on quorum-court legislative power. Among other things, it acknowledges that quorum-court action over employee policies and practices is subject to the Arkansas Constitution and state law. The opinion treats § 14-14-805 as a recognition of the constitutional allocation, not a delegation of legislative power that the General Assembly could expand.
Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-106 covers city police departments. § 14-52-106(a)(1) directs the head of each police department to grant each employee annual vacation leave of "not less than fifteen (15) working days with full pay." Other provisions in chapter 52 address sick leave, holiday pay, and incentive compensation for municipal officers.
Because Amendment 55, § 4 vests authority over county-employee compensation in the quorum court, a statute purporting to require counties to set a particular vacation-leave minimum for sheriff's deputies would conflict with the constitutional grant. The AG's analysis treats that conflict as conclusive: the legislature cannot legislate around a constitutional reservation of authority.
Citations
- Ark. Const. amend. 55, § 1 (quorum-court legislative authority)
- Ark. Const. amend. 55, § 4 (quorum-court power over deputies and county employees)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805 (limitations on quorum-court legislative authority)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-106(a)(1) (municipal police vacation minimum)
Source
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked official source is authoritative.
STATE OF ARKANSAS
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Opinion No. 2022-011
April 26, 2022
The Honorable DeAnn Vaught
State Representative
266 Dairy Road
Horatio, AR 71842-8904
Dear Representative Vaught:
This is in response to your request for an opinion regarding leave time for county law enforcement officials. Your request provides the following background information:
Presently, Arkansas state law provides city/municipal law enforcement officers three weeks of annual vacation leave. See Arkansas Code § 14-52-106. Further, Arkansas Code § 14-14-805 provides that subject to the Arkansas Constitution, most notably Amendment 55, and state law, county quorum courts may exercise legislative authority over employee policies and practice of a general nature with regard to establishment of general vacation and sick leave policies.
Upon this basic review of the applicable constitutional and state law, there is a distinct difference regarding annual vacation leave between city and county law enforcement officers. Based on fairness, it seems the same annual vacation leave should be offered to our county law enforcement officers.
With this information and background in mind, you ask the following questions:
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As described herein, Arkansas Code § 14-14-805 provides certain powers to county quorum courts regarding various issues. Would this statute require amendment to provide minimal annual leave time be granted to county law enforcement officials?
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Would Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution preclude and prevent any legislation that amends Arkansas Code § 14-14-805 in this fashion?
RESPONSE
Amendment 55 would prevent amending Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805 to require counties to provide the kind of leave described in your question.
DISCUSSION
Question 1: As described herein, Arkansas Code § 14-14-805 provides certain powers to county quorum courts regarding various issues. Would this statute require amendment to provide minimal annual leave time be granted to county law enforcement officials?
Question 2: Would Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution preclude and prevent any legislation that amends Arkansas Code § 14-14-805 in this fashion?
Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution vests quorum courts with the power to "fix the number and compensation of deputies and county employees." Consistent with the quorum courts' constitutional power, state law does not dictate the pay structure for county law enforcement officers related to vacation or sick leave. Instead, under Amendment 55, quorum courts are empowered to make such decisions on their own.
The statutory section that you ask about, Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805, merely reflects that constitutional authority. Thus, as relevant here, quorum courts may provide county law enforcement officers with paid vacation leave like that provided to city police department employees under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-106. But consistent with Amendment 55, the legislature may not require, through an amendment to Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805, quorum courts to adopt such policies.
Sincerely,
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General
Footnotes:
1. Ark. Const. amend. 55, § 4 (Repl. 2019).
2. See Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-106(a)(1) (Supp. 2021) ("The head or chief of each police department shall . . . [g]rant each employee annual vacation leave of not less than fifteen (15) working days with full pay[.]").