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.
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Is an ordinary Arkansas county copier rental a short-term financing obligation under Amendment 78?
Probably not. The AG said a typical office-equipment rental likely is not the interest-bearing capital-finance obligation governed by Amendment 78. Local counsel must review a particular lease to…
Why did Arkansas reject Mary Berry's revised cannabis ballot title?
The AG rejected Berry's revised ballot title because she could not tell how its packaging exemption applied to free distribution by a business or person, or which convictions its expungement…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Barry Emigh's Fairplay Holdings casino-gambling amendment?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined Barry Emigh's casino amendment, his seventh submission of essentially the same proposal. Two threshold problems prevented review: the proposal did not specify how the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's second 2017 recreational-marijuana ballot title?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined certification of Larry Morris's second 2017 recreational-marijuana proposal. Four ambiguities prevented certification: inconsistent use of 'business,' 'person,' and…
Why did Arkansas reject Mary Berry's 2017 cannabis ballot title?
The AG rejected Berry's proposed cannabis title. She could not tell whether packaging rules applied to free distribution in a place of business or which convictions Section 8 would expunge. Without…
Does an Arkansas city violate the constitutional 'lending of credit' clause when it abates a nuisance, files a lien, and waits years to collect?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that a city's exercise of its statutory grass-cutting and nuisance-abatement authority does not 'loan its credit' under Article 12 § 5. The municipal lien recovers a fee…
If an Arkansas school-board ballot listed the wrong term length for an unopposed candidate, did he serve the listed term or the statutory term?
Statutory term controls. AG Rutledge concluded that an unopposed Crossett School Board candidate was elected to the established five-year term, even though the 2013 ballot mistakenly listed it as a…
Will the Arkansas AG opine on the validity of a private agreement between liquor stores and grocers?
No. AG Rutledge declined to opine on the validity or enforceability of an agreement between liquor stores and grocers because the AG's office is not permitted to interpret or evaluate contracts…
Can a Jefferson County agency withhold a former employee's salary, termination letters, and personnel file from a FOIA request?
The AG said the former public employee's salary must be released. She could not decide whether to release the other records without seeing them or knowing the custodian's factual determinations. A…
Can a former public employee in Arkansas get a copy of the grievance file about her, including names of other employees mentioned?
Mostly yes. AG Rutledge said the FOIA gave the subject of a grievance file a right of access, and disclosure of other employees' personnel-record portions did not invade their privacy under the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's cannabis amendment ballot title in Opinion 2017-031?
The AG identified eight ambiguities in Morris's proposed cannabis amendment. They included who needed transport passes, which sheriff issued them, how to mark hemp fields, who faced a location…
When does an Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission appointee have to take the constitutional oath of office?
At the commencement of service. AG Rutledge concluded that members of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission are public officers under Article 19 § 20 and must take the…
Does an Arkansas school district have to follow a student's do-not-resuscitate order?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that the Arkansas Emergency Medical Services Do-Not-Resuscitate Act applies to EMS personnel, not to school staff or districts. Schools have no statutory duty to honor a…
Can an Arkansas agency redact other employees' names from a personnel file the subject is entitled to see?
The former employee could access her own personnel and evaluation records. The AG could not determine from the document alone whether redacting information about other employees was proper. The…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject Mary Berry's recreational marijuana ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the ballot title for Mary Berry's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Hemp and Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2018. The underlying text contained five concrete ambiguities…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject Barry Emigh's casino-and-alcohol ballot title?
The AG rejected Emigh's revised title. Although shortened from roughly 3,000 to 990 words, it still accompanied a proposal the AG found too complex and ambiguous for a fair ballot summary. She…
In Arkansas, does the county judge or the quorum court decide which committee a proposed ordinance goes to?
The quorum court, not the county judge. AG Rutledge concluded that assigning proposed ordinances to committees is a procedural function of the legislative body. The county judge appoints committee…
Can an Arkansas contractor block disclosure of contract fees and rates under FOIA's 'competitive advantage' exemption?
The AG could not decide whether the contract fees and rates were exempt. The contractors had to give the records custodian specific factual evidence of likely substantial competitive injury;…
Can an Arkansas school district let voters cast separate votes on parts of a proposed school millage?
No. AG Rutledge read Article 14, Section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution as allowing the school board to present only one proposed tax rate for a vote. Separate votes on its component millages are…
Could Arkansas legislators violate federal law by voting to implement the state's medical marijuana amendment?
AG Rutledge attached and incorporated her earlier Opinion 2016-119, which said the General Assembly was mandated by the AMMA's plain terms to fund and appropriate. She declined to opine on potential…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's recreational marijuana ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the popular name and ballot title for Larry Morris's proposed recreational marijuana and industrial hemp amendment due to ambiguities in the underlying text. Where a proposal is…
What happens in Arkansas if a school board member misses the 10-day oath-of-office deadline?
AG Rutledge concluded that a newly-elected school board member who failed to take the oath of office within the 10-day window in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-617(a)(1) was likely disqualified, with the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary Berry's first cannabis amendment ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the popular name and ballot title for Mary Berry's first proposed Arkansas cannabis hemp and recreational marijuana amendment due to ambiguities in the underlying text. Berry…
How can an Arkansas county get an easement on land owned by a defunct church or unincorporated association?
It depends. AG Rutledge said an unincorporated nonprofit association continues to exist until it is wound up, so its managers or members can grant an easement during winding up. Where the…
Are county library board employees in Arkansas considered 'county employees' for retirement and insurance benefits?
Yes, generally. AG Rutledge said Poinsett County Library Board employees were 'county employees' for APERS purposes because they were paid through county-collected millage and the county treasurer…
Can a former Arkansas city employee block release of disciplinary documents from his personnel file?
AG Rutledge said the City of Jonesboro could release the disciplinary records of former employee Erick Woodruff. The four-prong evaluation-records test was satisfied. Three records that appeared to…
Can a Little Rock School District employee block FOIA release of his job application and contract?
The AG said release of these types of job applications and contracts was generally consistent with FOIA only after personal contact information and college transcripts were redacted. The custodian…
Can a Little Rock School District employee block release of her job application and contract under FOIA?
AG Rutledge said job applications and employment contracts of public school employees are personnel records subject to FOIA disclosure. The custodian's plan to release them with personal contact…
Can a Little Rock School District employee block release of her job application and contract under FOIA?
The AG had not seen the records, so she could not decide their specific release. She said public employee applications and contracts are generally disclosable after required redactions, but…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Barry Emigh's roughly 3,000-word casino ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the proposed ballot title for Barry Emigh's casino amendment, which ran roughly 3000 words. No Arkansas Supreme Court ballot-title decision has ever approved one that long for a…
Can a concealed-carry licensee leave a handgun in their car parked at an Arkansas county or city parking lot?
Yes. AG Rutledge concluded the so-called 'parking lot exception' under Act 1078 of 2015 covers parking lots owned and maintained by Arkansas counties and cities. A concealed-carry licensee may leave…
Can an Arkansas community college employee block release of his Employee Disclosure and Certification form and his employment contract under FOIA when someone asks whether he is related to a board trustee?
AG Rutledge concluded that the Employee Disclosure and Certification form was a personnel record subject to release under the Arkansas FOIA, with the employee's Social Security number redacted. The…
Can an Arkansas county elected official keep serving while facing criminal charges, and how does the county fill the seat if a court removes them?
Generally yes, an Arkansas county elected official could keep serving even with criminal charges pending. If a circuit court later removed them, the county quorum court (not a special election)…
Can the same person serve as both an Arkansas district court clerk and a city council member at the same time?
AG Rutledge concluded that an Arkansas district court clerk likely could also serve on the city council. None of the constitutional, statutory, or common-law incompatibility doctrines clearly barred…
Can a city council in Arkansas pass an ordinance that limits the mayor's authority to make purchases for the city?
AG Rutledge concluded that a city council in Mount Ida (a second-class city) could not pass an ordinance restricting the mayor's exclusive statutory power under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-58-303(a) to make…
Was Arkansas's constitutional ban on corporate political contributions still constitutional under the First Amendment after Citizens United and McCutcheon?
AG Rutledge concluded that Arkansas's prohibition on direct corporate contributions to candidates (Ark. Const. art. 19, § 28) was constitutional under federal precedent as it stood in 2017,…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Jason D. Berry's 2017 ballot title for the Cannabis Hemp and Recreational Marijuana Amendment?
The AG rejected the title because the proposal left the THC classification of some products unclear, gave an unclear timetable for licenses and tags, and appeared to direct members of Congress to…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry B. Morris's 2017 ballot title for the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment?
AG Rutledge rejected Larry B. Morris's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title. Five drafting defects controlled: Section 3(f)'s sheriff-issued transport-pass language was internally…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Avalon Romane's cannabis hemp and recreational marijuana ballot title?
The AG rejected the title because the proposal left unclear whether businesses could participate, whether it would have regulatory oversight, and what 'products produced' would become legal. She…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary L. Berry's 2017 ballot title for the Cannabis Hemp and Recreational Marijuana Amendment?
The AG rejected the title because the proposal left the treatment of some hemp and marijuana products unclear and appeared to direct members of Congress to support federal legislation. She warned…
Can a city in Arkansas raise its sanitation fee to pay for animal control, code enforcement, and nuisance abatement without a public vote?
AG Rutledge concluded that Pine Bluff's planned sanitation-fee increase, used to cover Animal Control and Quality of Life division operating expenses, probably did not qualify as a true 'fee' under…
Can a state agency release a public employee's driving record in response to an Arkansas FOIA request for the personnel file?
AG Rutledge concluded that the State Treasurer custodian's decision to release a former employee's driving record (with redactions) was consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. Although release implicates…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary L. Berry's January 2017 ballot title for the Cannabis Hemp and Recreational Marijuana Amendment?
AG Rutledge rejected Mary L. Berry's January 2017 proposed Cannabis Hemp and Recreational Marijuana Amendment ballot title. Eight specific drafting defects controlled, including unclear treatment of…
After Arkansas voters approved the Medical Marijuana Amendment, was the legislature obligated to fund and implement it even though marijuana remains illegal under federal law?
AG Rutledge concluded that the General Assembly lacked discretion under the plain text of the AMMA (Amendment 98 of 2016) to decide whether to establish the Medical Marijuana Commission Fund or…
Why did the Arkansas AG keep rejecting Barry Emigh's proposed gambling-and-alcohol constitutional amendments?
AG Rutledge rejected Barry Emigh's fourth submission of a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing local gambling with alcohol service. The same fundamental defect from earlier submissions…
Can a city in Arkansas use general fund money to subsidize its firemen's pension fund, and can it raise the Amendment 31 millage rate without holding another election?
Yes to both, with a limit. The AG said a city may support its local fire pension fund with general funds and may raise a tax rate within the one-mill cap the voters approved without another…
Can an Arkansas county attorney petition the State Auditor for abandoned mineral lease proceeds, or only the original holder before transfer to the Auditor?
AG Rutledge concluded that the Auditor of State is not a 'holder' under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-28-403(a)(2)(A). A county attorney's petition for abandoned mineral proceeds held under court-receiver…
Did the legislature violate the Arkansas Constitution by adding a substantive premium-tax provision to the State Insurance Department's appropriation bill?
AG Rutledge concluded that Section 29 of Act 871 of 2015, which carved out the insurance premium tax credit so it would not offset taxes from Health Care Independence Program and Arkansas Health…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary L. Berry's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title?
The AG rejected the ballot title on two grounds. It misleadingly suggested federal law prohibited only Cannabis sativa, and it did not explain how the proposal would affect the recently approved…
How do property owners remove a board member from an Arkansas Municipal Property Owner's Improvement District, and what 'assessed value' counts toward the two-thirds petition requirement?
AG Rutledge concluded that an Arkansas Municipal Property Owner's Improvement District (MPOID) is governed solely by Ark. Code Ann. § 14-94-101 et seq.; the general municipal-improvement-district…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the interlocal agreement between Washington County and twelve cities to continue and expand the regional ambulance authority?
AG Rutledge approved as submitted an interlocal cooperation agreement between Washington County and twelve cities (Elkins, Elm Springs, Farmington, Fayetteville, Goshen, Greenland, Johnson, Lincoln,…
What happens when the Arkansas AG receives a proposed ballot initiative with ambiguous language?
The Arkansas AG rejected the popular name and ballot title submitted by Barry Emigh for a proposed constitutional amendment to authorize the contracting and subcontracting of gambling along with the…
When can a Fort Smith Traffic Control Manager's disciplinary records be released under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that releasing the Fort Smith employee's evaluation records was consistent with FOIA because all four conditions in § 25-19-105(c)(1) were met, including suspension or…
When can a Fort Smith city employee's disciplinary records be released under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that release of the Fort Smith employee's evaluation records was consistent with FOIA because all four conditions in § 25-19-105(c)(1) were met, including suspension or…
Can the Arkansas State Police refuse a FOIA request for records of an incident involving one of their officers?
The AG could not decide whether the denial was correct because she had not seen the records. She said that, if the officer had not been suspended or terminated, records properly classified as his…
When a person's employment application at an Arkansas public agency is requested under FOIA, what gets released and what gets redacted?
Mostly yes. The Arkansas AG concluded the records custodian's decision to release a redacted job application of an Arkansas School for the Blind employee was largely consistent with the FOIA. The AG…
Will the Arkansas Attorney General weigh in on whether Act 109 of 2015 is constitutional when the same statute is already being litigated in court?
No. AG Leslie Rutledge declined to address Act 109 of 2015's constitutionality because the statute was the subject of two pending lawsuits: Opponents of Ordinance 6121 v. City of Hot Springs and…
Why did Arkansas reject the Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title in 2016?
Rejected. The AG could not certify the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment's popular name and ballot title because the underlying measure was internally ambiguous, especially on tax rates, penalty…
Can a public employee's job application be released under Arkansas FOIA over the applicant's objection?
Yes. A public employee's job application is a personnel record under the Arkansas FOIA. The applicant's educational background and work history reflect job qualifications and do not give rise to a…
Can an Arkansas county pay for fuel in a constable's private vehicle when the vehicle is used for official duties?
Yes. An Arkansas quorum court may authorize the county to pay for fuel in a constable's privately owned vehicle when the vehicle is used for official duties, either as a 'reasonable expense' under §…
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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.