Do Arkansas county judges have to display 'In God We Trust' and the U.S. and Arkansas flags in county buildings, or does Amendment 55's grant of custodial authority over county property let them opt out?
Subject
Whether Arkansas's national-motto display statute (A.C.A. § 1-4-133) applies to county judges and county property, and whether Amendment 55's grant of custodial authority over county property gives a county judge discretion to refuse to comply.
Plain-English summary
In 2017, Arkansas passed a law requiring "local school superintendents, local building administrators, or chief administrators of the public schools in this state, or institutions of higher education, or their respective designees, and the administrative officials of state agencies" to display the national motto "In God We Trust" alongside the U.S. and Arkansas flags in publicly funded buildings, when voluntary donations cover the cost. In 2019, the legislature added "local building administrators" to that list.
Senator Bryant asked whether the law (a) applies only to schools, colleges, and state agencies, (b) sweeps in county judges, (c) applies to all county-overseen public buildings, and (d) can be overridden by Amendment 55, which gives counties enlarged self-governance authority and the county judge "custody of county property."
The AG's answers, in order: (1) No, § 1-4-133 is broader than schools and state agencies; "local building administrator" is its own category. (2) Yes, county judges fall within "local building administrator," because the term is undefined and a judge with authority over county buildings is administering local buildings in the ordinary sense. (3) The statute applies to "publicly funded property under a listed official's or administrator's oversight, regardless of whether it is actually open to the public or is owned by a non-county entity." (4) No, neither Amendment 55 nor § 14-14-1102's "custody" language overrides the legislature's signage mandate. Amendment 55 grants enlarged authority to counties but does not bar the General Assembly from enacting laws regulating county affairs.
The opinion's net effect: a county judge cannot refuse to put up the motto-and-flags display in a county-owned, publicly funded building on the ground that "custody" of county property is the judge's discretion. The legislature has spoken on the duty.
What this means for you
If you are a county judge
Take the opinion as binding administrative guidance from the AG. If voluntary donations are available to cover the cost of the motto, the U.S. flag, and the Arkansas flag, you must display them in publicly funded buildings within your administrative oversight. Treat "publicly funded" as broader than "county-owned"; the AG specifically says ownership by a "non-county entity" does not exempt a building if the county judge oversees it and it is funded by taxpayers.
If you are a quorum court member or county attorney
Counties have police power but cannot exercise it inconsistently with state law (§ 14-14-808(a)). The AG's reading places § 1-4-133 squarely in the area where state law trumps. A county ordinance attempting to give the county judge an out would itself likely be void as inconsistent with state law.
If you are a school superintendent, college administrator, or state agency head
The 2017 baseline applies to you and has not changed. The 2019 expansion broadened the list of regulated officials but did not narrow the original ones. The conditions for compliance remain: voluntary donation funds available, official subject to the statute, and the building or facility being on the statutory list.
If you are a member of the public
The display is mandatory only if voluntary donations are available to fund it. Section 1-4-133(b) does not authorize using state or county tax dollars to buy the displays. If you want to ensure compliance in your county, the practical step is organizing donations to the local school board, the local building governing entity, or the Building Authority Division.
Common questions
Q: What does § 1-4-133 actually require to be displayed?
The national motto "In God We Trust," with both the United States flag and the Arkansas flag simultaneously displayed alongside the motto. The placement must be "in a conspicuous place" in a covered building.
Q: What buildings count?
Public buildings and facilities maintained or operated by taxpayer funds, regardless of whether the funding is state, county, or city, and regardless of whether the building is "open to the public" in the visitor sense. The AG read the statute to apply broadly to publicly funded property under a listed official's oversight.
Q: Can voluntary donations come from anywhere?
Section 1-4-133(b) authorizes contributions to the local school boards, the local building governing entity, or the Building Authority Division. The opinion does not address whether donations from private third parties (e.g., civic groups) can be channeled through these entities, but the statute appears to contemplate exactly that.
Q: What if a county judge personally objects to the display?
Personal objection does not create a legal defense. The AG concluded that neither Amendment 55's enlarged county authority nor § 14-14-1102's "custody" of county property gives a county judge discretion to refuse to comply with a state statute on point.
Q: Is § 1-4-133 constitutional?
Earlier Arkansas AG opinions (Op. 2017-101) concluded that the statute does not violate the Establishment Clause or any other clause of the U.S. Constitution. This 2024-087 opinion does not revisit that question; it reads the statute as written.
Background and statutory framework
A.C.A. § 1-4-133. Mandates the display of "In God We Trust," the U.S. flag, and the Arkansas flag in covered public buildings when voluntary donations fund the display. Subsection (a)(1) lists the regulated officials and administrators, including local school superintendents, local building administrators, chief administrators of the public schools, institutions of higher education or their designees, and administrative officials of state agencies or their designees. Subsection (b) limits funding to voluntary contributions.
The 2019 amendment. Act 604 of 2019 added "local building administrators" to the list. The AG read this addition as a distinct category, not a sub-category of school administrators, based on the absence of any limiting language, the variety of officials in the same list, the broader statutory references to "[p]ublic building[s] or facilit[ies]" maintained by taxpayer funds, and the grammar of the list.
Ark. Const. amend. 55. Grants counties enlarged self-governance authority. Section 1(b) limits counties to authority "relating to county affairs." Section 3 gives the county judge "custody of county property." But the amendment does not prohibit the General Assembly from enacting laws regulating county affairs, and county police power must not be exercised inconsistently with state law.
A.C.A. § 14-14-1102(b)(3)(A). Codifies the county judge's role as "chief executive officer of the county" with "custody of county property" and responsibility "for the administration, care, and keeping of such county property." The AG read this as administrative custody, not lawmaking authority that can override a state-law signage requirement.
Citations
- A.C.A. § 1-4-133 (national motto display)
- A.C.A. § 14-14-801, § 14-14-808(a), § 14-14-1102 (county powers)
- Ark. Const. amend. 55 (county self-governance)
- Metzner v. State, 2015 Ark. 222
- Schnarr v. State, 2018 Ark. 333
- Johnson v. Rockwell Automation, Inc., 2009 Ark. 241
- Harkuf v. Marony, 2022 Ark. 55
- Slusser v. Farm Serv., Inc., 359 Ark. 392
- Ark. Att'y Gen. Ops. 2017-101, 2020-019, 2010-084
Source
Official summary
Question 1: Does A.C.A. § 1-4-133 apply only to public schools, institutions of higher education, and state agencies?
Brief response: No. Arkansas Code § 1-4-133 also applies to local building administrators.
Question 2: Do county judges fall under the definition of "local building administrators" as that term is used under A.C.A. § 1-4-133(a)(1)?
Brief response: Yes. County judges are "local building administrators" under A.C.A. § 1-4-133(a)(1).
Question 3: To what type of property or facilities does A.C.A. § 1-4-133 apply?
Brief response: Arkansas Code § 1-4-133 applies to publicly funded property under a listed official's or administrator's oversight, regardless of whether it is actually open to the public or is owned by a non-county entity.
Question 4: Does Amendment 55 of the Arkansas Constitution preempt or A.C.A. § 14-14-1102(b)(3)(A) repeal A.C.A. § 1-4-133, so that county judges have discretion to determine whether to comply with A.C.A. § 1-4-133?
Brief response: They do not; a county judge must comply with A.C.A. § 1-4-133.
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2024-087
February 13, 2025
The Honorable Joshua Bryant
State Senator
Post Office Box 718
Rogers, Arkansas 72757
Dear Senator Bryant:
I am writing in response to your request for my opinion on questions concerning county judges, county property, and the requirements to display the national motto under A.C.A. § 1-4-133.
You ask the following questions, as paraphrased:
- Does A.C.A. § 1-4-133 apply only to public schools, institutions of higher education, and state agencies?
Brief response: No. Arkansas Code § 1-4-133 also applies to local building administrators.
- Do county judges fall under the definition of "local building administrators" as that term is used under A.C.A. § 1-4-133(a)(1)?
Brief response: Yes. County judges are "local building administrators" under A.C.A. § 1-4-133(a)(1).
- To what type of property or facilities does A.C.A. § 1-4-133 apply?
Brief response: Arkansas Code § 1-4-133 applies to publicly funded property under a listed official's or administrator's oversight, regardless of whether it is actually open to the public or is owned by a non-county entity.
- Does Amendment 55 of the Arkansas Constitution preempt or A.C.A. § 14-14-1102(b)(3)(A) repeal A.C.A. § 1-4-133, so that county judges have discretion to determine whether to comply with A.C.A. § 1-4-133?
Brief response: They do not; a county judge must comply with A.C.A. § 1-4-133.
DISCUSSION
Arkansas Code § 1-4-133 requires the listed officials and administrators to display the national motto, the U.S. flag, and the Arkansas flag in certain government buildings and facilities if: (1) voluntary donations are available to fund the display, (2) the official or administrator is subject to the statute, and (3) the official or administrator presides over a listed building or facility. Because your questions chiefly concern the second and third requirements, the remainder of this opinion focuses on those elements and assumes the first requirement is met.
Question 1: Does A.C.A. § 1-4-133 apply only to public schools, institutions of higher education, and state agencies?
Arkansas Code § 1-4-133(a) requires "local school superintendents, local building administrators, or chief administrators of the public schools in this state, or institutions of higher education, or their respective designees, and the administrative officials of state agencies, or their respective designees" to "display in a conspicuous place" in certain buildings and facilities the national motto, "In God We Trust," with both the United States and Arkansas flags simultaneously displayed with the motto.
The statute was first enacted in 2017, and in 2019, the list of regulated officials and administrators was amended to include the underlined text adding "local building administrators." A court will interpret a statute "just as it reads, giving the words their ordinary and usually accepted meaning."
Section 1-4-133 originally concerned only public schools and state agencies, but the 2019 amendment expanded the statute's scope to include "local building administrators." This expansion is not limited to the prior existing categories of public schools and state agencies for four reasons.
First, the added phrase "local building administrator" standing alone does not contain language that would limit its application to public schools or state agencies. Second, the wide range of officials listed in § 1-4-133(a)(1) indicates that "local building administrator" should be read broadly. Third, the statute as a whole confirms that "local building administrator" includes all administrators of local buildings. Fourth, as a matter of grammar, the best reading of A.C.A. § 1-4-133(a)(1) is that "of the public schools" modifies only "chief administrator."
Question 2: Do county judges fall under the definition of "local building administrators" as that term is used under A.C.A. § 1-4-133(a)(1)?
"Local building administrator" is not defined in A.C.A. § 1-4-133. Because the statute does not provide definitions, we give the words their usual meaning. The word "administrator" commonly means "[s]omeone who manages or heads a … public office, agency, or other organization," which is broad enough to include a county judge. To the extent that the county judge has the authority to oversee and manage the county buildings, he or she is a "local building administrator" subject to A.C.A. § 1-4-133.
Question 3: To what type of property or facilities does A.C.A. § 1-4-133 apply?
Arkansas Code § 1-4-133 applies to all "[p]ublic building[s]" and "facilit[ies] in this state that [are] maintained or operated by taxpayer funds." Thus, the national motto requirements would apply to a municipal building if it is: (1) open to the public ("[o]pen or available for all to use"), or (2) funded by taxpayers, regardless of whether that funding is at the State, county, or city level. If a building is public and publicly funded, a relevant official or administrator who oversees and manages that building would be responsible for adhering to A.C.A. § 1-4-133.
Question 4: Does Amendment 55 of the Arkansas Constitution preempt or A.C.A. § 14-14-1102(b)(3)(A) repeal A.C.A. § 1-4-133, so that county judges have discretion to determine whether to comply with A.C.A. § 1-4-133?
Counties are created by the General Assembly and, under Amendment 55, "may exercise local legislative authority not denied by the Constitution or by law." Although counties do not inherently have the "police power," the General Assembly has expressly delegated it to them. But a county cannot "exercise … any power in any manner inconsistent with state law," nor can it "exercise any authority not relating to county affairs."
Neither Amendment 55 nor A.C.A. § 14-14-1102 specifically identify county judges having the power to regulate signage in public buildings. And the fact that county buildings must comply with A.C.A. § 1-4-133 does not conflict with or inhibit a county judge's "custody of county property" under Amendment 55 or A.C.A. § 14-14-1102.
In sum, county judges, as "local building administrators," and public or publicly funded buildings that the county judge oversees and manages must comply with A.C.A. § 1-4-133. If a county judge does not adhere to this statute, they would be acting contrary to State law. Further, neither Amendment 55 of the Arkansas Constitution nor applicable statutes prohibit the General Assembly from requiring county buildings to comply with § 1-4-133(a). And I have not located any other authority that grants a county judge the discretion not to comply with that statute.
Assistant Attorney General William R. Olson prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General