Does our county have to reimburse our part-time public defenders for office rent, mileage to court, and other office expenses?

Plain-English summary

Representative Dolly Henley asked which government body must reimburse two part-time Hempstead County public defenders for office expenses, rent, and mileage between their homes and court. The AG explained that A.C.A. § 16-87-302 divides expenses between the county and the Arkansas Public Defender Commission.

The county pays for equipment, supplies, and other office expenses necessary to the effective and efficient operation of the public defender's office. It also pays office rent if the rent qualifies as a necessary facility cost or office expense. Travel unrelated to defending an indigent client falls to the county if it is necessary to office operations.

The Commission pays travel expenses connected to defending an indigent client. The AG agreed with a prior opinion assigning indigent-defense mileage to the Commission. For the more specific trip from a defender's personal home to court, he said no statute, case, or prior AG opinion squarely answered the question. In his view, a court likely would find that the Commission pays if the trip directly concerns an indigent client's case. He noted that the General Assembly may define or limit “travel.” He did not decide whether any particular submitted expense meets the statutory criteria.

What this means for you

If you prepare a county public-defender budget

Separate necessary office costs from travel connected to indigent representation. The AG assigned the first category to the county and the second to the Commission. Office rent qualifies only if it is a necessary facility or office expense. For home-to-court mileage, use the opinion as the AG's prediction of how a court would read the statute, while recognizing that he found no decision directly on point.

If you submit a reimbursement request

Describe what the expense was for. Whether a trip related to an indigent client's defense, and whether rent or another charge was necessary to office operations, are factual questions the AG did not resolve. His analysis places indigent-defense travel with the Commission and other necessary office costs with the county.

Common questions

Who pays rent for a public defender's office?

The county pays if the rent is a facility cost or office expense necessary to the effective and efficient operation of the office. Whether a particular rent meets that test is a fact question.

Is home-to-court mileage automatically a Commission expense?

The AG said a court likely would assign that mileage to the Commission if the trip directly concerns an indigent client's case. He found no authority squarely addressing travel from a personal home, and whether a particular trip concerns indigent defense remains a factual question.

What if travel is unrelated to an indigent client's defense?

The AG assigned it to the county if it is necessary to the effective and efficient operation of the public defender's office. He did not classify particular trips in this request.

Did the AG overrule a contrary court decision?

No. He discussed earlier AG Opinions 2003-303 and 2004-079 and a change in how courts review agency interpretations. He said no court case squarely answers the home-to-court mileage question.

Background and statutory framework

A.C.A. § 16-87-302 allocates public-defender expenses between the county and the Commission. A.C.A. § 16-87-212 includes travel among expenses payable by the Commission. The AG read “travel” in its ordinary sense and agreed with Opinion 2003-303's allocation of indigent-defense mileage. He noted that courts review agency statutory interpretations de novo and that the legislature remains free to define or limit the travel category.

Citations

Statutes:

• A.C.A. § 16-87-212 (Commission-authorized expenses, including travel)
• A.C.A. § 16-87-302 (allocation between county and Commission)

Cases:

• Roberson v. Phillips Cnty. Election Comm'n, 2014 Ark. 480, 449 S.W.3d 694
• Myers v. Yamato Kogyo Co., Ltd., 2020 Ark. 136, 597 S.W.3d 613

Other AG opinions:

• 2003-303 (mileage analysis, endorsed)
• 2004-079 (prior hedging, superseded)

Source

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

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 2025-107

October 31, 2025

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Post Office Box 128
Washington, Arkansas 71862

Dear Representative Henley:

I am writing in response to your request for my opinion concerning a county’s responsibility to reimburse public defenders.

You report that Hempstead County has two part-time public defenders, one residing in Nevada County and the other in Miller County. You state, “Both deputy public defenders have submitted and seek reimbursements for office expenses, rent[,] and mileage from their homes to court.”

In light of the above, you ask two questions:

1. Under A.C.A. § 16-87-302, is Hempstead County required to reimburse its deputy public
   defenders for office expenses, rent[,] and mileage to and from their homes to court?

2. Under A.C.A. § 16-87-302 and other applicable Arkansas law, is Hempstead County
   required to reimburse its deputy public defenders for any other possible work-related
   expenses?

   Brief response: To answer the questions together, Hempstead County must reimburse
   deputy public defenders for office-related expenses and rent, but not for
   travel expenses incurred in indigent representation. Those expenses fall
   within the purview of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission.

DISCUSSION

Question 1: Under A.C.A. § 16-87-302, is Hempstead County required to reimburse its deputy public defenders for office expenses, rent, and mileage to and from their homes to court?

Question 2: Under A.C.A. § 16-87-302 and other applicable Arkansas law, is Hempstead County required to reimburse its deputy public defenders for any other possible work-related expenses?
BOB R. BROOKS JR. JUSTICE BUILDING
101 WEST CAPITOL AVENUE
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Opinion No. 2025-107
Page 2

Historically, counties were responsible for paying all costs incurred by public defenders, including salaries and expenses. 1 But now, under A.C.A. § 16-87-302, that responsibility is divided between two governmental bodies: the Arkansas Public Defender Commission (the State) and the county within a judicial district. You specifically ask whether the county must reimburse for office expenses, rent, and mileage from a home to court.

1. Office expenses. The county pays for “equipment, supplies, and other office expenses necessary
   to the effective and efficient operation of the public defender’s office.” 2 Whether a given expense falls under one of these categories is a fact question outside the scope of an Attorney General opinion.

2. Rent. The county pays for rent if it is a facility cost or office expense “necessary to the effective
   and efficient operation of the public defender’s office.” 3 I take “rent” as used in your question to mean office rent. Whether a particular rent is a covered facility cost or office expense is a fact question outside the scope of an Attorney General opinion.

3. Mileage. The Arkansas Public Defender Commission pays for “travel” expenses if they concern
   the defense of an indigent client. 4 Travel expenses unrelated to the defense of an indigent client are paid by the county if necessary to the “effective and efficient operation of the public defender’s office.” 5 Whether a given expense concerns travel related or unrelated to the defense of an indigent client is a fact question outside the scope of an Attorney General opinion.

It appears that the undefined word “travel” in the applicable statute has created some confusion about whether mileage to and from the courthouse in a case should be paid as “operating expenses” by the county or as “travel” expenses for an indigent client’s case by the Commission. In Opinion 2003-303, my predecessor concluded that under A.C.A. § 16-87-302, “the Commission, not the county, should properly be charged” mileage for travel incurred by the public defender’s office when related to indigent defense. 6 In Opinion 2004-079, my predecessor qualified his previous conclusion. While my predecessor appears to have remained confident in his original interpretation of the word “travel,” he noted that “the legislative history and the Commission’s interpretation for this statute leaves the matter in doubt” and “[l]egislative clarification appears warranted.”

Based on the plain language of the statute and the subsequent change in case law concerning the weight of an agency’s interpretation of a statute, I agree with Opinion 2003-303’s conclusion that

1
See Ark. Att’y Gen. Op. 2004-079.
2
A.C.A. § 16-87-302(b)(1)(A).
3
Id.
4
Id. §§ 16-87-212(a)(2)(A), 16-87-302(a)(3).
5
Id. § 16-87-302(b)(1)(A).
6
See Ark. Att’y Gen. Op. 2003-303.

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Opinion No. 2025-107
Page 3

the Public Defender Commission, not the county, is responsible for paying mileage for travel incurred by the public defender’s office.

One must interpret a statute “just as it reads” and must give “the words their ordinary and usually accepted meaning in common language.” 7 Courts determining the meaning of statutes no longer give “deference to agencies’ interpretations of statutes.” 8 Rather, they review agency interpretations of statutes de novo. 9

The next important question is whether mileage for travel from a personal home—and not just an office—to the courthouse is “travel” under A.C.A. § 16-87-302(a)(3) that the Commission must pay. No statute, Attorney General opinion, or court case squarely addresses this issue.

Still, A.C.A. § 16-87-302(a)(3) provides that the “Arkansas Public Defender Commission shall be responsible … for the payment of the costs of certain expenses, as authorized by § 16-87-212,” which includes “travel” set off as a separate item in a list of authorized expenses. 10 Although “travel” is undefined, its ordinary meaning encompasses mileage for travel to and from the courthouse. 11 The General Assembly has the authority to define or limit the term. But in my opinion, a court likely would find that mileage to and from a public defender’s home to court would be the responsibility of the Public Defender Commission if it directly concerns an indigent client’s case. Whether a given expense concerns travel related or unrelated to the defense of an indigent client is a fact question outside the scope of an Attorney General opinion.

Assistant Attorney General William R. Olson prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.

Sincerely,

TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General

7
Roberson v. Phillips Cnty. Election Comm’n, 2014 Ark. 480, 4, 449 S.W.3d 694, 696.
8
Myers v. Yamato Kogyo Co., Ltd., 2020 Ark. 136, 5–6, 597 S.W.3d 613, 617.
9
Id.
10
See also Ark. Att’y Gen. Op. 2003-303 (reading A.C.A. § 16-87-302’s “shall be responsible” language and A.C.A.
§ 16-87-212’s “is authorized” language harmoniously to mean that the Commission is responsible for “travel” payments). 11 See Travel expense, Black’s Law Dictionary 721 (12th ed. 2024) (defining “travel expense” to include “[a]n expense (such as for meals, lodging, and transportation) incurred while away from home in the pursuit of a trade”).