Arkansas Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Arkansas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
If a Fayetteville police lieutenant recorded my two-hour phone call about a citizen complaint and the city is withholding the audio as an 'employee evaluation,' is that legal under the Arkansas FOIA?
Probably partly. Without seeing the recording, the AG could not definitively rule, but the call sounds like a 'mixed record.' The portion not tied to investigating the citizen complaint is likely a pe…
When a corrections department employee's personnel file gets a FOIA request, are administrative records, promotion letters, and demotion letters all releasable, and how should email addresses and references' contact information be handled?
Mostly yes, with consistency fixes. Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded that all the records the Arkansas Department of Corrections planned to release for employee Danielle Conner, administrative r…
When a community supervision officer's personnel file gets a FOIA request, can the employer release it with redactions, and can private-sector references' contact information be redacted along with everything else?
Mostly yes, with adjustments. Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded the Arkansas Department of Corrections's decision to release Thelma Delancey's personnel records with redactions was largely consis…
Can an Arkansas city or county replace a retiring power plant with a wind project, and can it put a specific wind project up for a public vote?
No on both counts. AG Tim Griffin concluded that wind energy is statutorily defined as 'intermittent' and therefore cannot replace a 'dispatchable' generation facility being retired under A.C.A. § 23-…
Can an Arkansas charity give door-raffle prizes worth more than $100 to public-employee social workers at an event honoring their public service?
Probably not, at least not without risk. AG Tim Griffin concluded that random door-raffle prizes given to public-servant social workers at a 501(c) appreciation event are likely 'gifts' rather than st…
Can a justice of the peace bring a firearm into a quorum court meeting in Arkansas?
Open carry is out. AG Tim Griffin concluded that a justice of the peace may not openly carry a loaded firearm into a quorum court meeting held in a publicly owned building. Concealed carry is allowed …
Can the City of Little Rock ban all firearms at the Little Rock Zoo?
No. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City Manager's no-exceptions firearms ban posted at the Little Rock Zoo violates A.C.A. § 14-54-1411, Arkansas's firearms-preemption statute. The Zoo is a municip…
Will the Arkansas Attorney General certify the proposed Natural Environment Amendment ballot measure for circulation, and what would the proponent need to fix?
Rejected. AG Tim Griffin would not certify the popular name and ballot title for the Natural Environment Amendment because the ballot title doesn't accurately summarize the measure's text, has interna…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General certify the popular name and ballot title for a proposed constitutional amendment that would abolish the office of constable?
Yes, with substituted language. Attorney General Tim Griffin substituted a more concise popular name ('The Constable Amendment of 2026') and a revised ballot title ('This is a proposed amendment to th…
When a Regional Intermodal Facility in Arkansas wants to award a public works contract, buy commodities, or sell off real or personal property, does the state procurement law apply to it the way it applies to a state agency?
No. Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded that Regional Intermodal Facilities are public corporations created by counties or municipalities, not state agencies, and the Arkansas Procurement Law does …
When a public employee's personnel records get a FOIA request, can the employee block release by objecting to the requester's motives or what the requester might do with the records?
No. Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded that under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, the requester's intent and motives are generally irrelevant to the custodian's release decision. Employee…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General eventually certify the ballot title for the four-year-term-of-office initiative for justices of the peace?
Yes, after the sponsor revised the proposal. AG Tim Griffin certified a substituted popular name and ballot title for David Dinwiddie's resubmitted initiated amendment to extend justice-of-the-peace t…
Can my Arkansas city withhold the entire internal affairs file on a police officer who was not disciplined?
Mostly yes, but not the routine call-for-service report inside it. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Lowell was right to withhold the memorandums, reprimands, and most of the internal affairs …
Can my child's doctor refuse to give me my minor child's medical records in Arkansas?
Usually no, but there are two exceptions and one foster-care wrinkle. AG Tim Griffin concluded that under HIPAA and Arkansas law, parents and legal guardians normally have the right to access a minor …
Does an Arkansas sheriff's deputy's forced resignation count as a 'termination' for FOIA disclosure of misconduct records?
Yes. AG Tim Griffin concluded that a forced or coerced resignation, where the employee resigns 'in the face of certain, impending termination,' is treated as a 'constructive termination' that satisfie…
Are leave balances, vacation accruals, and PTO records of an Arkansas city fire department employee subject to release under FOIA?
Yes. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Fayetteville's records custodian was right to release the leave-balance and accrual records for a fire department employee with one redaction. Payroll re…
Can my Arkansas city legally refuse a FOIA request for citizen complaints filed against a police officer who was not disciplined?
Mostly no. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Bryant's refusal to release the complaint files was only partially correct. The internal investigation memorandums must be withheld as employee-eva…
After Arkansas Act 314 of 2025 ended extraterritorial planning jurisdiction, can a city still appoint planning commissioners who live outside the city limits?
Yes, but only when the older boundary still controls. AG Tim Griffin concluded that a municipality may still appoint up to one-third of its planning commission from electors who live outside city limi…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed ballot title for changing justice-of-the-peace and constable terms from two years to four?
Because the ballot title described a December 31, 2026 cutoff date that was nowhere in the actual amendment text. AG Tim Griffin rejected the popular name and ballot title for David Dinwiddie's propos…
Can my city release a police officer's termination letter and internal affairs file to a FOIA requester in Arkansas?
Yes, in this case. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Cabot's records custodian was right to classify Officer Son Le's termination letter, letter of reprimand, and internal affairs investigatio…
Can an Arkansas public school excuse a student during the school day to attend off-campus religious instruction with parental permission?
Yes, but with limits. AG Tim Griffin concluded that Arkansas school districts already have the authority under A.C.A. § 6-18-209(a) to adopt attendance policies allowing released time for off-campus r…
What can a city release when someone FOIAs the file of a recently fired employee, including the termination letter, internal emails, and a social worker's note?
Most of the file comes out, but not all. Routine grievance correspondence, supervisor statements, signed workplace policies, and similar documents are personnel records and must be released (with pers…
Does a postage-meter date stamp count as the postmark for proving an Arkansas property tax payment was mailed by the October 15 deadline?
No. Only an actual U.S. Postal Service postmark counts. A postage-meter date stamp shows when your office ran the envelope through the meter, not when USPS took custody. If your envelope reaches the c…
Can an Arkansas district court issue a writ of execution? Does a district court judgment automatically become a lien? Can a sheriff execute a writ from a court in another county or another state?
Yes, sometimes, and yes with conditions. District courts are courts of record in Arkansas and can issue writs of execution to enforce their own judgments. A district court judgment does NOT automatica…
Are emails sent by a justice of the peace or other elected county official public records under Arkansas FOIA, who is the custodian, and how long must they be kept?
Yes, generally. Emails between elected officials acting in their official capacity (such as justices of the peace) are typically public records subject to FOIA, but each email must be evaluated case b…
Can anyone (county collector, county court, or circuit court) waive the late penalty when a property tax payment arrives postmarked after October 15?
No. The 10% delinquency penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-201 is mandatory and cannot be waived. The county tax collector has no discretion. Neither the county court (which has original jurisdiction over c…
Can a city council in Arkansas pass an ordinance the council had no legal power to pass, and if so, must the mayor still sign (authenticate) it? Can the council strip the mayor of authority to fire department heads?
Yes a council can pass an ultra vires ordinance, and the law treats it as 'de facto' (effective until a court strikes it down). The mayor still has to authenticate it: the authentication signature is …
Can a prosecutor's office release a 'Brady list' spreadsheet of officer misconduct, plus emails from law enforcement about Brady issues, to a FOIA requester?
Mostly yes, with care. The emails are personnel records and can come out (no clearly unwarranted privacy invasion). The Brady-list spreadsheets are evaluation records: officers who were suspended or t…
If a city or county gets a state report listing all businesses that remitted sales tax there, can a citizen FOIA that report? And can the city pass an ordinance keeping it secret?
No to both, but for different reasons. The list of businesses remitting sales and use tax is exempt from FOIA under the Tax Procedure Act's confidentiality clause for 'information pertaining to any ta…
Can Arkansas police arrest you for refusing to show ID outside of a traffic stop?
The Attorney General declined to answer. The same issue is on appeal in a Drew County criminal case (State v. White), and the AG's office does not opine on questions actively in litigation. Until a co…
Does an Arkansas city have to release records showing how much comp time its employees have accrued, and can a city council member make that FOIA request?
Yes to both. Comp time records are 'personnel records' under FOIA, similar to salary, sick leave, and vacation records, and they are presumptively releasable. The city must redact narrow personal info…
Can a police department release a FOIA-requested suspension report on three named officers when the officers themselves object?
Yes. Suspension reports that explain the basis for the suspension are employee-evaluation records. The four-part FOIA test is met here: the officers were suspended, the discipline is final, the report…
Can the Arkansas legislature pass a law merging Ouachita County's tax collector office into the county treasurer's office on January 1, 2026?
No. The Arkansas Constitution (Article 19, § 6) prohibits one person from holding two constitutional offices in the same department of government, with narrow exceptions that do not include treasurer …
Can the Arkansas State Police release internal-affairs witness statements, transcripts of interviews, and personal emails from a state trooper's personnel file?
Most of it, yes. Witness statements and interview transcripts in an internal affairs file that resulted in suspension are evaluation records that must be released because the four-part FOIA test is me…
When Pulaski County releases a fired employee's file (termination form, incident report, screenshots of text messages), what redactions are required?
The text messages are personnel records (subject to release with privacy redactions). The termination form and incident report are evaluation records and require the four-part FOIA test (suspension/te…
When the Department of Corrections releases a corrections major's personnel file (timesheets, signed policies, PREA forms, employment records, training certificates), what redactions are required and which are improper?
Most of the custodian's redactions are correct, but two corrections are needed: (1) the employee's AASIS personnel number must be redacted from one Administrative Directive form where it is currently …
When Pulaski County releases HR complaint records (exit interviews, employee complaints, HR responses, harassment investigation forms), how do you classify each piece, and what are the release rules?
Mixed. Detailed exit interviews about a supervisor are evaluation records. Routine forwarding emails by HR (passing along an employee complaint) are personnel records. HR replies that just provide com…
When an employee files a Discrimination and Harassment Complaint form on a county template, is that an evaluation record (which can be withheld) or a personnel record (which must be released)?
It depends on whether the employer directed the employee to complete the form. If yes ('at the behest of the employer'), it is an evaluation record and stays confidential unless the subject of the com…
Does Arkansas law require a person to show ID to a police officer before being charged with obstruction of governmental operations?
No. A person is not required to present, produce, or show ID to a police officer before being charged or ticketed under A.C.A. § 5-54-102 (Obstruction of Governmental Operations). Refusing to identify…
If I'm the subject of a Pulaski County FOIA request for a workplace complaint about me, what can the County actually release and what must it redact?
The County can release emails as personnel records with privacy-related redactions. It must withhold the discrimination/harassment complaint form against you so long as you have not been suspended or …
Can an Arkansas county tax collector require exact-change payments, refuse cash, or operate a fully cashless office? Should tax payments be rounded to the nearest nickel because the U.S. Mint has discontinued the penny?
Yes, yes, and yes (with the rounding question covered by a separate opinion). Neither federal nor state law (constitutional, statutory, or regulatory) requires county officials to accept cash payments…
Can someone in Arkansas run for school board AND for mayor (or city council) at the same time? Can they hold both offices if elected?
Yes to both. The dual-candidacy bar in A.C.A. § 7-5-111 (which prohibits running for more than one 'state, county, municipal, district, or township office' on the same date) does NOT cover school dist…
Does the Arkansas Attorney General have an opinion on whether Act 573 of 2025 (Ten Commandments classroom posters) is constitutional or whether universities have to grant religious accommodations from it?
The AG declined to opine because litigation challenging Act 573 is pending in federal court. The AG flagged that he believes the Act is constitutional and pointed to a brief filed in the Eighth Circui…
Now that the U.S. Mint has stopped making pennies, can an Arkansas store round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, including for SNAP customers paying cash for the non-SNAP portion of a mixed transaction?
Yes. Neither Arkansas nor federal law forbids penny rounding on cash transactions. For SNAP, the federal rule is that retailers cannot treat SNAP coupon users differently from cash users. The simplest…
If my Arkansas police department's federal-grant overtime threshold is 80 hours of work in a two-week pay period, do my sick days, vacation, and comp time count toward that 80-hour total?
No. Under the FLSA's 7(k) exemption and 29 C.F.R. § 778.218(a), only hours actually worked count toward the overtime threshold. Sick leave, vacation, and comp time are not 'hours worked,' so an office…
If my supervisor wrote a memo about a conversation we had and filed a discrimination/harassment complaint against my wishes, can the County release those records under FOIA?
No, not as 'personnel records.' The AG ruled that a memo created by your supervisor describing your work-environment complaints, plus a complaint form completed against your wishes, are employee-evalu…
Can an Arkansas school district let a booster club and an outside ad agency sell broadcast rights to high school football games and keep the proceeds, without going through the public-school-facility sale rules or competitive bidding?
Yes, with limits. The sale-of-school-facility statute does not cover intellectual property like broadcast rights, but Article 14, Section 2 of the Arkansas Constitution still requires the district to …
I FOIA'd Pulaski County for complaints against employees. They redacted entire pages and lots of names. Are those redactions legal under Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly, yes. Whole-page redactions of evaluation records are required when the four-part test isn't met. Name redactions are case-by-case under the privacy balancing test, justified for things like me…
Does the Arkansas Attorney General have to approve a Memorandum of Agreement between Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County to share costs for a public-safety study and Group Violence Intervention?
No. The AG only approves agreements that involve 'joint cooperative action.' An agreement that just splits the bill for a study or program, without committing the parties to act together, is not 'join…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject 'The Natural Environment Amendment' ballot title for the third time, and what would the sponsor need to fix?
The AG rejected the ballot title because the underlying amendment text is too vague to support any non-misleading title. The constitutional duties on government are undefined, the limits on the Genera…
When a county employee files a complaint about a coworker or supervisor under the county's personnel policy, is that complaint a 'personnel record' (mostly disclosable) or an 'employee evaluation' (mostly sealed)?
It's a personnel record. The 'at the behest' test under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(1) requires command or directive, a personnel policy that lets employees file complaints isn't a command. Reprimands and s…
How can a Garland County property owner clear a 1953 pipeline easement that was granted to a long-defunct state commission, when every state agency disclaims authority?
The Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), now under the Department of Commerce, is the legal successor to the 1955 Industrial Development Commission, which inherited the easement from the a…
If a medical clinic bought equipment with federal grant money, is it exempt from Arkansas business personal property tax? And does sending unpaid patient bills to collections cost it any tax exemption?
No, federal-grant-funded purchases by themselves don't trigger an exemption. The clinic might qualify for the public charity exemption if it's open to the public, serves regardless of ability to pay, …
Does an Arkansas sheriff need the county judge's approval to award a retiring deputy his service pistol, given that the county judge controls disposal of county property?
No. § 12-15-302 lets the sheriff award the pistol on his own. The general rule that the county judge disposes of county property is overridden by this specific statute, and the legislature's silence o…
I resigned in lieu of termination from a state job. Can my former employer release my voluntary separation form, resignation letter, and the email and memo about the events that led to my forced resignation?
Yes. The voluntary separation form and resignation letter are personnel records, releasable subject to redactions. The email and memorandum are evaluation records, but a forced resignation counts as '…
If a quorum court doesn't pass an annual appropriation ordinance by January 1, can the county judge and justices of the peace go without pay until they do, and do they get back pay once the ordinance passes?
They can go without pay temporarily, but they're entitled to back pay once the ordinance is adopted. Reading Act 24 of 2025 to deny back pay would unconstitutionally decrease the county judge's compen…
Federal grant funding for our prosecutor's victim-services and administrative staff just expired. Are the counties in our judicial district legally required to keep paying these positions?
Only if those positions existed at the time of the county's January 1, 1999 appropriation. If they did, the counties must fund the positions at sufficient levels for operation, but no less than the 19…
If a council member wants to be appointed mayor and her husband is also on the council, do they have to recuse from the council vote on a third party for the same vacancy? And does abstention reduce the number of yes votes needed for a majority?
There's no statute that automatically requires recusal, but common-law conflict-of-interest rules and Arkansas's ethics statute may require it depending on the specific facts. The Ethics Commission ha…
When a county judge signs an Act 9 industrial bond and a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement with a developer, is he exercising executive authority or judicial authority? And does the quorum court have any role?
The county judge acts in his judicial capacity as the sole member of the county court. The quorum court has no role: under § 14-14-502(c), it cannot exercise any power belonging to the county court wi…
Can Hot Springs Village or its Property Owners Association qualify as a 'water authority' under Arkansas's expanded Water Authority Act and access the state's water-infrastructure loan programs?
Hot Springs Village itself cannot. As an unincorporated community, it has no legal status, so it can't be a 'qualified corporation' or a 'person' under the statute. The Property Owners Association, as…
Is the Arkansas Wind Energy Development Act's April 9, 2025 'under development' exemption deadline constitutional, given that the Act took effect August 5, 2025 with no emergency clause? And does it apply to leases signed between those two dates?
Yes, the retroactive deadline is constitutional. The Arkansas Constitution doesn't ban all retroactive laws; only specific categories like ex post facto criminal laws, impairment of contracts, and due…
A school district got a FOIA request for all complaints about coaches over five years. Which emails are personnel records (releasable) and which are evaluation records (mostly withheld)?
Unsolicited emails from third parties (parents, community members) about coaches are personnel records and must be released, with redactions for things like personal contact information, dates of birt…
Our city scheduled a referendum special election five months after certification. Was that lawful, or did we miss the 120-day deadline in the elections code?
A reviewing court would likely find the City of Ozark's decision to hold a referendum special election about five months after certification (November 18, 2025) was lawful. The two statutes (A.C.A. § …
Can my city ban guns at a kids' soccer game in a city park, and what about a private league that rented the field?
No, neither the city nor the league can ban firearms in a municipal park. The Arkansas General Assembly preempted local firearms regulation under A.C.A. § 14-54-1411. A private organization that rents…
How is a quorum court supposed to implement Act 519 of 2025 for its county planning board?
The AG points the questioner to companion Opinion 2025-068, which lays out four compliance paths (addition, attrition, dissolution, or for-cause removal) and the due-process protections owed to existi…
Our county planning board does not meet the new rural-residency rule in Act 519 of 2025. Do we have to fire current members right away, or can we phase the change in?
Counties have four options for getting their planning boards into compliance with Act 519: add new rural members up to the 12-member statutory cap; let nonrural members serve out their terms and repla…
Are city civil-service commissioners' personal email addresses and personal phone numbers exempt from a FOIA request?
Yes, they are likely exempt, but not for the reason the city gave. The personal-contact-information exemption in A.C.A. § 25-19-105(b)(13) applies only to nonelected employees of state, municipal, sch…
Can I carry a gun openly in an Arkansas city park, including during a kids' soccer game, without a concealed-carry permit?
Yes, you can openly carry a handgun in an Arkansas municipal park, including during athletic events on park fields. You cannot, however, carry inside any city-owned building inside the park (gyms, com…
Can FBI agents, U.S. marshals, or other federal officers enforce Arkansas state law in Arkansas, including outside their normal jurisdiction or on federal land?
Yes. The Arkansas General Assembly has expressly authorized a list of federal law enforcement officers (FBI, Secret Service, DEA, ATF, U.S. marshals, postal inspectors, IRS agents, federal parks/wildl…
I want to put a clean-environment amendment on the Arkansas ballot. Why did the Attorney General reject my proposed popular name and ballot title?
The AG rejected the proposed 'Clean and Healthy Natural Environment Amendment' for the second time. Two structural problems in the amendment text itself prevent the AG from certifying any ballot title…
Can our city legally install a Safe Haven Baby Box at our fire station, and what liability does the city take on if it does?
Yes. The Arkansas Safe Haven Act expressly permits installation of a newborn safety device (Safe Haven Baby Box) at a city-owned fire station. The city must meet specific statutory and code requiremen…
Does our county have to reimburse our part-time public defenders for office rent, mileage to court, and other office expenses?
The county pays for office equipment, supplies, rent, and other office expenses 'necessary to the effective and efficient operation of the public defender's office.' But the county does not pay for tr…
Can a state agency withhold law-enforcement officer decertification records under FOIA before the Commission has voted on the decertification?
The three exemptions the Department of Public Safety might have reached for (undisclosed investigations, personnel records, and personal contact information) generally do not apply to CLEST decertific…
I have a deck or shed that crosses onto Corps of Engineers property. Can the Corps file a Notice of Encroachment in the county records against me, or is that a crime under Arkansas law?
It is not a crime. A.C.A. § 5-37-226 prohibits filing a phony or title-clouding instrument with the county recorder for the purpose of obtaining money or clearing title, but it expressly excludes 'a b…
A sheriff's office wants to release an internal-investigation report about deputies meeting with a sheriff candidate while on duty. Can they?
No. The internal-investigation report is an employee-evaluation record because it was created by the sheriff's office to evaluate the deputies' on-the-job conduct. Employee-evaluation records can only…
Are prediction-market platforms like Kalshi (where you bet on election outcomes, sports outcomes, and other future events) legal in Arkansas without a gaming license?
No. The AG concludes that prediction-market platforms like Kalshi facilitate gambling under Arkansas law and require gaming licensure. The Arkansas Supreme Court has defined gambling as 'risking of mo…
Does Arkansas law require cities to give veterans preference in hiring, promotion, or layoffs?
No. Arkansas law permits but does not require cities and other local governments (counties and townships, but not the state or public colleges) to adopt a veterans' preference employment policy. If a …
Does an Arkansas police or code enforcement officer have to show me ID before charging me with obstructing governmental operations or false identification?
No. Neither A.C.A. § 5-54-102 nor any other Arkansas law requires a law enforcement or code enforcement officer to present identification to a suspect before charging or citing the suspect for obstruc…
A campus childcare center has video surveillance footage that ended up in a child-maltreatment investigation. Can the university release that footage in response to a FOIA request?
No, generally not. The Child Maltreatment Act exempts from FOIA any data, records, or documents concerning a child maltreatment investigation conducted by an authorized entity, including campus police…
When a city reimburses the county for its share of election expenses, does the formula's denominator include voters from unincorporated areas of the county or just voters from cities and towns?
Yes, the denominator includes all voters who cast ballots in the election countywide, including unincorporated-area voters. The denominator is not limited to municipal voters. A.C.A. § 7-5-104(a)(2) c…
Can a fire department in one Arkansas county take over or fund a volunteer fire department in another county?
No state law expressly prohibits one county's fire department from exercising authority over or funding a volunteer fire department in another county. Whether it can actually do so depends on how the …
After my city annexed an area, the city and a county water authority are both charging me for water-service inspections. Which one has the right to inspect and charge?
The city has exclusive authority. Under Act 895 of 2017 (codified at A.C.A. § 14-208-102(a)(1)(C)), when a rural water service operates within the annexed boundaries of a municipality, the municipalit…
The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee told the Treasurer to release water-sewer audit turnback funds even though some cities have not filed their reports yet. Can the Treasurer do that?
Not directly. Under Act 453 of 2023, codified at A.C.A. § 14-234-120, the Treasurer can release withheld water-sewer audit turnback funds to a municipality only after receiving a notice from the Legis…
I'm a journalist asking for state employee termination notices. Why won't the agency release them?
Because the termination notices stated the grounds for termination, they qualify as employee-evaluation records, which are subject to a strict four-element release test (suspension or termination, adm…
Why did the Attorney General reject my proposed environmental amendment 'The Amendment to Keep Arkansas Natural'?
The AG rejected this first version of the proposed environmental amendment for four undefined terms in the amendment text: 'environment,' 'environmental life support system,' 'remedies,' and the duty …
How does an Arkansas city sort through a police officer's complete personnel file for a FOIA release? Which records go out, which get redacted, and which stay confidential?
The Fayetteville custodian wanted to release everything with redactions, but the AG splits the file across nine categories: administrative records (mostly releasable as personnel records, with college…
A school district investigated an employee, the employee resigned, and now the district refuses to release the investigation files. Can they?
Maybe yes, maybe no. The AG offers a roadmap rather than a binary answer because he has not seen the records. Three categories: (1) unsolicited third-party complaints are personnel records subject to …
Can a regional airport renew a tenant's lease without going through a bid process if the airport's bylaws don't require bidding?
Likely yes, with caveats. A regional airport organized under the Arkansas Regional Airport Act has the statutory authority to enter contracts and lease property independent of any bylaws. The absence …
Can my Arkansas city or county pause wind turbine construction with a moratorium under Act 945 of 2025?
Yes. Local governments (cities, counties, other municipal/governmental subdivisions defined in A.C.A. § 23-18-1303) may enact moratoriums on wind turbine construction and installation. Act 945 of 2025…
Is the City of Fayetteville now in compliance with Arkansas's sanctuary city ban after the AG's earlier finding that it was not?
Yes. After the AG's earlier Opinion 2025-048 found that Fayetteville maintained a prohibited 'sanctuary policy' under A.C.A. § 14-1-103 and made the city ineligible for state discretionary funding, Ma…
I asked Washington County for discipline records on two former employees and the custodian denied everything. Can the county hold all of that back?
Mostly no. The AG concluded the blanket denial is largely inconsistent with FOIA. The emails, three separation notices, and an investigation closure letter are personnel records that should be release…
I'm the same Conway officer in opinion 2025-089 and someone made a separate, broader FOIA request listing ten categories of records about me. The custodian gave me his planned answers for each category. Are they right?
Mostly OK, but several depend on classification calls the custodian must still make. Your personnel file (category 1) needs to be sorted document by document. Categories 2, 3, and 5 (incident records,…
Did the City of Fayetteville adopt a sanctuary policy by saying 'the city does not assist ICE,' and what does that mean for state funding?
Yes. The AG concluded that the mayor's June 17, 2025 media release reflects a pre-existing City of Fayetteville policy that violates A.C.A. § 14-1-103. The release stated that the police department 'd…
Three coworker complaints have been filed against me, and now they're being released under FOIA. Aren't those internal investigation records? Can I block release?
No. The AG concluded that anonymous complaints filed by coworkers are personnel records, not evaluation records, because they were not created by or at the behest of the employer. They are not transfo…
Washington County is about to pass an ordinance that exempts a single private recovery facility from the county's conditional use permit rules. Is that an unconstitutional 'special law' under the Arkansas Constitution?
The AG declined to answer because of pending federal litigation. Eaglecrest Recovery, LLC v. Washington County, Arkansas, No. 5:24-cv-05249 (W.D. Ark., filed December 6, 2024), addresses the same cond…
Does Act 751 of 2025 stop our civil service commission from interviewing candidates for promotion to corporal or sergeant, or does it only restrict interviews for new hires?
Only new hires. The new ban on commissioners 'engaging in interviews' in section 14-51-301(b)(3)(B)(ii) applies only to applicants from outside the department, that is, candidates for appointment. Com…
I'm a Conway police officer. I was terminated, I'm appealing it to the Civil Service Commission, and the city wants to release a big stack of records about my case. Can they?
Mostly no on the records connected to your termination, but several other records can go out. Because your termination is on appeal to the Conway Civil Service Commission, your evaluation records (any…
We're trying to plan our initiative petition campaign under the new Act 274 rules. Can a canvasser play voters a prerecorded reading of the ballot title and then accept their signature, or does the canvasser have to do the reading live? And can voters listen on headphones, speed up the playback, or hear it in another language?
The AG declined to answer because of pending federal litigation. League of Women Voters of Arkansas v. Cole Jester, No. 5:25-cv-05087 (W.D. Ark., filed April 21, 2025), is challenging Act 274 of 2025,…
I run a small police department. Someone has FOIA'd a former officer's personnel file. I have admin records, a written warning, a paid-administrative-leave letter, a final investigation letter, investigative notes, and a resignation letter. What can I release?
Release most of it, but hold the investigative notes unless the resignation was actually a constructive termination. The administrative records (job application, training acknowledgments, separation n…
Does Arkansas's new open-meeting law (Act 505 of 2025) apply to a city council, the mayor, or both?
Both. Act 505 applies to a city's 'governing body' and its individual members. A city council is a governing body, and because the mayor is ex officio president of the council, the mayor counts as a c…
When a Little Rock police officer is fired, are the off-boarding forms and the termination letter subject to release under Arkansas's FOIA?
The off-boarding and termination clearance forms are personnel records and must be released with limited redactions (personal contact info, employee ID number). The termination letter is an evaluation…
If I'm settling a car-accident injury claim and the insurer wants me to sign a hold-harmless agreement, can the insurer use that to avoid paying my chiropractor's medical lien?
No. Arkansas's Medical Lien Act says the insurer cannot pay the patient before the lien is paid or released, and the patient cannot waive the personal-injury claim while a perfected lien is unpaid. A …
If a city's mayor fires an employee, the city council reverses that decision and reinstates the employee, and an outside investigator's report exists about the employee, can someone get the investigation report under FOIA?
No. Because the council reinstated the employee, the firing was not 'administratively final,' so the four-part test for releasing an employee evaluation record fails. The investigator's report stays w…
If the State Board of Education takes over a public school district and removes the local school board, does that district become a 'state entity'?
It depends on the purpose. For most statutes that define 'state entity' (energy bonds, cabinet departments, the divisive-concepts law), no, a state-controlled district is still not a state entity. But…
If text messages from a state trooper's personal phone end up in the trooper's personnel file because of an investigation, can the public get them under FOIA, even though the trooper says they're personal?
Yes. Once the messages are in the personnel file connected to the trooper's employment, they're personnel records. The custodian must redact family-related personal content but may release the rest. T…
Can a 501(c)(3) nonprofit give away college football tickets as door prizes at a fundraiser without breaking Arkansas gambling law?
Yes, if attendees aren't paying anything specifically to win the tickets. If they pay just to attend the event and the door prize is a free drawing among attendees, that's not gambling. If they pay fo…
A federal court in Texas struck down the federal ban on home distilling. Does that mean Arkansas's ban on home stills is also unenforceable?
No. The Texas decision applied only to the federal ban and only to the parties in that case. Arkansas's law against owning, possessing, or transporting illicit stills is a state law based on Arkansas'…
Is Arkansas's loitering law (the version updated in 2023) constitutional, and can police give tickets to people who hang around on a sidewalk or roadway?
The 2023 version is presumed constitutional and likely survives First Amendment challenge because it's content-neutral and narrowly targets harassing, alarming, or traffic-blocking conduct. Police off…
If a bank or brokerage holding my retirement savings collapses, can the bank's creditors take my money to pay the bank's debts?
Mostly no, but not absolutely. Under Arkansas's UCC Article 8, your financial assets at a brokerage are not property of the brokerage. In an insolvency, federal law (the Securities Investor Protection…
Can the Arkansas AG review whether a police department properly redacted call-for-service and incident reports under FOIA?
Not under the special opinion-request statute the requester invoked. That statute (A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i)) only lets the AG opine on personnel records and employee-evaluation records. Call-for…
Can a police officer get her own body-camera-review evaluation forms from her department under FOIA, even though those forms are normally exempt from release to the public?
Yes. The FOIA has a special rule (A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(2)) that gives a public employee a right to her own personnel records and evaluation records, even when those records would otherwise be exempt …
If a public agency hires me, can someone get my whole job application (resume, cover letter, references) under FOIA?
Yes, with redactions. Your application, resume, and cover letter are personnel records subject to release. Personal information (date of birth, SSN, contact info) is redacted. Your prior salaries from…
What does it take to get a proposed Arkansas constitutional amendment's popular name and ballot title approved by the AG before signatures can be collected?
The popular name has to clearly identify the measure. The ballot title must accurately describe the measure and (under Act 602 of 2023) be written at an eighth-grade reading level on the Flesch-Kincai…
Can someone get an internal-affairs file from a sheriff's office under FOIA, when the investigation didn't result in any discipline?
Mostly no. The investigation memos, interviews, complaint forms, and Garrity notices are evaluation records and stay closed because no employee was suspended or terminated, so the four-part test fails…
Did Arkansas Corrections properly redact a warden's personnel file before releasing it to a FOIA requester?
Mostly yes, but with two errors. The custodian forgot to redact the warden's tax withholdings and net pay (those should have been redacted) and incorrectly redacted his race, sex, and salary (those sh…
Is a 2013 suspension letter (with a written reprimand inside) and a birth certificate from a Pine Bluff officer's personnel file releasable under FOIA?
The 2013 suspension letter is releasable as an evaluation record (the four-part test is met because the discipline is over twelve years old). But the written reprimand portion of the letter must be re…
When a sheriff's deputy was investigated for two separate complaints, suspended on one, and exonerated on the other, what gets released under FOIA?
The corrective-action form is a personnel record (releasable). The suspension letter that states the grounds is an evaluation record but the four-part test is met for the sustained complaint, so it's …
Can the City of Ward levy 'volunteer fire department' dues under the new 2025 fire-dues law (Act 673)?
No. Act 673 lets county quorum courts levy dues for volunteer fire departments serving unincorporated areas, and lets towns and second-class cities do the same for their volunteer fire departments. Bu…
What gets released and what gets withheld when someone FOIAs the entire personnel file of a long-serving police officer, including commendations, complaints, investigations, and disciplinary records?
Administrative records and unsolicited third-party commendations and complaints come out (with redactions). Department-generated commendations stay closed. Written reprimands and minor warnings stay c…
When the Arkansas Department of Corrections releases a current or former employee's personnel file under FOIA, what specific information has to be blacked out before the file goes to the requester?
The custodian was right to release the personnel file with redactions, but missed several items the AG says must also be redacted: text describing separation from employment on the reference-consent f…
Do public library staff in Arkansas have a parent-like duty to children visiting the library, and are they required to report suspected child abuse?
No, library staff do not stand in loco parentis to children during a regular library visit because library attendance is not compulsory and libraries don't educate kids the way schools do. But every a…
In Arkansas, can a county judge sign a contract for the county without going back to the quorum court for approval, and what limits apply?
Yes. Under Amendment 55 and A.C.A. § 14-14-1102, the quorum court decides what services and goods to fund and appropriates the money, but the county judge alone picks the vendor and signs the contract…
If a North Little Rock police officer was recommended for termination but resigned first, then was decertified by the state and later recertified, can the public see the internal affairs investigation records under FOIA?
The records are employee-evaluation records, so they can only be released if the four-part test is met. The first prong (suspension or termination) is the threshold question. Resignation in the face o…
Our city is in a wet county but sits inside what used to be a dry township that no longer exists as a recognized district. How do we hold a vote to legally sell alcohol there?
You hold a 'local option election for a defunct voting district' under A.C.A. § 3-8-602. The county board of election commissioners issues a resolution defining the boundaries (after a written request…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the popular name and ballot title for the proposed 'Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment,' and what would the sponsors need to fix to get certification?
The AG rejected the ballot title for two reasons. One: Act 602 of 2025 requires ballot titles to be at an eighth-grade reading level on the Flesch-Kincaid scale, and the resubmitted title scored 9.3 (…
When a Prairie Grove police officer resigns instead of being fired, what parts of his personnel file (administrative records, performance evaluations, a written reprimand, and IA investigative records) can the public see under FOIA?
Administrative records (employment application, training certifications, leave spreadsheets, and similar) are personnel records and can be released, but several specific items not yet redacted should …
Is a redacted spreadsheet that lists multiple Conway Police Department employees alongside disciplinary dispositions, but doesn't summarize each employee's misconduct, a personnel record or an evaluation record under FOIA, and can the public see it?
It's a 'mixed personnel record' (it relates to multiple employees and was not created to evaluate any of them), and it should be released. Because the spreadsheet only lists names and dispositions, wi…
I'm a police officer who was terminated and now my termination letter has been requested under FOIA. Can the city actually release that letter?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Cabot termination letter is properly classified as an employee-evaluation record because it states the grounds for termination, and the four-element release test under s…
When a Jonesboro police officer is the subject of a citizen complaint and gets disciplined including suspension, can the public see the complaint form, the performance notice, and the suspension letter under FOIA?
Yes. The citizen-complaint form is a personnel record that has to be released because the public's interest in knowing whether an officer abused public trust outweighs his privacy interest. The perfor…
If the Arkansas Department of Corrections plans to release a current agent's personnel file under FOIA, is the supervisor-completed promotion recommendation a personnel record or an evaluation record, and is a college transcript releasable?
The promotion recommendation is an evaluation record, not a personnel record, because it's created at the employer's request to evaluate the employee. Since the agent has not been suspended or termina…
In rural Arkansas, can the quorum court raise volunteer fire department dues without going back to the voters, and can the dues be charged on a timberland parcel that doesn't have a house or business on it?
Whether the quorum court can raise dues without an election depends on what voters originally approved: if the original ballot measure didn't lock in a specific rate, the quorum court can raise dues; …
Can the Boy Scouts (now Scouting America) sell off any of the 2,840 acres they got from the State of Arkansas in 1976 without losing the property to the state, and is the 1973 act that created those restrictions still good law?
No, they can't sell. The 1976 deed contains direct restraints on alienation (no sale, donation, lease, or conveyance) plus an indirect use restriction. Although direct restraints are normally void at …
Can a county library board claim the entire balance of the county public library fund (from voter-approved millage) and hold it in its own bank account, paying expenses directly without going through the county treasurer?
Yes. Under A.C.A. § 13-2-404(c)(3), if the quorum court enacts an ordinance directing the county treasurer to release the undistributed balance of the county public library fund, the library board can…
What does the Arkansas Attorney General have to consider when deciding whether to certify a ballot title for an initiated constitutional amendment, and why was the original 'Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment' ballot title rejected on its first submission?
The AG checks (1) whether the popular name accurately and impartially identifies the proposal, (2) whether the ballot title summarizes the amendment fairly, briefly, and without partisan tilt or techn…
What was the Arkansas Attorney General's substituted and certified ballot title for David Couch's 'An Amendment Concerning Constitutional Amendments, Initiated Acts, and Referendums,' and what does that ballot title actually say?
After three rejections (Opinions 2025-018, 2025-021, 2025-026), the AG accepted Couch's fourth submission, made minor changes to ensure the ballot title clearly explained the proposal's purpose while …
Should the Little Rock Police Department release commendation letters in a police officer's personnel file under FOIA, and does it matter who wrote the commendation?
Yes, sometimes. The classification turns on who created the letter. Commendation letters created by or at the behest of the employer are evaluation records and must be withheld unless the four-part te…
If a Rogers police officer's file gets requested under FOIA after a suspension, what gets released and what gets redacted, and does it matter if the requester wants the file just to harass the officer?
The custodian was right to redact the driver's license number and to release the suspension/termination-related evaluations. But the custodian missed several items that must also be redacted: employee…
When does an Arkansas law passed in 2025 without an emergency clause go into effect?
August 5, 2025. The 95th General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 5, 2025. Acts without an emergency clause take effect the day after the 90-day referendum-petition window closes. The 90-day window …
Does the Arkansas State Medical Board's Rule 36 (which governs abortion procedures) define 'gestational age' and 'medical emergency' the same way the Arkansas Code does, and what happens when a rule's definitions don't match the statutes the rule is implementing?
Mostly yes, but Rule 36 partially conflicts with the Arkansas Code in two specific places. First, Rule 36's 'medical emergency' definition omits the 'highly lethal fetal disorder' element that A.C.A. …
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the third version of David Couch's proposed amendment ('An Amendment Concerning Constitutional Amendments, Initiated Acts and Referendum'), and what did the sponsor need to fix?
The two prior substantive issues were resolved, but the General Assembly had since passed Act 602 of 2025, which became effective April 14, 2025, and bars certification of any ballot title above eight…
Are properties of regional intermodal authorities (port and freight facilities created under Arkansas law) exempt from local property taxes assessed by counties, cities, school districts, and improvement districts?
Yes. The Regional Intermodal Facilities Act exempts authority properties from all local and municipal taxes, which includes property taxes assessed by any political subdivision: counties, cities, scho…
When the Cabot Police Department received a FOIA request for an officer's suspension letters and a citizen complaint, which had to be released and which could be withheld?
All four documents are properly releasable. A February 2022 suspension letter that does not specify the grounds for suspension is a personnel record subject to disclosure under the Young v. Rice balan…
Does Arkansas's cleft-palate and craniofacial insurance coverage law apply to Medicaid, and how much dental work does it require an insurer to cover?
It depends on which Medicaid program. Traditional fee-for-service Medicaid is probably not a 'health benefit plan' under A.C.A. § 23-79-1501, but Medicaid programs that route beneficiaries through pri…
Can a county pledge money it gets from the state's Property Tax Relief Fund as security for bonds that finance library capital improvements (a new building, renovation, etc.)?
Only if the underlying property tax that the relief fund is replacing could be used for that purpose. The relief fund is a state reimbursement for property taxes counties don't collect because of the …
Someone made a FOIA request for the personnel files and job applications of three of our city's police officers. As the custodian, what do I have to redact and what must I release?
The job applications (titled 'personal history statements') are personnel records and the AG agrees they go out, but with corrections to the redactions. You correctly redacted SSNs, personal contact i…
Why did the Attorney General reject David Couch's revised initiative and referendum amendment for a second time in April 2025?
Couch's second submission fixed two issues from the first rejection (Opinion 2025-018) but introduced new ones. The revision narrowed the AG's certification standard from 'not misleading' to only 'acc…
Can an Arkansas city council member legally attend meetings and vote remotely (Zoom or phone) when the Governor hasn't declared an emergency, and can the city pass its own ordinance authorizing that?
Probably yes on both counts, but Act 505 of 2025 will rewrite the analysis once it takes effect. Without considering Act 505: a city can hold electronic public meetings outside a Governor-declared eme…
When the City of Little Rock got a FOIA request for an employee's personnel file and emails, which redactions on her job applications, salary memo, and performance reviews were correct?
The custodian's decision to release administrative personnel records was mostly correct. But the salary-adjustment memo had inconsistent redactions: names, job positions, and salary information should…
When the City of Hampton received a FOIA request for a former police officer's personnel file, which pieces of information could the city release and which had to be blacked out?
Most of the personnel file is releasable. The custodian properly redacted the officer's phone number, address, date of birth, social security number, and the beneficiary name and relationship on LOPFI…
Why was the proposed Arkansas constitutional amendment to overhaul the initiative and referendum process rejected by the Attorney General in March 2025?
AG Tim Griffin rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title for a constitutional amendment titled 'An Amendment to Amend the Initiative and Referendum Process.' The proposal had two material am…
Who has the legal authority to give a raise to a county tax collector's office staff or a county circuit clerk's office staff in Arkansas?
Only the quorum court can set salaries and appropriate raises for employees of elected county officials. The county judge can veto, but the quorum court can override with a three-fifths vote. If a rai…
If I'm a contract poultry farmer in Arkansas and my contract requires me to mow around the chicken houses for biosecurity, can I buy a zero-turn mower sales-tax-free as farm equipment?
Probably yes, even though the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration has historically said no. The AG broke with DFA, opining that a court would likely find a mower used only for contract-req…
Are Arkansas's two-year ban on former state legislators lobbying and one-year ban on former constitutional officers lobbying constitutional under the First Amendment?
The AG concluded the two-year and one-year complete lobbying bans in A.C.A. § 21-1-402(f)–(g) probably violate the First Amendment because lobbying is core protected political speech, the bans are sub…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the ballot title for 'The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026,' which would require non-public schools that take state funds (or state tax credits) to meet the same academic and accreditation standards as public schools, and expand state education obligations?
Yes. The AG certified both the popular name and ballot title as submitted, since they were identical to a previous proposal he had already substituted and certified in Op. 2024-079. The AG cautioned t…
Who is supposed to pick up an Arkansas inmate from a federal prison or another state's prison and bring them to the Arkansas Division of Correction once they finish their out-of-state sentence?
Nobody, under current Arkansas law. The 2015 amendment to A.C.A. § 12-27-113 took the duty away from the Division of Correction and assigned it only to county sheriffs for inmates already 'in their ch…
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?
County judges must comply. Section 1-4-133 covers 'local building administrators,' which the AG reads to include county judges, and applies to all publicly funded buildings under their oversight. Amen…
Does the Arkansas AG have to review and approve a contract between two cities for one to provide police services to the other, or can the city councils just authorize it themselves?
AG approval is not required. The Greers Ferry-Higden police services agreement is a contract under A.C.A. § 25-20-108(a), not a true interlocal cooperation agreement under § 25-20-104(f). Section 25-2…
Can the City of Fayetteville cap the application and background-check fees that landlords charge prospective tenants, or does Arkansas state law preempt that kind of price regulation?
No. A city cannot cap landlord rental application fees or background check fees. A.C.A. § 14-43-608(a) preempts municipal regulation of the price of those services. Section 14-54-1409 (the rent-contro…
Do the rules for license plates (Chapter 14, Subchapter 7) also apply to the temporary paper buyer's tags dealers issue to new car buyers, including the 100-foot visibility rule and the no-cover rule?
No. The display requirements for temporary preprinted buyer's tags are independent of license plate rules. Some requirements overlap, others don't. The license plate visibility rule (100 feet) does no…
Who enforces the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code in a fire district when wind turbines are being built, the State Fire Marshal, the city, or the local fire department, and can the city add stricter rules and charge inspection fees?
The State Fire Marshal enforces the AFPC by default. Local jurisdictions can establish a building department with a building official to enforce Volume 2 (buildings and structures), can adopt more str…
Does the Arkansas Attorney General have authority to review and approve an interlocal agreement between a city and a county that only divides funding for district court operations?
No. The AG concluded he lacks authority to review the Pope County / Russellville agreement under either the Interlocal Cooperation Act or the county-interlocal-agreement statute. The Cooperation Act a…
If a public employee's name, salary, hire date, and job title are requested under the Arkansas FOIA, can the agency release them?
Yes. The AG concludes that releasing nonelected public employees' compensation information (name, hire date, base salary, bonus, overtime, gross wages, and position title) is consistent with the FOIA.…
Can an Arkansas city pass an ordinance that limits how much a landlord can charge for rental application fees and background checks?
No. AG Tim Griffin opines that Fayetteville's Ordinance 6800 (capping rental application fees at $20 and background check fees at $40) likely violates A.C.A. § 14-43-608, which broadly prohibits munic…
If the state takes my home through eminent domain and I have to buy a new one, can my Amendment 79 senior property tax cap follow me to the new house at the old assessed value?
No. Amendment 79's senior cap applies to the new home, but it caps the new home at the new home's assessed value as of the purchase date, not at the old home's assessed value. There is no 'carry over'…
Can the Arkansas Attorney General review a school district's decision to release records about a job applicant who is not employed by the district?
No. The AG's review jurisdiction under § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) is limited to personnel records and employee-evaluation records. Records about a person who is not employed by the public agency are neit…
What can the Arkansas Department of Corrections redact from a current employee's personnel file in response to a FOIA request, and are commendation letters from supervisors public?
The custodian's redactions of phone, address, date of birth, SSN, employee number, marital status, and dependent information are correct. But the custodian missed redactions in some places (some addre…
When a city releases the personnel files of two former police officers, what can it redact and what must come out?
Phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, employee numbers, marital status, and dependent information are properly redacted as personal contact information or as a clearly unw…
Are the application materials and interview scoresheets for candidates in a public school superintendent search subject to public release?
Mostly. The successful applicant's Candidate Input Forms are personnel records and must be released without redactions. Internal applicants who already work for the district have their Candidate Input…
When can a city release records about a fired police officer, including the termination letter and the internal affairs report on the officer's misconduct?
Most of them can come out. The AG concludes Fayetteville's decision to release the termination letter and the OSP investigative memorandum on the former officer is consistent with the FOIA, because al…
Once I sign up to be an organ donor, can my family override my decision after I die? And can a hospital or organ bank that follows my donor card be sued by my family?
If you signed up as an organ donor, no one else can revoke your gift, before or after your death, unless you provided express contrary indication. Your gift is yours alone to revoke. And anyone who fo…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the revised Fort Smith / Sebastian County interlocal agreement to consolidate 911 dispatch operations after the parties added the missing property-disposal language?
Yes. The AG approved the revised interlocal agreement under A.C.A. § 25-20-104. The only change from the version rejected in Opinion 2024-085 was a single sentence added to Section 8 specifying that, …
Can the Arkansas legislature change a constitutional amendment that voters passed by initiative, or do voters have to approve any change?
AG Tim Griffin reads Amendment 7 literally and says yes: a 2/3 vote in each house can amend an initiated constitutional amendment without going back to the voters. The 1951 Arkansas Supreme Court deci…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Fort Smith / Sebastian County interlocal agreement to combine 911 dispatch operations?
The AG rejected the proposed interlocal agreement between Fort Smith and Sebastian County because it failed to specify how property would be disposed of upon partial or complete termination, a require…
If I bought a car from a dealer and have a paper temporary buyer's tag, do I still have to register the vehicle with the state, or does the temp tag let me skip registration?
Yes, you still have to register the vehicle. The AG made clear that registration and license-plate display are two separate requirements. A temporary preprinted buyer's tag only satisfies the license-…
Can a Fayetteville-style Arkansas city use bonds, sales-tax revenue, or rent receipts to build housing for low- and moderate-income residents without violating the constitutional ban on public-private giveaways?
Yes. The AG concluded that Article 12 § 5 of the Arkansas Constitution does not prevent Fayetteville (or any Arkansas city) from using voter-approved bonds, current city sales-tax revenue, or rental i…
Can Arkansas police use automatic license plate readers, electronic tickets, or roadblocks to find uninsured drivers?
Yes, but with conditions. Arkansas allows ALPRs only for narrow statutory purposes (A.C.A. § 12-12-1803), allows electronic tickets, and lets officers stop a vehicle only on probable cause to believe …
Did the Arkansas AG approve Little Rock's interlocal agreement to join the Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX)?
No. AG Tim Griffin declined to approve the agreement because it did not specify how to establish and maintain a budget for the joint undertaking, as A.C.A. § 25-20-104(c)(4) requires. Without that app…
Can the Arkansas AG review a FOIA decision to release a job application from someone who was never hired?
No. AG Tim Griffin's review power under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) is limited to personnel records and employee-evaluation or job-performance records. Application materials of someone who was neve…
Should a sheriff's office release the disciplinary file and resignation letter of a deputy who resigned in lieu of termination?
Yes, the records should be released. AG Tim Griffin agreed they are employee-evaluation records under FOIA, but found that the four-part release test is met: the deputy's resignation in lieu of termin…
Can the Arkansas Crime Victims Reparations Board pay benefits to a claimant who has a prior felony conviction for criminally injurious conduct?
No. AG Tim Griffin read A.C.A. § 16-90-712(a)(5) and (a)(6) as two separate prohibitions: subsection (a)(5) categorically bars reparations to anyone with a felony conviction involving criminally injur…
Where can an Arkansan stand their ground without retreating before using force in self-defense?
Anywhere you are lawfully present. The 2024 AG opinion explains that the Stand-Your-Ground Act applies wherever a self-defender is legally allowed to be, with one exception: a person committing the fe…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the ballot title for the 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026'?
Yes. After the AG had returned a previous text-less submission (Opinion 2024-076), AG Tim Griffin certified the popular name 'The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026' as submitted and substi…
Can a member of an Arkansas nonprofit corporation give a proxy that directs how their vote should be cast on specific issues?
Yes by default. The 2024 AG opinion concluded that A.C.A. § 4-33-724 allows a nonprofit member to appoint a proxy with express limitations on the proxy's voting authority, which is what a 'directed pr…
Can an Arkansas city order a homeowner to connect to the city sewer when their property is more than 300 feet from the line?
No. The 2024 AG opinion concluded a city cannot lawfully require a homeowner to connect to the city sewer when the property is more than 300 feet from a current sewer line. State law (A.C.A. § 14-235-…
Can the Arkansas AG certify a popular name and ballot title for an initiative petition without the sponsor submitting the full text?
No. AG Tim Griffin returned the AR Kids submission for the 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2026' because the sponsor did not include the full text of the amendment as A.C.A. § 7-9-107(a)-(b)…
Did the Arkansas AG approve a ballot measure to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly, or risk to the mother's life or physical health?
No. The Attorney General rejected the proposed ballot title for the Arkansas Abortion Amendment. The defect was technical but fatal: the definition of 'physical health' described it as the presence of…
Does an Arkansas school district have to declare land 'unused or underutilized' before donating or selling it?
Not necessarily. An Arkansas school district can sell, lease, or donate land that does not meet the statutory definition of 'unused or underutilized.' But if the property does qualify as unused or und…
Do Arkansas private schools have to follow open-records and open-meetings laws if they accept LEARNS Act voucher money?
No. Receiving Education Freedom Account funds under the LEARNS Act is not by itself enough to make a private school subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Two things must be true: the sch…
Can the Arkansas State Police release a state trooper's personnel and internal-affairs file in response to a FOIA request?
Mostly yes. Routine personnel records like hire dates, transfer forms, and pay records are releasable with privacy redactions. Disciplinary suspension letters, internal-affairs files, and the underlyi…
Can a public employee block release of her middle name from a personnel record under Arkansas FOIA?
No. Under Arkansas FOIA, the subject of a personnel record cannot block release of her middle name simply because she does not want it shared. The privacy test is objective. The employee's preference …
Did the Arkansas AG approve the popular name and ballot title for a constitutional amendment to make government transparency a citizen's right?
Yes, with revisions. The Attorney General substituted his own clearer language for both the popular name and the ballot title and certified the revised version. The substituted popular name is 'The Ar…
Do voters in Arkansas city-manager cities still have to approve compensation for the board of directors before the board can set its own salaries?
Yes. The two Arkansas statutes can be read in harmony. Section 14-61-110 (1989) requires voter authorization before city directors and mayors can be paid. Section 14-47-114(a) (1991) lets the board se…
How does the Arkansas AG decide whether a school district properly released personnel records under FOIA when the requester challenges the redactions?
The Attorney General cannot review whether a custodian's release was consistent with FOIA when the requester provides no copies of the released records. Without records, the AG can only state the lega…
Does an Arkansas sheriff's office have to keep evidence collected during a felony investigation even if it has no evidentiary value, or can a court order it released early?
Yes, the sheriff has to hold those items for the full statutory period. Section 13-4-409 sets minimum retention periods based on the type of crime: 2 years after final judgment for general felonies (3…
Do part-time police officers in Arkansas cities get the 15-day annual vacation that the statute requires for police department employees?
Yes. Section 14-52-106(a)(1) requires the head of each police department to grant 'each employee' at least 15 working days of annual vacation with full pay. The statute does not say full-time only. Th…
Did the Arkansas AG approve a ballot measure to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from state sales and use tax?
Yes, with a substituted ballot title. The AG certified David Couch's popular name 'An Act to Exempt Feminine Hygiene Products and Diapers from Sales and Use Tax' as submitted, and certified a substitu…
Can an Arkansas school district stop a student athlete from playing varsity sports just because the student transferred between schools within the same district?
No. Act 768 of 2023 applies equally to interdistrict and intradistrict transfers. The statute protects students 'who transfer[] to another public school or a nonresident school district.' Reading 'ano…
Can an Arkansas county sue a federally recognized tribe (or a tribal-owned LLC) to enforce a contract if the contract does not include a waiver of tribal sovereign immunity?
Maybe. Indian tribes (and tribal entities that act as 'arms of the tribe,' including some tribally-owned LLCs) enjoy sovereign immunity from suit unless Congress has expressly abrogated immunity or th…
If an organization's salaried employee collects ballot-petition signatures as part of their job, does Arkansas law treat them as a 'paid canvasser' subject to the registration and background-check rules?
Yes. An employee who solicits petition signatures as part of their job duties is paid 'in exchange for' soliciting signatures, even if their salary stays the same regardless. They are a 'paid canvasse…
Can an Arkansas city require local candidates to file an extra campaign-finance report before early voting starts, on top of the state-required reports?
Yes. The proposed Bella Vista ordinance, which requires municipal candidates to file a Campaign Contribution and Expense report at least seven days before early voting begins (in addition to state-req…
Can my former law-enforcement employer release my personnel file, internal-affairs investigation, and discipline records under FOIA over my objection?
Mostly yes. Administrative records like hire date, transfers, payroll forms, and acknowledgments are releasable as personnel records, with standard redactions for SSN, DOB, contact info, and the like.…
Can someone who signed an Arkansas initiative petition take their signature back later?
It depends on timing. Arkansas common law likely allows a signer to withdraw their name and signature before the petition is filed with the Secretary of State (or before the constitutional or statutor…
Can an Arkansas circuit clerk force a title insurance agency to use a third-party online portal (and pay a fee) to access real-property records, instead of obtaining them directly from the courthouse?
No for in-office access, but yes if the agency wants the convenience of an online portal. Section 23-103-417 requires city, county, and state offices to allow title insurance agencies free in-person a…
Was a school district right to withhold teacher personnel files and investigation records under Arkansas FOIA when the suspensions were never appealed to the school board?
The Attorney General could not say. The requester did not provide copies of the records to review. Without them, the AG could only outline the legal framework: personnel records are open unless disclo…
Does the Arkansas DOC Secretary still have authority to issue a certificate of expungement for someone sentenced under the Alternative Service Act, even though the act was repealed in 1993?
Yes. Even though the Alternative Service Act was repealed in 1993, individuals who were sentenced under it remain eligible for expungement under the version in effect when they were sentenced. The DOC…
Can an Arkansas bail bondsman or bail-bond company finance the premium for a defendant's bail bond, or own a piece of a company that does?
Bail bondsmen and bail-bond companies cannot finance premiums themselves, because that would violate prohibitions on giving anything of value to the principal and accepting anything of value beyond th…
Can a current Arkansas city alderman keep drawing a retirement benefit earned as a former mayor while also being paid as alderman?
Yes. Arkansas Code § 21-5-107 only restricts compensation for someone simultaneously holding more than one office. A former mayor who now holds only one office (alderman) can take the alderman pay and…
Can central Arkansas cities, Pulaski County, and area water utilities renew their joint GIS interlocal agreement under Arkansas's Interlocal Cooperation Act?
Yes. The Attorney General approved the Sixth Restatement and Amendment of the Pulaski Area Geographic Information System interlocal agreement, finding that it satisfies the Interlocal Cooperation Act'…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Craighead and Poinsett counties' renewed interlocal library agreement, and what has to change for it to be approved?
Disapproved. The proposed interlocal agreement for Crowley's Ridge regional library services failed to name an administrator or joint board, omitted the legal status and powers of the regional library…
Under Arkansas FOIA, what can a sheriff's office redact from a deputy's personnel file in response to a public records request?
Personal contact info, SSN, employee number, marital status, and dependent information were properly redacted. Emergency contact information, FMLA change-of-status dates, and beneficiary designations …
Did Act 633 of 2023 apply to the Pine Bluff School District's 2023 return to local control, and what authority does the State Board have over the schedule for replacing appointed school board members with elected ones?
Act 633 of 2023 does not apply to Pine Bluff School District's return to local control because the State Board's actions on the district predate the Act's effective date and the Act is not retroactive…
Does Arkansas's 2023 law shielding medical marijuana patients from automatic concealed-carry denial conflict with federal firearm law, and what does it actually change for applicants?
Act 757 does not conflict with federal law. The Act prevents the State Police from using a person's status as a medical marijuana patient or caregiver as the sole basis for denying a concealed-carry l…
After the Supreme Court's Tyler v. Hennepin decision, does Arkansas's tax-foreclosure surplus law violate the Takings Clause, and what should former owners do to recover surplus proceeds?
Arkansas's general tax sale process is likely constitutional under Tyler because former owners have two years to apply for surplus proceeds. The exception is donation deeds: if the Commissioner of Sta…
Does the Arkansas Constitution require the state alone to pay state district court judges' salaries, or can cities and counties be required to chip in?
The state is not constitutionally required to be the sole payer of state district court judges' salaries. Amendment 80 is silent on funding, and Amendment 94 requires payment from the Constitutional O…
Can a Bentonville School District donate nine acres of land for affordable teacher housing and a community center, and what triggers a charter school's right of first refusal?
A school district can donate real property under A.C.A. § 6-21-108 if the property is not required for present or future needs and the donation serves a beneficial educational purpose. Adjacent undeve…
Does an Arkansas mayor have law-enforcement powers like a sheriff, and can a county sheriff still operate inside a first-class city's limits?
An Arkansas mayor of a city of the first class is a conservator of the peace with authority equal to a sheriff inside city limits to suppress disorder, keep the peace, make arrests with probable cause…
Do Arkansas gift cards have a 2-year minimum expiration, or does federal law require 5 years, and can a club just zero out unused member credit at year-end?
Federal law preempts the Arkansas 2-year minimum expiration. Gift cards covered by the CARD Act must either have no expiration or have an expiration at least five years after issuance, clearly stated.…
After the LEARNS Act repealed the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, can Little Rock teachers still get a hearing when their contracts are not renewed?
After the LEARNS Act repealed the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act and the Public School Employee Fair Hearing Act, teachers no longer have a statutory right to notice and hearing for nonrenewals (only for …
Can the City of Benton legally redirect 60% of a voter-approved 1-mill firefighter pension tax into the city's general fund?
A court would likely find that Benton's 1982 redirection of 0.6 mills from the voter-approved 1-mill fire pension property tax to the city's general fund is an illegal exaction under Article 16, Secti…
What kind of entity are Arkansas's new used-tire programs and tire accountability boards, and do FOIA, procurement, and interlocal-agreement rules apply to them?
The four new Used Tire Programs and their tire accountability boards are political subdivisions for most legal purposes, and state agencies for procurement-law purposes. They have implied authority to…
Are Arkansas constitutional officers like the Governor, Auditor, and Treasurer subject to the state's general budgeting and procurement laws?
Constitutional offices (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Land Commissioner) are generally not 'agencies' under Arkansas's General Accounting and…
Can third-party groups create their own voter registration form with electronic signatures, and submit them to Arkansas county clerks?
An electronic signature satisfies Amendment 51's signature requirement for Arkansas voter registration. But the registration form itself must be the official mail voter registration application form c…
Can the public see the investigation report and termination paperwork for an Arkansas school superintendent who resigned during a misconduct investigation?
The investigation report, termination notice letter, resignation letter, and the superintendent's attorney letter are all properly disclosable under FOIA. The four-part test for evaluation records is …
If old volunteer fire department board members and a bank refuse to release pension funds to a newly elected board, what legal remedies are available?
If a newly elected volunteer fire department board cannot access tax-funded bank accounts because previous board members refuse to relinquish control, three legal remedies may be available depending o…
What standards does the Arkansas AG apply when reviewing a proposed initiated constitutional amendment, and why was the 2024 recreational marijuana ballot title rejected?
The AG rejected the proposed 'Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2024.' Defects included impermissible incorporation by reference of statutes (violating the full-text requirement), ambiguity…
In Arkansas, can a motor vehicle leasing company that is a subsidiary of an automaker lease vehicles directly to Arkansas consumers without going through a franchised dealer?
An Arkansas leasing company that is affiliated with an automaker can lease directly to Arkansas consumers only if it is genuinely independent of the manufacturer, not an officer, agent, or representat…
In Arkansas, can a city council force the city's Advertising and Promotion Commission to keep funding the convention center, or does the commission have sole authority over how A&P tax dollars are spent?
An Arkansas city's Advertising and Promotion Commission has sole authority over how A&P tax revenue is spent. The commission can choose among several uses listed in A.C.A. § 26-75-606 (advertising, co…
Can an Arkansas state agency contract with a private business that requires a COVID-19 vaccine or face mask to receive its services?
Generally yes. Arkansas's COVID-19 vaccine ban (A.C.A. § 20-7-146(c)) and mask ban (A.C.A. § 20-7-144(c)) restrict state agencies, not private businesses they contract with. But if a state agency inte…
When an Arkansas county treasurer resigns mid-term, who declares the vacancy, who appoints a replacement, how long does the appointee serve, and can the resigning treasurer run for another county office?
When an Arkansas county elective office becomes vacant, the quorum court (not the Governor) declares the vacancy and appoints a successor. The appointee serves until the next general election if the v…
What changes did the Arkansas Attorney General make to the proposed ballot title for the 2024 amendment that would have repealed the Pope County casino license and required local voter approval for new casinos?
The AG substituted and certified a revised popular name and ballot title for an initiated constitutional amendment that would have repealed the Pope County casino license under Amendment 100 and requi…
Can an Arkansas city sign a 25-year lease with a financial institution for a building, then sublease most of it to a private college, without violating the Arkansas Constitution's restrictions on aid to private entities and on multi-year debt?
Generally yes, with caveats. An Arkansas city's 25-year lease with a financial institution combined with a sublease to a private college does not automatically violate the constitution if the lease is…
Can a memorandum about why a county prosecutor's employee resigned be released under Arkansas FOIA, especially when the former employee says she resigned voluntarily and is now running for the same county prosecutor's office?
Whether a memorandum describing a Benton County Prosecutor's Office employee's departure can be released depends on whether her resignation was forced (a 'constructive termination') or voluntary. If f…
Can Arkansas release a fired forensic chemist's termination letters and personnel records, and what personal information must be redacted before disclosure?
An Arkansas records custodian can release the termination letters of a fired Arkansas State Crime Lab forensic chemist, plus the rest of the personnel file with appropriate redactions. Termination let…
When can an Arkansas city release records about a police officer's termination, including the termination letter, written reprimands, and internal affairs files?
Under the Arkansas FOIA's employee-evaluation exception, a police termination letter cannot be released while the employee's grievance is still pending (no administrative finality). A written repriman…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the first version of the proposed amendment that would have repealed the Pope County casino license and required local voter approval for new casinos?
The AG rejected the first version of the proposed Pope County casino-repeal amendment because it incorporated state statutes (A.C.A. §§ 7-11-201 et seq. and 7-11-301 et seq.) into the constitution by …
What does the certified 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' ballot title say about how voucher schools must meet the same standards as public schools?
After two prior rejections (Opinions 2023-131 and 2024-019), the AG substituted and certified a popular name 'The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' and a detailed ballot title. The amendm…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the third version of the proposed 2024 medical marijuana amendment that would have expanded Amendment 98 with health-care-practitioner certification, home cultivation, and contingent adult-use authority?
After two prior reviews (Opinions 2024-014 and 2024-028), the AG certified the third version of the proposed 'Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024' as submitted, with no further substitutions.…
Can a school district release records about a teacher and assistant principal terminated after a complaint of inappropriate communication with a student, including interview notes, text messages, and the parent's complaint letter?
Russellville School District's decision to release interview notes, text messages, and the student's mother's complaint letter related to the termination of an assistant principal/teacher for alleged …
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed ballot title to repeal additional tobacco excise taxes beyond the Tobacco Products Act of 1977?
The AG rejected David Dinwiddie's proposed initiated act to repeal additional tobacco excise taxes (beyond those imposed by the 1977 Tobacco Products Act). The 'ballot title' was identical to the popu…
How does the Arkansas Attorney General review the ballot title and popular name of an initiated constitutional amendment, and what changes did the AG make to the 'Arkansas Medical Cannabis Amendment of 2024' before certifying it?
The Arkansas AG substituted and certified a revised popular name and ballot title for an initiated constitutional amendment proposing to expand Arkansas's medical marijuana program. Key changes: repla…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed amendment that would have changed how the AG reviews ballot titles and limited who can challenge ballot titles in court?
The AG rejected David Couch's proposed amendment to amend Arkansas's initiative and referendum process because the text was ambiguous about (1) who could challenge ballot title sufficiency in court (o…
Can a city release police misconduct termination records and bodycam footage when officers have appealed terminations to the city council and a criminal investigation is ongoing?
When a city has fired officers for police misconduct and the officers have appealed to the city council (which can overrule by two-thirds vote), the terminations are not 'administratively final' under…
Can a school district in Arkansas redact people's names from settlement agreements and law-firm invoices under the FOIA's personnel-record or employee-evaluation exceptions?
The Vilonia School District improperly redacted information from settlement agreements and law-firm invoices under FOIA's personnel-record (§ 25-19-105(b)(12)) and employee-evaluation (§ 25-19-105(c)(…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' ballot title that would have required identical academic standards for voucher-receiving schools?
The AG rejected the proposed 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' because two key terms in the measure's text were ambiguous: 'provision' (does the State directly supply schools or just fun…
Did the Arkansas AG certify a 2024 ballot title to lower the antique-tag eligibility age for vehicles from 45 years to 25 years?
After rejecting five prior versions, the AG substituted and certified a workable popular name ('The Arkansas Historic or Special Interest Vehicle Act of 2024') and ballot title for an initiated act th…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Arkansas Government Openness Amendment in 2024?
Yes. The Attorney General substituted and certified a popular name and ballot title for the proposed amendment, replacing 'The Arkansas Government Openness Amendment' with 'The Arkansas Government Dis…
Did the Arkansas AG certify a popular name and ballot title for the citizen-initiated Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment in 2024?
Yes. The Attorney General substituted and certified a popular name and ballot title for the proposed amendment, replacing 'The Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment' with 'The Arkansas Government…
Can a public agency release nonelected employees' names alongside their salaries under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. Names of nonelected public employees, paired with their job positions and salary information, are personnel records under Arkansas FOIA. Release does not constitute a 'clearly unwarranted invasio…
Can a city release a former police officer's termination letter under Arkansas FOIA when the officer objects?
Yes. The termination letter is an employee-evaluation record because it explains the grounds for termination. All four elements of the release test are met: the officer was terminated, the termination…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the ballot title for the Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024?
Yes. The AG substituted and certified the popular name 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024' and a substantially rewritten ballot title. The certification followed the rejections in Opinion…
Can a county release an internal-investigation report and termination form for a fired county employee under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes, both records (the internal-investigation report and the termination form) are properly classified as employee-evaluation records and may be released, but only if the termination is administrative…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2024 Medical Cannabis Amendment ballot title?
The AG rejected the proposed amendment because: (1) it included an enacting clause that only initiated acts (not constitutional amendments) require; (2) the new advertising-restriction language was am…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the second version of the Arkansas Government Transparency Act ballot title?
Same rejection as Opinions 2024-009/2024-010/2024-011/2024-012. The text included the same preemptive-repeal clause and added a new 'substantial personal privacy interest' provision that the sponsors …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Openness Act ballot title in January 2024?
Same rejection as Opinions 2024-009 and 2024-011: the act contained a preemptive-repeal clause that the AG concluded was unconstitutional and violated the full-text requirement. The submitted popular …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Disclosure Act ballot title in January 2024?
The AG rejected this submission for the same reason as Opinion 2024-009: the act contained a preemptive-repeal clause that the AG concluded was unconstitutional and violated the full-text requirement.…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Act ballot title?
Same rejection as Opinions 2024-009, 2024-011, and 2024-012: the act contained a preemptive-repeal clause that the AG concluded was unconstitutional and violated the full-text requirement. The submitt…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Transparency Act ballot title in January 2024?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the act contained a 'preemptive repeal' clause: it would automatically repeal any future legislation enacted after January 1, 2024 th…
Does Arkansas Act 393 of 2023 require Medicaid to cover continuous glucose monitors only as a pharmacy benefit?
No. Act 393 of 2023 requires Arkansas Medicaid to allow eligible beneficiaries to obtain continuous glucose monitors through a pharmacy as a pharmacy benefit, but it does not prevent Medicaid from als…
Did the AR AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment?
Yes. Notably, the AG certified the submitted popular name 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment' as submitted (after correcting the typo 'Disclsoure' to 'Disclosure') and substituted only the …
Did the AR AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted the same canonical ballot title used in Opinions 2024-005, 2024-007, and 2024-008, but kept the submitted popular name 'The Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Go…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the 2024 Arkansas Abortion Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted and certified the popular name 'Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024' and rewrote the ballot title to include (1) a clarification that 18 weeks of fetal age equals approximately…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Open Meetings and Open Records State and Local Government Amendment ballot title?
The AG rejected this submission (labeled BT-2 by the sponsors) for the same three reasons identified in Opinion 2023-123, which is incorporated here: (1) the measure's key terms were unclear, (2) the …
Can a school district withhold a teacher's letter of suspension because the suspension is not yet final?
It depends. A letter of suspension is generally a personnel record subject to the Young v. Rice balancing test. But if the suspension is disciplinary (initiated because the employer believes the emplo…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the citizen-initiated act lowering the antique-vehicle-tag age threshold from 45 to 25 years?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the text wrongly described existing law as a 'requirement to obtain Antique Tags.' Antique tags are discretionary, not required. The …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Transparency Act ballot title?
The AG rejected the popular name and ballot title because the proposed text would have radically curtailed existing FOIA notification rights for public employees while the ballot title summarized the …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the proposed 2024 Educational Rights Amendment?
The AG rejected the proposed Educational Rights Amendment of 2024 because (1) Sections 1 and 2 would impose 'identical State academic standards' on all schools receiving local or state funds, which wo…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the proposed 2024 hand-marked paper ballots constitutional amendment?
The AG rejected the proposed election-security and hand-marked-paper-ballot amendment because the definition of 'disabled voter' incorporated three statutes by reference (HAVA, ADA, ACRA) without spel…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the proposed 2024 Absentee Voting Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted the popular name (the original was so long it read like a second ballot title) to 'The Absentee Voting Amendment of 2024' and substituted the ballot title to add several materi…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Transparency Amendment ballot title (BT-1)?
The AG rejected this BT-1 submission of the proposed transparency constitutional amendment for three reasons: (1) the sponsors failed to define key terms (public record, public meeting, public notice,…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 first version of the Arkansas Government Transparency Act?
The AG rejected the December 2023 first submission of the proposed Arkansas Government Transparency Act because it contained provisions that were clearly unconstitutional (e.g., procedural rules contr…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Openness Act ballot title (BT-4)?
Same rejection as Opinion 2023-127. BT-4 parallel submission under 'The Arkansas Government Openness Act.' Eventually certified in Opinion 2024-020 after redrafting.
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Disclosure Act ballot title (BT-3)?
Same rejection as Opinion 2023-127. BT-3 parallel submission under 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Act.' Eventually certified in Opinion 2024-020.
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Open Meetings and Open Records Act ballot title (BT-2)?
Same rejection as Opinion 2023-127, incorporated by reference. BT-2 parallel submission under 'The Arkansas Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Act.' The personnel-records car…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Openness Amendment ballot title (BT-4)?
Same rejection as Opinion 2023-123. BT-4 parallel submission under 'The Arkansas Government Openness Amendment.' Eventually certified in Opinion 2024-008 after revisions.
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Disclosure Amendment ballot title (BT-3)?
Same rejection as Opinion 2023-123, incorporated by reference: undefined key terms, full-text violation, and ballot-title summary of nonexistent text. This is the BT-3 parallel submission of the propo…
Did Arkansas's AG certify Dinwiddie's fourth attempt at an initiated act lowering the antique vehicle registration age from 45 to 25 years?
Rejected. Dinwiddie's fourth attempt to lower the antique-vehicle threshold from 45 to 25 years had two new defects: the popular name and ballot title used 'automobile' (a broader term) while the amen…
Do Arkansas planning and development districts, area agencies on aging, and community health agencies have to follow the state ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates?
It depends on whether the entity is a 'political subdivision' under Acts 4 and 10 of 2023's First Extraordinary Session. Planning and development districts likely are political subdivisions and so are…
Can a Fayetteville city attorney release a former police officer's personnel action sheet and termination letter under FOIA when the officer objects to release?
Yes. The custodian's decision to release both the personnel action sheet (a personnel record) and the termination letter (an employee-evaluation record meeting all four release elements) is consistent…
When an inmate files a civil suit and the court waives the filing fee under in forma pauperis, does the Department of Corrections still owe the county a reimbursement for that fee?
No. Under A.C.A. § 12-27-115, the Department of Corrections must reimburse counties only for expenses they actually 'incurred' from inmate legal proceedings. When an inmate is granted in forma pauperi…
Can an Arkansas state representative or senator simultaneously serve on a city, county, or regional library board?
No. Article 5, § 10 of the Arkansas Constitution bars a sitting member of the General Assembly from being elected or appointed to any 'civil office' during the term for which the legislator was electe…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the Couch/Standerfer 'Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment' for the 2024 ballot?
Rejected. The AG declined to certify the first version of the Couch/Standerfer 'Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment' because key terms ('government transparency,' 'public record,' 'public meeti…
Did the Arkansas AG certify Dinwiddie's third attempt at a ballot title for an initiated act lowering the antique-vehicle registration age from 45 to 25 years?
Rejected. Dinwiddie's third version of his initiated act to allow 25-year-old vehicles (down from 45) to register as antique still had unresolved drafting defects: a misused enacting clause followed b…
Under Arkansas FOIA, can a city withhold a letter notifying a police officer of his administrative reassignment pending an internal investigation?
No. The letter notifying a police officer of his administrative reassignment pending an internal investigation is a personnel record, not an employee evaluation, because it documents an administrative…
Can an Arkansas city, county, or private business legally use automatic license plate readers (ALPRs)?
Arkansas law generally prohibits automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). Local governments may use them only for specific purposes (law-enforcement database checks, parking enforcement, controlling a…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the Lancaster proposed constitutional amendment that would have rewritten absentee-voting rules and banned wireless voting?
Rejected. The AG declined to certify Clinton Lancaster's proposed Absentee Voting and Anti-Wireless-Voting Amendment because of multiple ambiguities in the amendment text. The biggest problems: an ena…
Did the Arkansas AG certify Lancaster's proposed Hand-Marked Paper Ballots constitutional amendment?
Rejected. The AG declined to certify Clinton Lancaster's Hand-Marked Paper Ballots Amendment because of multiple contradictions and ambiguities: an enacting clause used inappropriately for an amendmen…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the 'Reproductive Healthcare Amendment' for the 2024 ballot?
Rejected. The AG declined to certify Steven Nichols's proposed Arkansas Reproductive Healthcare Amendment because of multiple ambiguities: unclear 'access to abortion' language, undefined 'health,' an…
Can a city redact a former police officer's records with whiteout, and can it withhold his termination letter and administrative-leave letter under FOIA?
Mostly inconsistent with FOIA. The Bay City Attorney's decisions to disclose some records and redact identifiers (SSN, DOB, DLN) were correct, but two records he withheld are personnel records that mu…
Can the Arkansas Department of Education force the Pine Bluff School District (or any state-controlled district) to sell or lease unused buildings to a charter or private school?
ADE's Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation can declare a facility 'unused or underutilized,' subject to district appeal. While a district is in Level 5, Intensive support a…
Did the AG opine on what local-government powers remain over digital asset mining under Arkansas's Data Centers Act?
Declined. The AG declined to opine on six questions about how the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023 affects local zoning authority, sound regulation, and what counts as an electric utility's 'transmis…
Can an Arkansas city or county ban cryptocurrency or digital asset mining operations within its borders?
No. Under the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023 (A.C.A. §§ 14-1-601 to 14-1-605), cities and counties cannot pass ordinances banning new digital asset mining operations. They can enforce general opera…
Can the Washington County Quorum Court require the county clerk to publish ordinances, resolutions, and contracts on the county website?
Yes. Under Ark. Const. amend. 55 § 1(a) and A.C.A. § 14-14-902(a)(3)(C), the county clerk is the default secretary of the quorum court and must perform additional duties the quorum court assigns by or…
Is a retired Arkansas mayor's pension calculated using the salary he earned as mayor, or the salary the current mayor earns when he starts collecting?
The retired mayor's salary at the end of his last term as mayor is the basis for calculating his retirement benefit, regardless of when he begins receiving payments. Although the codified statute appe…
Is the Arkansas statute that conditions property tax exemption for school-leased property on a no-profit showing constitutional?
Yes. A.C.A. § 6-21-118, which conditions the property tax exemption for property leased to public school districts and open-enrollment public charter schools on the lessor proving the lease is not gen…
Can a city withhold a former police officer's entire personnel file because his termination was 'unrelated to acts that gave rise to a suspension or termination'?
No. A records custodian cannot withhold an entire former police officer's personnel file based on the conclusion that his termination was 'unrelated' to disciplinary acts. The FOIA requires the custod…
Can an Arkansas state agency moderate or block users on its official social media accounts without violating the First Amendment?
Mostly yes for content moderation. Under the First Amendment, ARDOT may limit, remove, or moderate public comments on the interactive parts of its official social media accounts (which are likely 'lim…
Can the AG certify a ballot title when the proposed initiated act is written as a narrative explanation rather than as legislation?
Rejected. The revised text included an enacting clause but used it before a narrative description and partial statute quotations, leaving the AG unable to determine what was actually being enacted. Sp…
Can an Arkansas city require homeowners to hook up to private water, sewer, gas, or electric service?
Probably no. Arkansas's heavy state-level regulation of utility service areas (by the Public Service Commission, Department of Health, Natural Resources Division, and others) preempts most local manda…
Can I get an Arkansas State Police incident report or dashcam video that shows a juvenile who was stopped, arrested, or just a passenger?
If the juvenile was arrested or detained, all records of that arrest or detention (incident reports, dashcam) must be withheld unless an exception applies. If the juvenile was only a passenger or byst…
Do Arkansas alternative-instruction (virtual learning) days count toward the 178-day in-person threshold the LEARNS Act requires for the $50,000 minimum teacher salary?
Yes, Arkansas public schools still have authority to use up to 10 Commissioner-approved alternative-method-of-instruction (AMI) days, including virtual learning days, when closed for emergencies. But …
Can a police officer block disclosure of his disciplinary records under FOIA because he believes the requester will use them in an unrelated proceeding?
No. A records subject's objection to release based on what they believe the requester will do with the records is not a basis for withholding under Arkansas FOIA. The requester's intent and motives ar…
What does the Arkansas AG look for when reviewing a popular name and ballot title for a citizen-initiated act?
Rejected. The submitted ballot title was identical to the popular name and made no attempt to summarize the measure's text. The proposed measure also lacked the constitutionally required enacting clau…
Can an Arkansas city lease its property to a private business below fair market value, and does that violate the constitution?
Yes, an Arkansas city may lease city-owned property at below-market rates as long as the lease is supported by adequate consideration. Consideration is not limited to money; non-financial public benef…
When does a country road in Arkansas become a public road, and what can a landowner do if someone blocks it?
A county road can be created in only three ways: donation/dedication followed by a properly recorded order, condemnation with payment, or designation by order of a mail/school-bus/courthouse route. Me…
In Arkansas, who actually decides where new county roads go: the county judge or the quorum court?
Both. The quorum court (the legislative branch of county government) has authority to plan county roads, including adopting an official road plan for the unincorporated parts of the county. The county…
Can the same person serve as mayor of an Arkansas town and also represent criminal defendants (including as a public defender) in nearby courts?
Yes. Arkansas's dual-office-holding prohibitions (constitutional, statutory, and common-law) do not bar a sitting mayor from simultaneously representing private clients in criminal cases or serving as…
Does an Arkansas behavioral-health nonprofit need a real-estate license to manage its own residential properties?
Probably yes for state law. Birch Tree Communities (a statewide nonprofit behavioral-health provider) appears to qualify for two real-estate license exemptions: (1) the residential-property-management…
Can an Arkansas school district refuse to release records about an employee's administrative leave under FOIA?
It depends on whether the leave was disciplinary or non-disciplinary. If non-disciplinary (a routine policy-based suspension while something is investigated), the employee-evaluation exemption does no…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the ballot title for an initiated act exempting feminine hygiene products and diapers from sales tax?
Approved with substitution. The popular name 'An Act to Exempt Feminine Hygiene Products and Diapers from Sales and Use Tax' was certified as submitted. The AG substituted a more suitable ballot title…
Can my Arkansas city zone or limit where vape shops can open?
Yes. An Arkansas city, county, or municipality can use its police power to limit, regulate, zone, or restrict a vape shop within its jurisdiction. Three limits apply: (1) the regulation cannot conflic…
Can an Arkansas school district add 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' as protected classes in its anti-discrimination policy?
No. A school district policy that lists sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes violates Act 137 of 2015 (codified at A.C.A. § 14-1-401 et seq.), which prohibits political subdivis…
In a city-administrator form of Arkansas government, can the mayor veto a motion that already failed?
No. A mayor in a city-administrator form of government has the veto power over decisions made by the board of directors, but a motion that fails for lack of a majority vote is not a 'decision' of the …
Does a 1998 conviction for sexual abuse trigger Arkansas's 'no parole' rule for someone who committed aggravated robbery in 2014, after the older offense was struck from the violent-felony list?
No. Parole eligibility is determined by the law in effect when the new crime was committed. By 2014 the General Assembly (Act 827 of 2007) had removed sexual abuse in the first degree from the list of…
When do Arkansas laws passed without an emergency clause take effect after a special legislative session?
December 14, 2023. Acts of the 2023 First Extraordinary Session that passed without an emergency clause or other specified effective date become effective on December 14, 2023, the day after the 90-da…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject a proposed ballot title for an initiated act exempting feminine hygiene products from sales tax?
Rejected. The text of the proposed initiated act was ambiguous about whether Arkansas would remain in compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, a multi-state compact requiring unifo…
Can a university release an employee's discrimination complaint while withholding the outcome letter from FOIA?
Partly. The retaliation complaint is a mixed personnel record and was correctly released under the personnel-records balancing test. The outcome letter is also a mixed record: an evaluation of the com…
Should a city redact a public employee's net pay (after withholdings) from FOIA-released payment records?
Yes. Net salary payments must be redacted before release. Net pay reveals deductions that touch personal financial information (tax withholdings, retirement contributions, insurance elections, banking…
Can a city in Arkansas use prepared-food sales tax revenue for police salaries instead of tourism promotion?
No general public-safety funding. Arkansas prepared-food sales tax proceeds are statutorily restricted to promoting tourism and conventions (advertising the city, convention center operations, parks, …
Can an Arkansas excavator start digging if utilities haven't responded through One Call within the legal time frame?
No. Under the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damages Prevention Act, an excavator cannot dig until ALL operators have responded through the One Call Center's electronic positive response system. Ther…
Can an Arkansas school district donate land to a nonprofit for affordable teacher housing?
Yes, likely. Bentonville School District's proposal to donate nine acres of district-owned land to Excellerate Foundation (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) for affordable teacher and community housing plus a co…
Is a list of suspensions and disciplinary actions against Arkansas State Troopers a personnel record or an employee-evaluation record?
The classification was wrong. A list of Arkansas State Troopers showing names, suspension grounds, and disciplinary details is an employee-evaluation record (not a personnel record), because it contai…
When designing a school storm shelter in Arkansas, do you use the building code's occupant load formula or the Department of Education's class size rules?
The 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code (incorporating IBC 2021) controls. Occupant load uses 20 net square feet per person for educational classrooms (giving ~42 people in an 850 sq ft classroom). The…
Are Arkansas billboards advertising recreational marijuana from neighboring states legal?
The AG declined to answer. Pending litigation in Pulaski County Circuit Court (Good Day Farm Arkansas, LLC v. State of Arkansas, No. 60CV-22-931) directly bears on the question. The AG's long-standing…
Can a city redact allegations from a non-disciplinary administrative suspension letter and withhold investigator notes about a resigned employee?
Partially. The administrative suspension letter (which expressly states the suspension is non-disciplinary and pending investigation) is a personnel record, not an evaluation record. The personnel-rec…
Can an Arkansas FOIA custodian use whiteout to redact, and is redacting an entire driver's license image proper?
The custodian's release of the personnel file was partially consistent with FOIA. The whiteout redaction method is wrong (FOIA requires the redaction to show where and how much was deleted, which usua…
Are workplace harassment complaint forms and exit questionnaires personnel records or evaluation records under Arkansas FOIA?
The custodian's release decision was only partly consistent with FOIA. Discrimination/harassment complaint forms are mixed records: evaluation records of the accused (must be withheld absent suspensio…
Does Arkansas's funding of party primaries change the constitutional analysis of closed primaries that exclude non-members?
State funding of party primaries does not change the constitutional analysis. A political party can still set its own rules for who may vote in its primary, and the use of public money to administer a…
In an Arkansas city administrator city, can the mayor's veto force a measure the board never passed, or unilaterally authorize spending?
A mayor in a city administrator form of government cannot use a veto to overturn a measure the board of directors never passed (the measure is already a nullity), and cannot authorize municipal spendi…
Can a former employee block release of her Arkansas personnel file by saying she does not know the requester's motive?
No. The requester's identity and motive are irrelevant under Arkansas FOIA. The subject of personnel records cannot block disclosure simply because she does not know who requested the file or what the…
Can a former Arkansas deputy block release of his 2014 misconduct investigation records nine years after termination?
The custodian's decision to release the records is consistent with FOIA. Investigative records of police misconduct meet the four-part test for evaluation records: the deputy was terminated, the termi…
Is a Camden suspension letter that doesn't list the grounds a personnel record that must be disclosed under FOIA?
Yes. The City of Camden's decision to release a former employee's suspension letter is consistent with FOIA. A suspension letter that does not recite the grounds for the suspension is a personnel reco…
Can an Arkansas county judge stop a citizen from reading aloud from a contested book at a quorum court meeting?
The AG could not give a yes-or-no answer because the legality depends on facts a court would have to assess. A county quorum court meeting is a 'limited designated public forum' where the government c…
Are Arkansas House Rule 108 and Senate Rule 6.0(2) banning campaign contributions during legislative session unconstitutional?
Yes. Both rules are unconstitutional under the First Amendment because they are not narrowly tailored to prevent quid pro quo corruption: they are overinclusive (banning small donations and self-fundi…
Can the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission order Cabot to stop using its alluvial aquifer wells, and what's the legal basis?
The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission did not order Cabot to stop drawing groundwater under the Groundwater Protection Act. The Commission acted under its Arkansas Water Plan authority, conditiona…
Can Arkansas executive branch agencies release names, departments, and positions of employees who got merit raises?
Yes. The list of executive-branch employees who received merit raises (with business area, department, name, position title, and grade) is basic employment information that qualifies as personnel reco…
Will the Arkansas AG interpret a county ordinance and a court settlement to answer a sales-tax question?
The AG declined to answer. Whether Carroll County can use excess sales-tax revenue from Ordinance 2000-39 to expand the sheriff's office, build a new courthouse, or take other capital action without a…
Can an Arkansas political party hold a closed primary by party rule alone, and add candidate qualifications?
Yes, a political party can hold a closed primary in Arkansas without new legislation, using the existing voter-registration party-affiliation field. Whether a party can also add its own candidate qual…
Should the Arkansas Department of Corrections recalculate parole eligibility for prisoners after Act 683 of 2023 narrowed which residential burglaries count as violent felonies?
Yes, starting August 1, 2023, ADC should recalculate parole-eligibility dates for any offender affected by Act 683 of 2023. The act narrows which residential burglaries count as 'violent felony offens…
Can a personnel record subject ask the AG to rule that her records are not actually responsive to a FOIA request?
The AG declined to opine. The scope of AG review under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) does not extend to whether a custodian properly identified specific records as responsive to a FOIA request. The s…
Can the Washington County judge appoint himself to and chair quorum court committees of the whole?
Whether a county judge can appoint himself to a quorum court committee under A.C.A. § 14-14-904(d)(2)(A) is ambiguous and needs legislative clarification. Either way, committee meetings are not 'de fa…
Can the subject of an Arkansas workplace investigation get the unredacted memo and emails about the complaint against her?
Yes. The Respondent in an internal complaint investigation can obtain unredacted copies of the investigation memo (her evaluation record) and the related emails (mixed personnel records). A.C.A. § 25-…
Can current and former Rock Region METRO employees block release of their compensation data under Arkansas FOIA?
No. Names, hire dates, salaries, bonuses, overtime, gross wages, and position titles of current and former Rock Region METRO employees must be released under FOIA. The kind of information requested is…
Can a police officer block release of his promotion dates and photo because he suspects the FOIA requester wants to harass him?
No, the officer cannot block release. Under Arkansas FOIA, the requester's intent and motives are generally irrelevant when determining whether public records must be disclosed. The fact that Captain …
Can a Sherwood police officer block release of his promotion dates and photo by saying he suspects the requester has bad intentions?
No. The requester's intent and motives are irrelevant under Arkansas FOIA. Captain Hartman's objection (he knows who the requester is and suspects bad intentions) is not a sufficient basis for the cus…
Does Washington County's 99-year, $1-per-month lease of land for veterans housing violate the Arkansas county-sale statute?
No. Washington County's 99-year lease of land to a private partnership for veterans housing is a lease, not a sale, and A.C.A. § 14-16-105 expressly excludes leases. The county-sale rules (sealed bids…
Can a sheriff's office release the Internal Review of a deputy who 'voluntarily' resigned just before being fired?
Yes. Sebastian County Sheriff's Office can release the Internal Review of former deputy Thomas Gage. A 'forced or coerced resignation' (resigning in the face of impending termination) operates as a co…
Does Arkansas's driver-license suspension law apply to non-epileptic seizure patients and to one-time DBS-surgery-caused seizures?
Yes to both questions. A.C.A. § 27-16-909 applies to all licensed drivers, including non-epileptic seizure patients and people who had a single seizure caused by Deep Brain Stimulation surgery. The Of…
Can the Arkansas Public Defender Commission release suspension and termination letters about a former employee facing criminal charges?
Yes. The Arkansas Public Defender Commission's decision to release a former employee's suspension letter, termination letter, and email correspondence (with personal contact information redacted) is c…
Can a public water utility release customer-usage data after stripping out names, or is the data itself confidential?
No. Even if you strip out names and addresses, customer-usage data from a public water system or municipally owned utility is itself exempt from Arkansas FOIA disclosure. The General Assembly listed c…
Will the Arkansas AG say whether Act 372 covers cartoon depictions of minors, or only depictions of identifiable real children?
The AG declined to answer. The question of whether Act 372 reaches cartoon or drawn depictions of minors (versus only depictions of real, identifiable children) was directly at issue in *Fayetteville …
Did the Arkansas AG approve the LEARNS Act referendum ballot title for circulation, and what's the catch?
The AG certified the LEARNS Act referendum's popular name and ballot title (third version, 8,154 words spanning 16 pages) because, by essentially copying every section of Act 237, it cannot be called …
What can an Arkansas city legally spend its general sales-tax money on, and what is off-limits?
Mostly no on the spending plans Representative Flowers asked about. Arkansas cities can use sales-tax revenue only for purposes authorized by the statute that allowed the tax and the local levying ins…
Can a former Arkansas Department of Education employee block release of his termination letter?
Yes, the termination letter must be released. When a termination letter includes the grounds for termination, it is classified as an employee evaluation. It must be disclosed if (1) the termination is…
When a workplace investigation produces interview notes about multiple employees, what is releasable under Arkansas FOIA?
Partly consistent. The interview question sheets in the ATRS workplace investigation are 'mixed records' (both personnel records of the interviewee and employee-evaluation records of the complainant o…
Can an Arkansas school board hold a closed meeting to discuss responding to a ransomware attack?
No. The Arkansas FOIA permits executive sessions only in four narrow categories (certain personnel matters, state licensing exam preparation, water-utility security, and child-maltreatment investigati…
Can the same Arkansan serve as both Justice of the Peace and town council member at the same time?
The dual-office statute the question asks about (A.C.A. § 14-14-1202(c)(3)(A)) bars JPs only from city councils, not town councils. But Article 7, § 53 of the Arkansas Constitution and A.C.A. § 14-14-…
Can two Arkansas constables enter into an interlocal cooperation agreement for mutual law-enforcement aid?
No. Individual elected constables are not 'public agencies' under A.C.A. § 25-20-103(1). The list of qualifying public agencies (school district, political subdivision, state or federal agency, water …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the LEARNS Act referendum's second-draft ballot title?
Rejected. The second draft of the LEARNS Act referendum ballot title fails on multiple grounds: it omits summaries of numerous LEARNS Act provisions (vendor mandatory reporting, employment information…
Can the Arkansas LE Standards Director refer an officer for decertification when the employing agency declines to do so?
Yes. The Director of the Division of Law Enforcement Standards and Training has authority to request a decertification hearing for a commissioned law enforcement officer in Arkansas, even when the emp…
When do Arkansas laws passed in 2023 without an emergency clause take effect?
August 1, 2023. Acts of the 94th Arkansas General Assembly that lack an emergency clause or specified effective date take effect the day after the 90-day referendum petition window ends. The legislatu…
Can the City of Conway withhold all records of an internal investigation when the requester is the complainant himself?
No, the blanket withholding is inconsistent with FOIA. A police officer who filed a complaint against his department and chief made a FOIA request for the investigation records. Conway tried to withho…
What happens to Highfill's airport-related sales tax and bond obligations if the airport detaches from the city?
All three questions about Highfill's regional airport authority are answered by the Regional Airports Act and Act 769 of 2023. (Q1) After detachment, sales tax for bond payments is levied by city/airp…
Is Arkansas AG Opinion 89-230 (Horseshoe Bend improvement district) still good law?
Mostly still valid. Op. 89-230's first conclusion (the Horseshoe Bend Municipal Recreation Facilities Improvement District may transfer property to the City of Horseshoe Bend) is still sound, and the …
Does an Arkansas community college instructor have to report overload pay separately, and should it be on a 1099?
Yes to extra-income disclosure (the annual disclosure form is separate from the overload contract). And no, the income disclosure does not require a 1099. The 1099 question turns on independent-contra…
Can Arkansas redirect rice checkoff funds to a trade association that lobbies for the rice industry?
Possibly, but only with careful drafting. Senator Caldwell's question, whether legislation could let rice checkoff funds flow to a trade association for state-policy lobbying, raises two constitutiona…
What does it take to get a popular name and ballot title certified for an Arkansas statewide referendum, and why was the LEARNS Act referendum draft rejected?
Rejected. The popular name and ballot title for the LEARNS Act referendum failed because the draft did not tell voters that a 'for' vote approves the act and an 'against' vote rejects it. That structu…
Would consolidating Marvell-Elaine with surrounding Arkansas Delta school districts harm any desegregation effort?
No. The proposed involuntary consolidation of the Marvell-Elaine School District with one or more surrounding districts would not negatively impact any active desegregation effort. The Arkansas Depart…
Can I carry a firearm in an Arkansas state park that sits on Army Corps of Engineers land?
Two layers of law apply. State law generally lets you carry a firearm in an Arkansas state park outdoors, but bars carrying a loaded firearm in publicly-owned buildings (with several exceptions, inclu…
Can a public agency refuse to release records because of who is asking, or what the requester might do with the records?
No. Under the Arkansas FOIA, the requester's motives or intended use of the records are generally irrelevant to the custodian's disclosure decision. An officer-subject's suspicion about who is asking …
When the only Arkansas greyhound-racing franchise stops conducting races, where does the casino-tax revenue earmarked for greyhound purses go?
The 17.5% of casino tax revenue that Amendment 100 reserves for racing purses can only go to a 'Franchise holder' that is actually 'operating' its franchise. If Southland Greyhound Park has stopped ra…
When can law enforcement seize coin-operated amusement machines as illegal gambling devices in Arkansas?
No, no, and no. The 'Chuck E. Cheese law' (A.C.A. § 26-57-401 et seq.) does not exempt every device with no automatic payoff and prizes under $5; many other conditions must be met. A device that fully…
Can a county justice of the peace serve on a school board at the same time?
No, if the terms overlap. The Arkansas Constitution (art. 7, § 53) and statute (A.C.A. § 14-14-115) bar a sitting justice of the peace from being elected or appointed to a 'civil office' during the te…
When two officers were terminated for misconduct, can the police department release their full IA files to a public records requester?
Yes. The Conway Police Department's decision to release internal-affairs files for two officers who were terminated based on those files is consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. The four-part test for di…
Can a police department withhold a third-party recording of an officer's private call from a public records release?
The Conway Police Department may withhold the audio recording of a private spousal phone call (and its transcript) from a public release of an internal-affairs file because the recording is a personne…
Can a city attorney 'retire' for one minute, collect a pension, and immediately go back to work in the same elected office?
Probably not, in the way the Crossett city attorney attempted it. He sent a resignation letter on December 29, 2022, was sworn back in on January 1, 2023, and tried to start collecting pension benefit…
What happens when the winner of a city election had withdrawn from the race before votes were counted?
Two answers. First, when a candidate withdraws after the ballot is certified but before the election and still wins the race, that creates a 'vacancy in election' under A.C.A. § 7-5-315(b), not a 'vac…
Can a state constitutional officer pay one employee above the line-item salary cap as long as the total payroll stays within the office's overall appropriation?
No. A constitutional officer cannot pay any individual employee more than the line-item salary appropriation set by the General Assembly, even if the office's total payroll stays under its aggregate c…
Can a public agency release a list of state employees with names, salaries, and demographic data, but withhold birth dates?
Yes. The Office of Personnel Management may release the requested basic public-employee information (names, titles, departments, race, gender, full-time/part-time status, location, hire/termination da…
Does an appointed city council member have to file a duplicate oath of office the same way that a state officer commissioned by the Governor does?
No. The Arkansas Code contains no provision requiring an appointed city council member to execute and file a duplicate oath of office. The constitutional oath under Ark. Const. art. 19, § 20 is requir…
Can the public request to inspect or copy voted ballots after an election under the Arkansas FOIA?
No. A voted ballot is not open to public inspection or copying under the Arkansas FOIA. The exemption is in A.C.A. § 25-19-105(b)(27)(A): ballots, other than sample ballots, are not deemed open to the…
Can a city add two extra members to a five-member utility commission by ordinance?
No. A utility commission established by a first-class city under A.C.A. § 14-201-105 to operate the city's waterworks and/or electric light plant must have exactly five members. The statute mandates '…
Can a former employee block release of her personnel file because the records are old, or because they contain her signature?
Two objections rejected. First, age of records is not a FOIA exemption. The Arkansas General Records Retention Schedule sets MINIMUM retention periods; agencies may keep records longer. As long as a r…
Can a county use a sales tax dedicated to 'emergency services' to pay 911 dispatcher salaries?
It depends on the language of the levying ordinance and the ballot title approved by Perry County voters in November 2020. The Arkansas Constitution (art. 16, § 11) prohibits using tax revenue for any…
When the state takes over a Level V school district's personnel authority, can the local school board still go into closed executive session?
If a governing body lacks authority to consider any of the personnel matters that may properly be considered in executive session, then it cannot legally hold a closed meeting under the FOIA's personn…
Can the state release a list of executive branch employees with names, salaries, and demographic data, while withholding personnel ID numbers?
Yes. The Office of Personnel Management's decision to release records on Executive Branch employees (names, titles, departments, race, gender, full/part-time status, location, hire/termination dates, …
Can an Arkansas constable join the state employees' retirement system, and can a state employee accrue extra retirement credit for serving as a constable?
No on both. A constable cannot be a member of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS), paid or unpaid, because constables are township officers, not employees of a 'participating publi…
Can a city allow its police officers to bank more than 90 days of sick leave?
Yes. A.C.A. § 14-52-107 lets municipal law enforcement officers accumulate up to 60 days of sick leave by default, with no upper cap if the city authorizes more by ordinance. So Prairie Grove's ordina…
When a school district closes and is absorbed by another, what happens to the property tax millage residents were paying?
Yes, the millage transfers to the receiving district. When a school district is dissolved and annexed to or consolidated with another district under Arkansas law, the existing millage rate stays in pl…
How is the 2,000-foot residency limit measured for an Arkansas Level 3 or Level 4 sex offender, and does a homeschool group or church camp count as a school or youth center?
A homeschool group meeting weekly at a church is NOT a 'private elementary or secondary school' for purposes of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-128, so it does not trigger the 2,000-foot residency restriction o…
If my felony record was sealed or expunged in Arkansas, can I run for county judge or mayor?
Generally, sealing or expungement restores your eligibility to hold public office in Arkansas, but a 2019 statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 21-8-305) carves out a major exception: if your conviction was a 'pu…
Can Department of the Military employees block release of their basic personnel data when included in a statewide Executive Branch employee export?
No. The custodian's decision to release records on Arkansas Department of the Military (ADOM) employees, including each employee's full name, title, department/agency, race, sex, full-time/part-time s…
Can a state agency release a roster of Executive Branch employees with names and salaries, but not their personnel ID numbers?
Yes. The Office of Personnel Management's decision to release Executive Branch employee data (full name, title, department, race, sex, full/part-time status, location, hire/termination dates, gross sa…
Can pharmacy benefits managers or insulin manufacturers be sued under Arkansas's Unfair Practices Act over insulin rebates?
No answer. The AG declined to issue an opinion on whether insulin rebates received by pharmacy benefits managers or pharmaceutical manufacturers in Arkansas can violate the Arkansas Unfair Practices A…
When does the Arkansas FOIA require disclosure of a state police officer's employee-evaluation records, and what gets redacted?
Yes. The ASP custodian's decision to release the officer's two disciplinary files (2005 and 2007) as redacted is generally consistent with the FOIA. Employee-evaluation records may only be released wh…
Can an online-only news site publish official legal notices in Arkansas?
Generally no. Online-only news outlets cannot publish statutorily required legal notices in Arkansas because the legal-newspaper statute requires a printed publication with a second-class mailing priv…
If our Arkansas county lost its print newspaper, can we publish required legal notices online or just post in public places?
On these facts, Woodruff County has neither a newspaper of general circulation nor a legal newspaper. The county must use the statutory posting fallback: three public places designated by ordinance fo…
What can an Arkansas county do to publish legal notices when its only remaining newspaper is online or barely circulated?
Whether a publication qualifies as a 'newspaper of general circulation' is a fact question Arkansas courts decide using the Williamson v. Nixon test (substance of content, not size). The AG could not …
Can the Arkansas State Police release a former trooper's termination letter under FOIA when the misconduct involves departmental rules?
Yes. The Arkansas State Police's decision to release a former trooper's termination letter detailing the policy violations that led to discharge is consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. Misconduct by swo…
Can a school board's letter recommending the superintendent's termination be withheld from a FOIA request as an unresolved personnel matter?
Yes, while it remains pending. The Sheridan School Board's letter recommending the superintendent's termination is an 'employee evaluation or job performance record' under Arkansas FOIA. Until there i…
If someone has a residential-burglary conviction from before 2015 and a new violent-felony conviction after April 1, 2015, are they parole-ineligible in Arkansas?
Yes. An offender with a pre-2015 residential-burglary conviction who commits another violent-felony offense on or after April 1, 2015, is not eligible for parole under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-93-609. The …
Can an Arkansas volunteer fire department raise its dues collected on property tax bills without going back to voters?
Yes, in most cases. If the ballot voters approved did not list a specific rate, a volunteer fire department organized as a private, nonprofit corporation can raise its dues without going back to the b…
Can an Arkansas county close a criminal justice coordinating committee meeting to the public by calling it 'advisory'?
No. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-109, every county-created body, committee, or subordinate entity must meet publicly, regardless of whether it is labeled 'advisory' or 'governing.' The Washington Coun…
Can a public university release names, ranks, and salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas State University System's plan to release names, ranks, employment status, departments, and current salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination is consi…
Did Arkansas's Act 714 of 2021 take away an Arkansas city council's authority to set policies for its police department?
Yes, generally. A first-class city council in Arkansas retains the authority to set internal policies for its municipal police department, even after Act 714 of 2021. Other statutes and the city's gen…
Can the Arkansas legislature force counties to give sheriff's deputies the same vacation as municipal police?
No. Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution gives each county's quorum court authority to fix the compensation of county employees. The legislature cannot amend Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805 to require…
Which Arkansas statute controls how an Arkansas county uses sales-tax proceeds to fund a public economic-development corporation?
It depends on which statute the county used to levy the tax. If Clark County levied its sales tax under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-174-101 et seq. (the older county-economic-development authority), then the …
Browse Arkansas opinions by topic
Attorney general opinions in Arkansas are written by the Arkansas Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.