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.
No Arkansas opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Under Arkansas FOIA, must a county disclose a former employee's settlement agreement and emails but withhold the termination letter when the termination was later vacated and the employee resigned by agreement?
Yes to both. The settlement agreement and related documents are personnel records that pass the privacy balancing test. The termination letter is an employee-evaluation record, and because the termina…
Can an Arkansas school district still proceed with a superintendent's termination recommendation when the legally required hearing wasn't held within the five-to-ten-day window?
The AG declined to answer because the questions go to remedies the employee will likely argue at the upcoming hearing, and the AG cannot offer what amounts to private legal advice to one side of a pen…
When does Arkansas legislation passed in a special session take effect if there's no emergency clause or specified effective date?
Ninety days after sine die adjournment. For the Second Extraordinary Session of the Eighty-Ninth General Assembly (adjourned July 2, 2014), that put the effective date at October 1, 2014. The 90-day w…
Can an Arkansas county board of election commissioners close polling sites and reassign voters to neighboring sites by majority vote, or does it require unanimity?
Unanimity. Any alteration of a precinct's preexisting polling site is a 'designation' under A.C.A. § 7-5-101(a)(2), which requires a unanimous vote of the commissioners present. The Sebastian County 2…
Does an Arkansas city have to file a municipal-election filing-deadline ordinance with the county clerk?
No. No state law requires filing of municipal ordinances with the county clerk, and the specific statute authorizing cities to set earlier filing deadlines for independent candidates does not require …
Why did the AG reject the July 2014 version of the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act before later certifying a refined version in Opinion 2014-086?
Because the underlying text had multiple ambiguities: missing punctuation, incoherent sentences, undefined terms, internal definition conflicts, and a 'test all' rule that would make all cannabis unav…
When does the 30-day clock start for an Arkansas teacher to sign and return a teaching contract under the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act?
When the district notifies the teacher the contract is reasonably available, not when the teacher physically receives it. A district can email the teacher that the contract is in the superintendent's …
If an Arkansas small-claims judge enters a default judgment for a collection agency that wasn't supposed to sue in small claims, is the judgment void for lack of jurisdiction?
No. Administrative Order 18 explicitly says the small-claims division designation is administrative, not jurisdictional. The judge has jurisdictional but not administrative authority to enter the judg…
Were a custodian's FOIA decisions to release written reprimands and promotion-related letters from a former employee's file consistent with Arkansas FOIA?
The release decision was ultimately right, but the classification mistakes had to be corrected, and White-Out redaction was improper. Some records were evaluation records, some personnel records, and …
Who controls Arkansas county roads, the county judge or the quorum court, and can a court order either of them to act?
The county judge controls county-road operations as an executive function under Amendment 55, with discretion that is generally not reviewable by writ of mandamus. The quorum court can adopt official …
Can Arkansas poll workers using electronic poll books take voter ID steps out of the order in A.C.A. § 7-5-305?
Yes. The statute lists steps that must occur before voting but doesn't dictate their order. The State Board of Election Commissioners has interpreted the statute that way in its training materials, an…
Under Arkansas's Public School Choice Act of 2013, does a district that previously declared exemption automatically remain exempt if it fails to give annual notice?
The statute is silent. A district subject to a federal desegregation order is barred from school-choice participation regardless of notice. Beyond that, the AG could not say; legislative clarification…
Can an Arkansas A&P Commission member whose term has expired but who keeps serving still vote on appointments, including their own reappointment?
A holdover A&P Commission member is a de facto officer whose votes are valid. The member can vote to fill another commissioner's seat and to reappoint a fellow holdover, but should recuse from voting …
Can a property owner in an Arkansas suburban improvement district pay the full assessment in a lump sum, or must they pay over time in annual installments?
The general SID statute does not universally forbid prepayment, and a related provision explicitly contemplates prepayments. Whether prepayment is allowed in a specific district can depend on the orde…
Does an Arkansas public employee have to try voluntary mediation before suing under the Whistleblower Act, and can civil-service rules block a whistleblower lawsuit?
No to both. Voluntary mediation under the WBA is opt-in, not a prerequisite to filing suit. And a civil-service rule that bars an administrative appeal of a particular adverse action does not block a …
Did the Arkansas AG approve the ballot title for David Dinwiddie's 2014 proposal to create a blanket primary system?
No. The AG rejected the proposal entirely because a partisan blanket primary violates the First Amendment associational rights of political parties under California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000). A…
Could the cities of Springdale and Johnson, Arkansas enter an interlocal agreement to jointly design and do environmental work for a 56th Street widening project?
Yes. The AG approved the interlocal agreement. It met all of the Interlocal Cooperation Act's required elements, designated the Mayor of Springdale as administrator (dispensing with the need for a sep…
Can an Arkansas rural fire protection district board raise the assessment caps written into the original petition, or charge different flat fees by commercial property type, without a new election?
No. Act 35 assessments are 'assessments,' not taxes, and the caps written into the founding petition can only be raised by going back to the voters. A district formed before July 3, 1989 (like the one…
Can MEMS (Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services) release the names, job titles, departments, and salaries of all employees under Arkansas FOIA, even when 33 employees object?
Yes. MEMS is subject to Arkansas FOIA. Name, job title, department, and salary are personnel records that must be released unless disclosure would be a 'clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privac…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the popular name and ballot title for Robert Reed's 2014 Arkansas Hemp and Cannabis Amendment initiative?
The AG approved the popular name 'The Arkansas Hemp and Cannabis Amendment' as submitted but substituted his own ballot title. The substitute clarifies the hemp/cannabis distinction, separates persona…
Are Arkansas public school districts that run licensed child care centers exempt from carrying general liability insurance, and can DHS exempt them?
The AG declined to opine because the same issues were being litigated in Fort Smith School District v. Beebe (Pulaski County Circuit Court). The office has a longstanding policy of not commenting on m…
Can an Arkansas school board require a two-thirds vote to suspend the rules or call the question, even though state law says a majority of a quorum is enough to pass any motion?
Yes. A.C.A. § 6-13-619(c)(1)(C) sets the minimum vote required to pass any motion, not the maximum. The Little Rock School Board can adopt Robert's Rules of Order and require a two-thirds vote on proc…
Under Act 595 of 2013, did Arkansas absentee voters who didn't include photo ID with their ballots have any way to fix the deficiency after election day?
No. Act 595 of 2013 required absentee voters to submit identification with their ballot, and the Arkansas Supreme Court held in May 2014 that the State Board of Election Commissioners had no authority…
Can an Arkansas custodian withhold internal investigation records of an employee who was initially terminated but ended up resigning under a negotiated settlement?
Yes. Because the termination was lifted by settlement and the employee resigned voluntarily, the disciplinary proceeding never reached 'final administrative resolution.' Without finality, the FOIA's f…
When an Arkansas custodian releases a law enforcement officer's termination letter under FOIA, can the custodian redact the terminated employee's name?
No. Once an employee evaluation record meets the four-part test for release, redacting the subject's name is inconsistent with FOIA because the identity is central to the public's compelling interest.…
Does Act 1256 of 1995 (the uniform court costs and filing fees act) tell an Arkansas city how to pay its city attorney?
Not directly. Act 1256 of 1995 is about uniform filing fees and court costs, not about city attorney pay. But the act does require cities to continue funding 'municipal-level programs and agencies' th…
After an Arkansas county court approves a landowner's petition to annex land into a city, does the city have a deadline to accept or reject the annexation?
No. The annexation only becomes effective when the city council passes an ordinance or resolution accepting the territory. But Arkansas statutes do not impose any time limit on when the city must act,…
Did the Arkansas AG approve David Couch's May 19, 2014 ballot title for the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment to make the entire state 'wet'?
Yes. The AG certified the popular name 'The Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment' as submitted and substituted his own ballot title. The substitute clarifies that alcohol sales would be lawful in the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 'Willie Nelson Act' cannabis decriminalization initiated act submitted by Richard Morton in May 2014?
The AG rejected the Willie Nelson Act for fifteen separate ambiguities, including: trying to 'prohibit' future legislation (which Amendment 7 expressly allows by 2/3 majority); applying an unknown 'co…
Can private security officers and commissioned security officers in Arkansas carry tasers on the job, and do they have to be trained in their use?
Yes, state law does not prohibit CSOs or PSOs from carrying or using tasers. And no, state law does not currently require CSO or PSO taser training (only law enforcement officers must be trained). The…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the May 9, 2014 draft of Robert Reed's Arkansas Cannabis Amendment?
The AG rejected the eighth Reed submission because: the opening sentence still commanded voters to 'add an amendment' (imperative, not indicative); the right was confusingly stated in future tense; th…
Can a former Arkansas public employee block release of her termination letter under FOIA, and can she get her own personnel and evaluation records from her former employer?
The AG could not review the release of the termination letter because the custodian had already disclosed it. The employee's request for her own records is allowed: under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(2), cur…
Did the Arkansas AG approve David Couch's May 2014 ballot title for the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment to make the state 'wet'?
No. The AG rejected the third draft of Couch's statewide alcohol amendment because the text was still ambiguous on key points: whether the state would be permanently 'wet' or just 'wet as of effective…
Under Arkansas law, when can the $30 fee for a bounced check be collected, and does the right to that fee survive if the check is later paid when re-presented to the bank?
The holder of a bounced check has the right to demand the $30 collection fee as soon as the check is dishonored, but the drawer's obligation to pay only kicks in when they receive a written demand for…
Does Arkansas's concealed-carry ban on Highway Department grounds reach the private property next door to a Highway Department building?
No. A.C.A. § 5-73-306(3)(A) bans concealed carry in Highway Department buildings and on grounds adjacent to them, but only when the grounds are owned or controlled by the Department. Private property …
When an Arkansas city annexes land served by a subscription volunteer fire department, does the volunteer department automatically lose that territory?
No state law strips a subscription volunteer fire department of its membership in an annexed area automatically, but the annexing city has its own statutory duty to provide fire protection. The two ca…
Can a city in Arkansas leave one county judicial district and join the adjacent one, and is the state's wet/dry local option law constitutional?
Only the Arkansas General Assembly could move the City of Barling from Sebastian County's Greenwood District into its Fort Smith District, and the wet/dry local option statute (A.C.A. § 3-8-305) did n…
If an Arkansas city's elected recorder/treasurer is not keeping the books, can the city council hire someone else (or the former recorder) to do the work?
Yes. Under A.C.A. § 14-59-115, when a municipal recorder/treasurer is not complying with the Municipal Accounting Law, the city council may assign those accounting duties to another employee or contra…
Under Arkansas Act 1507 of 2013, can a school district let community groups use its property or millage revenue without violating Article 14 of the state constitution?
Act 1507 of 2013 did not give Arkansas school boards unlimited discretion to allow uncompensated community use of school property; the AG read the statute narrowly so it would conform to Article 14's …
Why did Arkansas AG reject the 2014 ballot title for a statewide alcohol amendment that would have ended county-by-county wet/dry elections?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the proposed ballot title and popular name for the 2014 Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment because the measure's own text did not say clearly that it amended the constit…
Why did Arkansas AG reject the 2014 ballot title for the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Amendment proposed by Robert Reed?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the proposed ballot title for the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Amendment because the measure did not clearly declare itself a constitutional amendment and Section 2's grant o…
When does Arkansas FOIA require disclosure of a school employee's settlement agreement, and what redactions are allowed?
The custodian could not redact a settlement-agreement paragraph using the personnel-records exception because the public's interest in seeing the terms of a public-entity settlement (A.C.A. § 25-18-40…
Can an Arkansas regional public water authority shut off water service to a city customer for unpaid bills?
The AG declined to issue a substantive opinion. Whether the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority can cut off Marshall's water service for nonpayment turns on the parties' wholesale water con…
Can an Arkansas city refuse to allow golf carts on its streets, and if it does allow them, can it require insurance and a minimum driver age?
Arkansas cities have full discretion under A.C.A. § 14-54-1410 to decide whether to allow golf carts on city streets, and Act 170 of 2013 did not change that discretion. A city that does allow golf ca…
Can an Arkansas county use excess law library funds to finish out courthouse space for the juvenile court?
Excess Cleburne County Law Library funds may be spent under A.C.A. § 16-23-102(c)(2) to finish unused courthouse space for juvenile court staff. The phrase 'improvement in the administration of justic…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the first 2014 ballot title for the statewide alcohol amendment proposed by David Couch?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the sponsor's first version of the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment because the text used the disjunctive 'or' in places where it had to mean 'and,' omitted 'distribut…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Regnat Populus 2014 campaign finance and lobbying initiated act?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the Campaign Finance and Lobbying Act of 2014 because Section 4(A) (calling on Congress and the states to amend the U.S. Constitution to permit 'content-neutral limitations…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the March 2014 Arkansas Cannabis Amendment for using 'legal residents' and leaving the legislature's role unclear?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment because the term 'legal residents' was undefined and the measure was silent on whether the General Assembly retained any regulatory…
Can an Arkansas school district custodian withhold a settlement agreement and complaint records about a public employee as personnel records under FOIA?
Workplace complaint records and a public-entity settlement agreement qualify as personnel records under the Arkansas FOIA, but the public's interest in disclosure (heightened by A.C.A. § 25-18-401's b…
Should Jonesboro and Monette get a 60/40 or 50/50 share of Craighead County road tax, and are the underlying 1921 and 1925 acts still constitutional?
Acts 8 of 1925 (Jonesboro) and 431 of 1921 (Monette) are not unconstitutional local or special legislation. Both predate Amendment 14, which restricts but does not repeal pre-existing special acts. As…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the renewal of the Crowley Ridge Regional Library interlocal cooperation agreement between Craighead and Poinsett counties?
AG Dustin McDaniel approved the renewed interlocal cooperation agreement between Craighead and Poinsett counties for the Crowley Ridge Regional Library. The agreement met the requirements of the Inter…
Can an Arkansas county stop providing health insurance to the dependents of quorum court members mid-term?
An Arkansas county cannot provide health insurance to dependents of quorum court members; A.C.A. § 14-14-1205 only authorizes coverage 'for members of the quorum court.' So the county must stop the fa…
Can Arkansas Office of Personnel Management apply a 30-day break-in-service limit to teacher sick leave transfers?
Probably not. The teacher sick leave transfer statute (A.C.A. § 6-17-1206) does not impose a break-in-service limit, unlike the parallel statute for state employees (A.C.A. § 21-4-207(e)(3)) that requ…
Can a sheriff's office keep tools found on private property and turned over by the property owner for the office's own use?
The AG declined to answer on the merits. Classifying found property as 'lost,' 'mislaid,' 'abandoned,' or 'contraband' under Terry v. Lock and Franks v. Pritchett requires fact-finding the AG cannot d…
In Arkansas, who has the authority to release 911 recordings: the county emergency director or each individual public safety answering point?
Each Arkansas 911 public safety communications center's operating agency head (or designee) is the FOIA custodian of that center's 911 recordings. The Washington County Director of Emergency and 911 S…
Why did Arkansas reject a cannabis-legalization ballot title in 2014?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment because the text contained ambiguities he could not resolve in a ballot title: the opening verb was in the imperative mood, the mea…
Can a journalist get a former public employee's annual performance evaluations under the Arkansas FOIA?
Generally no. Under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(1), employee evaluation records stay confidential unless the evaluation formed the basis for the employee's suspension or termination, the disciplinary proces…
Can a city annex an unincorporated area surrounded on three sides if the fourth side borders Corps of Engineers lake property?
Probably not. Arkansas Act 1243 of 2013 lets a city annex a three-sided unincorporated pocket only when the fourth side is a state border, a 'military base,' a state park, or a national forest. Land m…
If an Arkansas city council resolution to hold partisan primaries uses outdated language, is it still effective, and is it binding?
Yes on both counts. A.C.A. § 7-7-201(b)(1) impliedly repealed part of A.C.A. § 14-42-206(a), substituting the county board of election commissioners for political party committees as the entity that c…
Can the Arkansas Department of Information Systems provide IT services to the Arkansas Municipal League?
Probably yes. A.C.A. § 25-4-105 lets DIS provide IT services to state agencies, governmental entities, first responders, and 'quasi-governmental entities.' The term is undefined, but the AG predicted …
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.