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 the Arkansas legislature require its committee to pre-approve Ethics Commission rules implementing the new ethics amendment?
Yes. Amendments 92 and 94, both ratified in November 2014, work together. Amendment 92 lets the General Assembly subject any agency rule to legislative review, and Amendment 94 lets it amend Ethics…
Does the Arkansas AG need to approve a cooperation agreement between Little Rock and the Capitol Zoning District Commission?
No. A specific 2013 statute (A.C.A. § 22-3-308) governs Capitol Zoning District cooperation with Little Rock and does not require AG approval. Plus the agreement doesn't fit the Interlocal…
Can a Fayetteville police officer's personnel file be released after redacting job performance records, addresses, and family info?
Mostly yes, but the AG found a few errors. Race shouldn't have been redacted, and non-public references' contact information shouldn't have been redacted either. A school transcript needed full…
Do Arkansas legislators' pre-2014 years of service count toward the new 16-year cap under Amendment 94?
Yes, as to service after January 1, 1993. Amendment 94 left untouched the prospective-application clause from Amendment 73, so the 1993 trigger date carried over. Two-year Senate terms drawn after…
Can an Arkansas school district buy land in a neighboring district and build a school on it?
Yes, subject to the same caveats as a 2001 AG opinion: the school board has discretion to acquire extraterritorial property and build, but new construction needs approval from the Division of Public…
Does an Arkansas alderman have a prohibited interest in a city contract if his or her spouse runs the company or owns a controlling share?
Possibly yes for unincorporated contractors (the law prohibits it). But if the contractor or subcontractor is a corporation, the statutory exception applies and the contract is allowed regardless of…
Can an Arkansas county trade in used equipment toward a lease-purchase of new equipment without going through bidding?
Yes. The county purchasing statute (A.C.A. § 14-22-106) controls and exempts used-goods trade-ins from bidding, whether the underlying transaction is a sale or a lease with option to purchase. The…
What rules govern the release of a Pulaski County former employee's employment records under the Arkansas FOIA?
The AG could not provide a substantive review because the requester did not submit records or specify objections. The opinion summarized the general FOIA framework for employee-related records: the…
Can an Arkansas school district give a departing superintendent property worth more than $100 as part of a severance package?
Yes, but only if the district receives adequate consideration in return. A contracted-for severance or a settlement of a bona fide dispute qualifies. A pure gift after resignation does not. School…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Campaign Finance Act of 2016 ballot title?
The AG rejected it because the ballot title failed to summarize entire sections of the proposal, used 'electioneering communication' in a way that contradicts the term's standard meaning, and used…
When does majority-party status attach for Arkansas county election commission composition?
Majority-party status is determined by the November 2014 general election results, but the actual change in county board composition does not happen until January 2015. Commissioners are selected in…
What deadline did Arkansas law set for a write-in candidate's notice to the county election board in 2014?
The AG said the county-board notice deadline was unclear after amendments to the statute. Filings with the Secretary of State or county clerk, including the pledge, affidavit and write-in notice,…
Could Texarkana bill Miller County for retrieving suspects on felony warrants issued by city police?
The AG said Miller County was likely under no duty to reimburse Texarkana without an enforceable agreement. Collection of criminal-case costs needs statutory authority and a court's judgment for…
Can an Arkansas alcohol manufacturer or licensed restaurant own an interest in a microbrewery-restaurant?
Yes. The microbrewery-restaurant subchapter explicitly overrides the three-tier system separation rules. Existing manufacturers and restaurants holding mixed-drink permits can hold an interest in a…
How are timeshare interests counted when an Arkansas suburban improvement district votes to change or fill its board?
The AG said the result depends on the district and election. Under the conversion procedure he considered, each assessed property gets two votes, cast for timeshare property by its owners'…
Can an Arkansas sheriff's office release a deputy's suspension letter to a third-party FOIA requester even though the deputy was not involved in any of the matters the requester was investigating?
Yes. The suspension letter is an employee-evaluation record showing a violation of rules designed to avoid undermining public trust. As a law enforcement officer's discipline record meeting the…
Does Arkansas's 2014 lobbyist gift ban (Issue 3) prohibit a chamber of commerce from hosting a legislative reception that is open to all legislators?
No. Issue 3 defines 'gift' to exclude food or drink available at a planned activity to which a specific governmental body is invited. A reception open to the entire General Assembly meets the…
Are the meetings and records of a committee or subcommittee created by an Arkansas state board open to the public under the FOIA?
Records of committees and subcommittees of public bodies are subject to the FOIA across the board. Meetings depend on the committee's makeup and whether it has decision-making authority. Complete…
When someone applies for a job with an Arkansas public employer, are their interview scores released to other applicants under the FOIA?
It depends on whether the applicant was successful and whether they were already a public employee. Successful applicants: name and scores released. Unsuccessful applicants who are already public…
Under the Arkansas FOIA, must a city release internal complaint records to an employee who is the subject of a harassment complaint while the investigation is still ongoing?
For the records reviewed, yes, with one redaction. The AG said the employee’s access did not depend on whether the complaint documents were employee-evaluation records; the subject would ordinarily…
If an Arkansas DWI offender already paid the statutory fee for an alcohol treatment program, can the state make them pay it again for an alcohol education program?
No. A person ordered to a treatment program who paid the A.C.A. § 5-65-115 fee for that program cannot be required to pay the same fee a second time for an education program. The Office of Driver…
Can an Arkansas city pay its outside contract attorney for time spent answering FOIA requests, or does the FOIA forbid it?
The FOIA does not govern what a city pays its outside counsel for FOIA work, as long as those fees are not passed on to the requester. The act regulates what custodians may charge requesters, not…
Does an Arkansas law requiring consolidated school districts to donate or lease unused buildings to charter schools and other entities apply to districts consolidated before 2013?
No. A.C.A. § 6-21-108(b)(3), enacted in 2013, does not apply retroactively to school districts whose consolidation and two-year vacancy window both predated the statute's effective date. The statute…
What did the Arkansas AG do with the Arkansas Hemp and Marijuana Amendment ballot title in 2014?
The AG certified the popular name as submitted and substituted a more suitable ballot title. The substituted title kept the proposal's substance while warning voters that the activities remain…
Can an Arkansas county sheriff's department withhold a 13-year-old letter of reprimand and suspension issued to a deputy just because the underlying incident never became publicly controversial?
No, in the AG's view. Age and lack of public controversy alone are not enough to defeat the compelling-public-interest test for releasing a law enforcement officer's disciplinary record, especially…
Under Arkansas FOIA, can a school district withhold documents that formed the basis for firing a teacher who worked daily with students?
The AG had not seen the records and could not decide whether they were personnel records or employee-evaluation records, or whether they had to be disclosed. He said a compelling public interest…
Can an Arkansas city lower or eliminate its personal property tax while keeping the real property tax the same?
No. Amendment 79, § 4(b) of the Arkansas Constitution required the millage rate on personal property to equal the millage rate on real property in every taxing unit. The City of Benton could not…
Can an Arkansas public hospital withhold settlement agreements with departing employees as a privacy invasion?
Probably not. The AG had not seen the records, but his office had repeatedly opined that public-entity settlement agreements are personnel records, and that the public's strong interest in…
Does an Arkansas county election board need a unanimous vote to close an inaccessible polling place and select its replacement?
The AG said closing a polling site needs only the board's usual two-vote majority, while designating another site for its voters requires unanimity. That includes assigning voters to a site already…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject a citizen-proposed marijuana legalization amendment in 2014?
The AG rejected the second submission of the Arkansas Hemp and Marijuana Amendment because the text contained ambiguities that made an honest ballot title impossible. The licensing-cost language,…
Can an Arkansas county lock itself into a 'forever' contract to house city prisoners for free, with no way out unless the city agrees?
No. A county can sign contracts for an indefinite term, but any county interlocal services agreement under A.C.A. § 14-14-910 must allow each party to terminate on six months' written notice. A…
Can Arkansas pay health insurance subsidies for public school employees even though they aren't state employees, and could other groups sue for equal treatment?
Yes for the first question, no for the second. The legislature may direct public funds to any group, including non-state employees, as long as the expenditure serves a primarily public purpose under…
Did proposed Arkansas amendment SJR 7 give legislators approval power over Game and Fish or Highway Commission rules?
The AG declined to interpret the proposal before voters acted. He said a later constitutional amendment could grant legislative approval power, but a court would have to decide whether voters…
Does Arkansas's six-month withdrawal provision apply when a county interlocal agreement omits it or expressly requires mutual consent?
The AG said a court would likely read the statutory six-month notice term into an otherwise silent county interlocal agreement. If the agreement expressly denied unilateral withdrawal, a court would…
When should an Arkansas state agency release the records that led to firing an employee?
The AG agreed with the AHTD HR director's decision to release four records connected to a former employee's suspension and termination. Three were employee-evaluation records that met all four…
When every seat on an Arkansas city council is empty, can the Governor fill them?
Governor Beebe could appoint enough new aldermen to let the remaining council fill the other seats under A.C.A. § 14-44-104, or he could appoint all the vacancies at once. The power was…
Why could the Arkansas AG not review a plan to release records concerning a former 911 supervisor?
The AG could not discern a complete record-by-record decision from the information supplied. He had no indication the custodian classified the documents or applied the relevant personnel or…
Can a state agency release a former employee's work emails as personnel records without checking whether they're evaluation records?
Partially. DHS correctly identified most of former employee Leslie Rutledge's emails as personnel records suitable for release. But several emails were employee-evaluation records that needed the…
When can the press get records from an Arkansas police officer's internal investigation?
Hearst Television's KHBS got partial relief. The AG sided with the custodian on two internal investigations that did not result in suspension or termination (those records stay closed). But he…
If an Arkansas teacher resigns mid-appeal of a suspension, are the suspension records still FOIA-disclosable?
Yes. A Springdale teacher's suspension under A.C.A. § 6-17-1508 became 'final' for FOIA purposes when he resigned mid-appeal. Suspension under that statute is disciplinary even if it's with pay. The…
Could the Arkansas AG decide whether a highway department employee's personnel file should be released without seeing the records?
No. The AG had not seen the records, did not know how the custodian classified them or the circumstances of an adverse-action report, and had no specific objection from the employee. He supplied…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the proposed Hemp and Marijuana Amendment's ballot title in 2014?
The proposal called cannabis with less than 1% THC hemp and cannabis with greater than 1% THC marijuana, leaving exactly 1% unclassified. The AG said that gap made the measure too ambiguous to…
How can Arkansas verify that an out-of-state towing company qualifies for an Arkansas permit?
The AG suggested the Towing Board require applicants to show the laws of their home state actually permit Arkansas-licensed tow vehicles to operate there. No formal rule existed in 2014, but the…
Can an Arkansas county judge take 911 dispatch away from the sheriff without the sheriff's consent?
The AG said the county judge generally may withdraw the sheriff's designation as 911 operating agency without the sheriff's concurrence, although staffing, costs, and existing agreements or…
Can the Arkansas Department of Heritage use the 1/8% conservation tax to build a new headquarters?
The AG said Amendment 75 does not, on its face, bar the legislature from appropriating Heritage Department tax funds for capital projects or require exclusive spending on natural heritage. He would…
If an employee was 'forced to resign' before disciplinary action, can the public still get their employee-evaluation records under Arkansas FOIA?
Not automatically. Coerced resignation can in principle equal a constructive termination that opens the records to disclosure, but the custodian, not the AG, decides as a factual matter whether the…
Can an Arkansas city impose a flat monthly water-account charge dedicated to sewer maintenance by ordinance, or does it have to go to a vote of the people?
If the charge truly behaves like a fee (fair, reasonable, and tied to the service the payer receives), the city council can impose it by ordinance and it is not an illegal exaction. If it functions…
Must Jonesboro withhold complaint-investigation records about an employee who resigned without suspension or termination?
The AG reviewed five disputed documents and said they appeared to have been created by or for the employer during its investigation. He classified them as employee-evaluation records and said FOIA…
Can a sheriff's office withhold internal-affairs interview records when the deputy was placed on paid administrative leave during the probe and then resigned before the investigation closed?
Yes, if the paid leave was routine (not disciplinary) and the resignation was voluntary. Without a suspension or termination, the records fail the threshold prong of Arkansas FOIA's…
Could an Arkansas custodian withhold a public employee's personnel records because the requester appeared to seek them for harassment?
The AG said no: the personnel-record privacy test was objective and did not let the custodian weigh this requester's identity or motive. He approved disclosure of the reviewed records with…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the popular name and ballot title for the 'Cultivate Hemp and Regulate Marijuana Amendment'?
The proposal had multiple internal ambiguities and misleading tendencies, including imperative-mood phrasing in the popular name, contradictory regulatory-authority language in the text, and silence…
Could Little Rock withhold seven internal-investigation records when the employee investigated was not suspended or terminated?
Based on the custodian's descriptions, the AG said withholding seven specified records was consistent with FOIA. He treated them as employee-evaluation records created by or for the city to evaluate…
Did Arkansas's 2014 ballot push to legalize medical marijuana clear the AG's ballot-title gatekeeper?
Yes, for the popular name (certified as submitted); the AG substituted a refined ballot title and certified that. The measure cleared this stage with a cautionary note about ballot-title litigation…
Can a city withhold a 23-page applicant 'Integrity Interview' from a public-records request when most of its 349 questions are about deeply personal matters?
Yes. When highly personal questions predominate (about 70%) and are interspersed line-by-line throughout the document, the exempt information is 'inextricably intertwined' with the non-exempt, and…
Can an elected Arkansas Court of Appeals judge also serve as a part-time elected district court judge, and does the answer change if the city and county pay the salary?
No. Amendment 80 § 16(F) bars circuit, district, and appellate judges from holding any other 'office of trust or profit under this state,' and that ban runs regardless of who pays. Teaching as an…
Can a sheriff's office release disciplinary records of a former deputy under Arkansas FOIA when the misconduct involved interactions with the public?
Yes, with one redaction. Disciplinary records of law enforcement misconduct that affects the public typically carry a compelling public interest sufficient to satisfy the four-part FOIA test, but a…
Can two Arkansas counties join together to build and operate a single jail located in only one of the counties?
Yes. State law authorizes regional jail facilities created by interlocal agreement, and that authority qualifies the older requirement (from 1838) that every county build a jail within its own…
If an Arkansas regional intermodal authority leases facilities to a private business, does the private lessee inherit the authority's tax exemptions?
No. A.C.A. § 14-143-121 exempts the authority and its property, not a private lessee or other contractor. Whether particular authority-owned property qualifies for a property-tax exemption also…
Did the Arkansas AG certify a 2014 constitutional amendment legalizing cannabis statewide with a 1% THC dividing line between hemp and cannabis?
Yes for the popular name (certified as submitted). The AG substituted a refined ballot title to fix language about regulation versus prohibition of plant numbers and product manufacturing, and…
How did the Arkansas AG respond to legislators asking about a split vote to close Sebastian County polling sites?
The AG enclosed Opinion 2014-068, which he said adequately addressed their legal questions. This short opinion gives no separate analysis or ruling on the vote.
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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.