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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Can an Arkansas school district withhold employee evaluation records from a FOIA request if no final discipline has been imposed?
Yes, on the facts presented. The AG classified the records as employee-evaluation records and found the custodian’s decision to withhold them consistent with the FOIA because there apparently had…
Can Arkansas nonprofit organizations use inmate labor or community-service workers from local jails and probation?
Mostly no for Act 309 inmates and mostly yes for DCC community-correction offenders. Act 309 inmates are statutorily assigned only to public detention facilities and political subdivisions, so they…
Is a free-to-play promotional sweepstakes with computer terminals legal under Arkansas anti-gambling laws?
Probably legal under the facts described. Because the RMT sweepstakes requires no payment to play and the terminals do not decide who wins or loses, the program does not appear to violate Arkansas'…
Does Arkansas require child care facilities to have only one CPR-certified staff member on site, or more?
More than one. Ark. Code Ann. § 20-78-210(e) sets a statutory floor of 'at least one' CPR-certified adult on site, but it directs DHS to write the actual licensing rule. The Division's regulation…
Can Arkansas DHS withhold employee records because the FOIA requester might harass employees?
Mostly yes. The AG said the requester’s identity and possible harassment did not justify withholding these personnel records. She required an exposed Social Security number and another employee’s…
When a juvenile lifer is resentenced under Miller v. Alabama, does Arkansas' 70 percent parole rule apply to the new sentence?
The 70 percent law does not apply. A juvenile capital murderer resentenced to a term of years under Miller v. Alabama must serve the percentage of sentence required for a Class Y felony not…
Can a teacher's suspension and resignation records be released under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The records of a school district employee's disciplinary suspension under the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act are releasable under Arkansas FOIA when the employee resigned before the school board…
Can a city director in Arkansas's city administrator form of government also serve as fire chief?
No. The general aldermanic dual-office ban at § 14-42-107(a)(2) probably does not reach city board members in the city administrator form of government. But Ark. Code Ann. § 14-48-110(a)(3) does,…
Are redactions of a school district employee's job application consistent with Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly. The AG agreed with the personnel-record classification and most redactions, but could not assess the hidden ‘Reason for Leaving’ or a redacted phone number without the unredacted…
Why did Arkansas reject Barry Emigh's Fairdeal Holdings casino-gambling ballot title?
Rejected. Barry Emigh's proposed gambling amendment was sent back because the sponsor swapped the popular name and ballot title labels, the measure claimed to be self-executing while also delegating…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject Robert Reed’s proposed hemp and cannabis ballot title?
Rejected. Robert Reed's proposed 'Arkansas Hemp and Cannabis Amendment of 2018' could not be summarized fairly because of seven significant ambiguities, including overlapping cannabis/Cannabis…
Can an insurance company verify which Arkansas providers are registered users of the state's prescription drug monitoring program?
If the requested verification information is part of the controlled substances database, no: the AG said the database is confidential and the custodian cannot disclose it. The opinion did not decide…
After the Arkansas Valley Tech merger into Arkansas Tech, who is eligible for unused sick leave payouts at retirement?
Layered answer. On the merger date (July 1, 2003), section 21-4-501 did not apply to any higher-ed employees. Today, classified Arkansas Tech employees, including former Valley Tech employees, are…
How long must Arkansas keep old election records like financial interest statements and candidate filings?
No fixed time. The AG said the Secretary may choose a reasonable retention period for the listed election records for a legitimate governmental purpose. Litigation-related records must be kept,…
Can an Arkansas city withhold witness statements from an open internal harassment investigation under FOIA, when no suspension or termination has occurred yet?
Yes, on the stated facts. The AG classified the statements taken during the internal investigation as employee-evaluation records and assumed no final administrative resolution had resulted in…
Why did Arkansas reject the first Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title in 2016?
Rejected. The AG could not certify Mary Berry's first version of 'The Arkansas Cannabis Amendment' because the underlying measure was internally ambiguous on 14 distinct issues, including residency…
If I'm the subject of a Little Rock internal investigation, am I entitled to the investigation file under Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly yes. The AG opined that under § 25-19-105(c)(2), the subject of personnel or evaluation records can obtain them even when the public cannot. Portions that are exclusively another employee's…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General certify Thomas Steele’s proposed term-limits title for petition circulation?
Yes. The AG found the proposed popular name and ballot title sufficient and certified them as submitted. This allowed petition circulation; the opinion did not decide whether the measure would…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General certify the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment for the ballot in 2016?
No. AG Leslie Rutledge rejected the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment's popular name and ballot title, identifying at least ten ambiguities in the measure's text that prevented an impartial summary.
Can a Little Rock police officer's job application be released to a FOIA requester after personal contact details are redacted?
Yes. The AG concluded a Little Rock Police sergeant's employment application is a personnel record properly subject to release, and that the custodian's redactions of personal-privacy information…
Can a FOIA requester get the names, salaries, and years of service for University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences employees?
Yes. The AG opined that names, salaries from 2013 forward, and years of service for UAMS Respiratory Care Services employees are personnel records subject to disclosure under Arkansas FOIA.
Under Arkansas FOIA, which Little Rock Police Department personnel records (names, pay, addresses, dates of birth) can the public obtain?
The AG opined that LRPD properly determined names, race, age, gender, dates of hire, promotions, pay, and pay increases of officers are releasable personnel records. Home addresses, social security…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General approve Barry Emigh's proposed Fairdeal Holdings casino gambling constitutional amendment for the ballot?
No. AG Leslie Rutledge rejected the proposed amendment for fundamental defects: it targeted a non-existent November 14, 2017 election, used an overlong popular name, left the 'local ballot option'…
Can an Arkansas property owner claim the Arkansas homestead property tax credit and also claim a homestead-style credit in another state in the same year?
The AG opined that Arkansas law does not bar an owner from claiming both, but warned that since both credits typically require a principal place of residence and a person can only have one, claiming…
Can an Arkansas quorum court give bonuses or longevity pay to county employees, county officers, or its own justices of the peace?
The AG concluded yes for county employees (broad quorum-court authority over compensation), yes for county officers when included within the annual salary fixed by ordinance, but no for justices of…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General certify the September 2016 draft of the Arkansas Cannabis Amendment?
No. AG Leslie Rutledge rejected the September 26, 2016 draft of Mary Berry's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment. The marijuana-license definition referred to the plant itself, but the recreational…
Did Arkansas Act 667 of 2003 amend or repeal the 1883 act dividing Craighead County into the Jonesboro and Lake City judicial districts?
Act 667 of 2003 did not expressly amend or repeal Act 61 of 1883. The AG concluded the most sensible reading is that Act 667 impliedly repealed Act 61's 'Lake City Rule' (which required certain…
Does an Arkansas county convention delegate automatically become a county committee member, and how do affidavits of eligibility and candidate-eligibility challenges work?
The AG concluded no Arkansas statute automatically makes a county convention delegate a county committee member, but a party rule could provide that. Affidavits of eligibility likely must be…
Is the 25% signature requirement for recalling an Arkansas mayor under § 14-42-119 unconstitutional because it exceeds Amendment 7's 15% threshold for local initiatives?
No. The AG opined that Article 5, § 1 (Amendment 7) governs only initiated legislation, while § 14-42-119 governs municipal recall elections that merely execute a statutory removal procedure. The…
Can an Arkansas sheriff issue a blanket denial of a FOIA request for records about an employee's alleged harassment, and does the employee's resignation unlock those records?
The AG could not decide whether particular unseen records had to be released. She said blanket denials are ordinarily inconsistent with the FOIA when exempt information can be segregated.…
Can an Arkansas state agency release a former employee's personnel records under FOIA, and what specific information must be redacted to protect personal privacy?
The AG concluded that the personnel records of the DF&A employee at issue are properly classified as personnel records and are subject to release, but specific additional redactions of…
Are Arkansas child maltreatment investigation records and the related probable cause reports exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act?
Yes. The AG concluded that Ark. Code Ann. § 12-18-104 prohibits release of the entire record of a child maltreatment investigation, including data collected by local law enforcement (sheriffs and…
Can the board of a rural Arkansas fire protection district formed in 1982 raise its maximum assessable levy using the 2015 amendments without a new vote of property owners?
Yes. The AG concluded that Act 1234 of 2015 (codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 14-284-206(b)) applies to fire protection districts formed both before and after 2015, including one formed in 1982. The…
Does an Arkansas county have to use competitive bidding when it leases (rather than buys) equipment under the county purchasing statutes?
No. The AG concluded that a true lease (a simple rental agreement that does not give the county any ownership option in the equipment) is not a 'purchase' under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-22-101's…
Can a 4x4 side-by-side off-road vehicle be operated and licensed on Arkansas public streets and highways?
It depends. If the side-by-side meets the statutory definition of an ATV or recreational off-highway vehicle (3/4/6 wheels, ≤50 or 75 inches wide, nonhighway tires, off-road design, ≤1000cc engine),…
Can Arkansas county election commissioners be paid an hourly or salary rate for election work performed outside public meetings, and can the county recover that cost from the State?
Partly yes. The AG concluded that State Board of Election Commissioner reimbursement to counties is limited to per-public-meeting payments under Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-111(b), capped at not less than…
Was the revised Berry cannabis amendment ballot title sufficient for certification in 2016?
No. The AG rejected the popular name and ballot title for a second time, citing nine ambiguities in the underlying measure. The revised draft fixed some issues but introduced new ones, including…
Can an Arkansas city police department use a 90-day probationary period for new officers despite the state CLEST regulation requiring 12 months?
No. The AG concluded that the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training (CLEST) has statewide regulatory authority over police certification standards, that CLEST Regulation 1003…
Could Arkansas legally cap enrollment in the Arkansas Works (Medicaid expansion) program at 250,000 or limit it to existing Private Option enrollees?
No. The AG concluded that a state law capping Arkansas Works enrollment or limiting it to current Private Option enrollees would not meet 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII), which requires a state…
Could the Little Rock School District release a teacher's personnel and disciplinary records in response to a FOIA request, and what had to be redacted?
Mostly yes, with two carve-outs. The AG concluded that the custodian's decision to release the records to a FOIA requester was generally consistent with FOIA. Two specific issues: (1) insurance…
Does an Arkansas agreement between a county and a city to split a federal Justice Assistance Grant need AG approval under the Interlocal Cooperation Act?
No. The AG concluded that an agreement under which a city accepts a Byrne JAG grant, shares the funds equally with the county, serves as fiscal agent, and lets each entity spend its share on…
When an Arkansas district court is funded by both a county and the cities within its jurisdiction, who maintains the court automation fund and who controls how it is spent?
The cities maintain it. The AG concluded that the district court automation fund created by the $5/month installment fee under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-13-704(b)(3) cannot be maintained by both the…
Was the Arkansas Cannabis Amendment's revised popular name and ballot title sufficient for ballot certification in 2016?
No. The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because additions in the underlying measure created ambiguities the AG could not resolve and the AG therefore could not draft a fair…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the ballot title for the 2016 Arkansas Term Limits Amendment sponsored by Skip Cook?
Yes. The AG found the popular name and ballot title sufficient and certified them as submitted for petition circulation. The proposed title described limits of three two-year House terms, two…
Can the public get a letter from a public agency telling an employee about disciplinary action through an Arkansas FOIA request?
Yes, with redactions. The AG concluded that the disciplinary letter to a West River Valley RSWMD employee was an employee evaluation record, that the four-part test for release (suspension or…
Where do unclaimed funds in an Arkansas lawyer's trust account (IOLTA or non-IOLTA) go: to the State Auditor under the Unclaimed Property Act, or to the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation under Rule 1.15?
To the Foundation, under Rule 1.15. The AG concluded that funds in a lawyer's trust account are governed by Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15(c) and must be paid to the Arkansas Access to Justice…
Can the public get a copy of an ADWS employee's redacted job application through Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. After reviewing Williams's application, the AG approved its release as redacted. The opinion separately raised a classification question about a record dated August 18, 2015: if it was an…
What must an Arkansas county quorum court appropriate for the coroner's office, can coroners join APERS, and can they be paid as independent contractors?
The AG concluded that no Arkansas statute fixes specific items a quorum court must appropriate for the coroner. Section 14-15-309's mutual-aid items (transport equipment, body bags, PPE, etc.)…
If a person is appointed to fill a vacancy in an Arkansas city of the first class elected office, can they run for that same office in the next election?
Generally yes. The AG concluded that there is no general constitutional or statutory prohibition against a person running to succeed himself after being chosen to fill a vacancy in a city office.…
Can Arkansas hold a special school millage election on any day another election is being held, or are there days where other elections can occur but school millage votes cannot?
Not on every day. The AG concluded that a special school millage election may be held only when both (a) the three conditions in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-14-102(b) are met (constitutional and statutory…
In Arkansas, when a defendant makes a partial payment on a criminal or traffic court judgment, how is that payment split between court costs, restitution, and fines?
In district court, partial payments are allocated under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-10-209(5)(F)(i): first to court costs (until paid in full), then to restitution (until paid in full), then to fines. No…
Did Arkansas school districts have to maintain a 1-school-nurse-per-750-students ratio under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-706?
No, not in 2016. The AG concluded that § 6-18-706's nurse-to-student ratios (1:750 generally, 1:400 for districts with high disability concentrations, 1:125 at centers for profoundly disabled…
Can the public get a copy of a state agency employee's job application through an Arkansas FOIA request, and what has to be redacted?
Generally yes. The AG concluded that documents constituting an application for public employment with the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services were subject to public disclosure under FOIA, with…
Is Arkansas's 'drunken, insane, or disorderly persons' arrest statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 12-11-110) constitutional, and can district courts assess fines or court costs under it?
The AG declined to answer. Pending litigation in Craighead County (Burcham v. Craighead Cty., No. CV-16-401, filed June 10, 2016) was already presenting essentially the same questions, and the AG's…
Does posting 'no trespassing' signs on an Arkansas driveway make it criminal trespass for a door-to-door salesperson to drive up to the house?
Generally no. The AG concluded that Ark. Code Ann. § 18-11-403 only prohibits entry on posted land 'for recreational purposes,' so a salesperson is not violating that statute by entering the…
Can a LOPFI member hold the system to a 2010 service-credit purchase price after a representative verbally said it would not change?
No. The AG said the law has required an actuarial calculation at the time of purchase since 1999. Even if a representative gave the alleged verbal assurance, it could not create a contract contrary…
Can the Arkansas Treasurer sign a $450,000 contract for an online financial-literacy program without specific statutory authority?
No specific statutory grant was automatically required, but the AG did not decide whether this contract was lawful. Its legality turned on whether it properly exercised the Treasurer's authority to…
Is whether my early-retirement payment went to me as a stipend or into a retirement plan a public record?
The AG concluded that UALR's resolution was a personnel record. The amount of the early-retirement allowance had to be disclosed because of the strong public interest in expenditure of public funds,…
Can a state university release records showing whether a faculty member's early-retirement payment went to him directly or into a retirement plan?
The AG concluded that the early-retirement resolution was properly classified as a personnel record. The public clearly had a substantial interest in the payment amount, but the AG was not persuaded…
Can an Arkansas city take out a short-term loan for a project and pay it back with grant money?
Probably not under Amendment 78. The AG concluded that grant funds restricted to a specified purpose (like a state airport grant for runway resealing) are not 'general revenues' and so cannot be…
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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.