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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Why did the Arkansas AG reject a 2013 marriage-equality amendment ballot title?
The ballot title did not explain how the amendment would change existing law, and its religious-organization provision used unclear language about refusals and civil claims.
Can an Arkansas county library board use a sick-leave policy different from the quorum court's countywide policy?
No. The AG concluded that county library employees were covered by the quorum court's general, uniform sick-leave policy, so the library board could not adopt a conflicting policy for them.
Did the Arkansas AG approve the ballot title for four-year terms for county officials?
Yes, but with revised language. The AG substituted a fuller popular name and ballot title identifying the affected offices, the change from two-year to four-year terms, and the proposed start date.
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2013 Ban Prohibition of Cannabis ballot measure?
The AG rejected it because the amendment text stated goals but contained no operative repeal language, overstated what state-law repeal could accomplish under federal law, and was unclear about…
Could an Arkansas cannabis and hemp study initiative use the proposed ballot title submitted in 2013?
No. The Arkansas Attorney General rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the measure was materially indistinguishable from earlier submissions whose ambiguities prevented an…
Could Arkansas certify a 2013 ballot title for a constitutional right to possess marijuana?
No. The Arkansas Attorney General rejected the proposed ballot title because the amendment left major questions unresolved about possession limits, commercial distribution, cultivation, and its…
Could the University of Arkansas release an employee resignation email and unsolicited complaint under the FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas Attorney General concluded that the email chain was a public personnel record and that releasing it would not be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Could Arkansas certify a 2013 ballot title for an amendment protecting unborn children from conception?
No. The Arkansas Attorney General rejected the proposed ballot title because the amendment did not clearly state how it would interact with federal abortion law, existing Amendment 68 provisions,…
Could Arkansas certify the 2013 Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act ballot title?
No. The Arkansas Attorney General rejected the proposed ballot title because conflicting definitions and provisions left the measure's possession rules, dispensary cultivation limits, patient…
Could Arkansas DHS and the Shelby County Health Department jointly operate the Healthy Families prenatal-care outreach program?
Yes. The Arkansas Attorney General approved the interlocal agreement because it was in proper form and compatible with state law, but noted that it should have been submitted before its stated…
Could an Arkansas county sheriff house local prisoners in an out-of-state jail when the county had no working jail?
No. The Arkansas Attorney General concluded that a sheriff whose county lacked an adequate jail could place prisoners in a consenting jail in another Arkansas county, but not in an out-of-state jail.
Could an Arkansas school district release records about a teacher's suspension and termination recommendation under the FOIA?
The Attorney General could not decide whether the records should be released because he had not received the documents or enough facts to classify them. The opinion instead explained the separate…
Could an Arkansas city release a former police officer's full personnel and training files after redacting only Social Security numbers?
The Attorney General could not evaluate the city's blanket release decision because the custodian had not classified the records or applied the required FOIA tests. The files included evaluations…
Could Arkansas certify a 2013 ballot title to repeal state cannabis prohibition when the amendment text listed only objectives?
No. The Arkansas Attorney General rejected the ballot title because the amendment text stated policy objectives but never actually repealed any law, while the title added a repeal that was not in…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject a 2013 ballot title to end state hemp and marijuana prohibition?
The Attorney General rejected the proposed ballot title because the amendment's federal-nullification theory, penalties for federal and state officials, and cannabis regulatory provisions were…
Did Arkansas Act 1231 apply to tax-delinquent land certified before the Act took effect but sold afterward?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Act 1231 applied to parcels that remained unsold when the Act took effect, even if they had already been certified or noticed. The changes were triggered by…
Could an Arkansas school district set a 20 percent minority-business contracting goal without using race to award contracts?
The Attorney General concluded that a stated participation goal, standing alone, was not clearly unlawful if the district did not consider race when awarding contracts. Any race-conscious…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject a 2013 submission to repeal the state marriage amendment?
The Attorney General rejected the submission because it did not include the actual constitutional-amendment text and did not clearly identify which language was the proposed ballot title. The…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject a ballot title for four-year terms for county officials?
The Attorney General rejected the submission because it lacked a proposed popular name, the ballot title did not identify the affected offices or say it was a constitutional amendment, and the…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the 2013 medical-marijuana initiative's ballot title for petition circulation?
Yes. The Attorney General found the proposed popular name and ballot title sufficient as submitted and issued the required instructions for canvassers and signers. The certification did not express…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2013 medical-marijuana initiative's ballot title?
The Attorney General rejected the proposed ballot title because ambiguities and internal inconsistencies in the initiative text prevented him from writing an accurate and complete summary for…
Could an Arkansas school district withhold the names of employees assigned to an armed emergency response team?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the list was a personnel record and that the employees had a serious privacy interest, but the public's interest in knowing who had been assigned unusual…
Could an Arkansas ATV be driven generally on public roads after adding automobile safety equipment?
No, not automatically. The Attorney General concluded that an ATV could remain subject to Arkansas's street and highway restrictions even after adding automobile safety equipment, although a…
Must an Arkansas county competitively bid a construction management services contract?
No. The Attorney General concluded that counties were required to procure construction management professional services through qualifications and negotiation, not competitive bidding. The…
Could an Arkansas school district become a private guard company and arm teachers as commissioned security officers?
No. The Arkansas AG concluded that a public school district could not be licensed as a private guard company or treat its teachers and other employees as commissioned private security officers.
Could Little Rock release an employee's name and job information despite claimed safety and financial risks?
Yes. The Arkansas AG concluded that Little Rock could release the employee's name with his job information because the objection did not supply a legally sufficient reason to override the disclosure rule.
Could Little Rock withhold a public employee's name because publication might lead to harassment?
No. The Arkansas AG concluded that the employee's name could be released because the FOIA had no general harassment or increased-risk-of-harm exception for public employee names.
Why did Arkansas reject the ballot title for the proposed Marriage Equality Amendment?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the amendment was unclear about the right it created, its effect on existing marriage law, who it bound, and the scope of its…
Could Jonesboro release police suspension and firing records if a court order might cover them?
The AG could not decide because the police department had not identified the records it planned to release or supplied the claimed court order. The opinion said documents sealed by court order were exempt.
Could Arkansas release Workforce Services employees' names and work locations under the FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas AG concluded that releasing Workforce Services employees' names and work locations was consistent with the FOIA.
Why did Arkansas reject the ballot title for the proposed Medical Marijuana Act?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the measure was unclear about patient cultivation and contained directly conflicting rules on transfers between dispensaries.
Could the Arkansas Lottery release a former employee's personnel-file records after removing home contact information?
The AG approved redacting the former employee's home address, home phone number, and personal email address, but could not conclusively decide whether the unseen records were properly classified or…
Could Arkansas release wastewater employees' names, salaries, hire dates, gender, and work locations under the FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas AG concluded that releasing the requested public employee names, job information, salaries, gender, hire dates, and work locations was consistent with the FOIA.
Why did Arkansas reject the ballot wording for a proposed Amendment 68 abortion measure?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because ambiguities in the amendment's text made it impossible to fairly summarize its legal effects for voters. The rejection did not…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the 2013 ballot title proposed for repealing the state's marriage amendment?
The AG accepted the popular name but rejected the ballot title. He concluded that its claims about restricted rights and federal law were partisan and that it failed to explain why repealing…
Was Community Counseling Services subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act?
The AG did not answer. Because the same questions about Community Counseling Services were already being litigated in Garland County Circuit Court, he declined to comment on matters reserved for the court.
Who had to transport an Arkansas backup inmate from a county jail to state prison once a bed became available?
The county sheriff had that responsibility, according to the AG. Although a 1933 law generally assigned inmate transport to ADC, the opinion read a 2003 reimbursement law as making counties…
Could an Arkansas county treasurer deduct a 2% commission from suburban improvement district assessments?
No. The governing statute directed the county tax collector to send the assessments directly to the improvement district's depository, so the county treasurer never handled the funds and could not…
Could an Arkansas civil service commission privately reconsider a police officer's discipline, and how could the officer appeal?
The AG declined to decide whether this commission's private meeting was lawful because that required fact-finding. The opinion explained the general open-meeting and executive-session rules and said…
Could Pine Bluff buy transit buses through another city's procurement without advertising the purchase in a local Arkansas newspaper?
Potentially. The AG found that Pine Bluff's arrangement with Brownsville appeared to qualify as cooperative purchasing, making the usual local-advertising rule inapplicable, but the State…
Could Arkansas release a public employee's merit-raise percentage under FOIA when it revealed the employee's performance rating?
Yes. The AG classified a merit-raise percentage as a personnel record rather than an employee-evaluation record and found no FOIA basis to withhold it merely because it could be matched with other…
Did Little Rock's fire-assistance agreement with the National Park Service require Arkansas Attorney General approval?
No. The AG concluded that the memorandum was a contract for fire-protection services, not a joint undertaking under the Interlocal Cooperation Act, so it did not require his review and approval.
Did Arkansas Act 746 allow anyone to carry a handgun openly just by leaving their home county?
No. The AG interpreted Act 746's journey exception as applying to travel beyond a person's home county, not as a general open-carry law. He also concluded that the act generally did not permit…
Could a utility claim an easement across an Arkansas levee district's right-of-way or charge the district to relocate its poles?
A utility could hold a properly obtained easement across the same property only if it did not interfere with the levee district's existing rights. It could not gain the district's easement rights…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject a proposed constitutional amendment ballot title ending hemp and marijuana prohibition?
The AG rejected the popular name and ballot title because the amendment's own text was too ambiguous to summarize accurately. It did not explain the legal effects of classifying cannabis in three…
What ballot title did the Arkansas AG approve for the 2013 Health Care Independence Act referendum?
The AG accepted the sponsor's popular name but replaced the proposed ballot title with a detailed description of how a vote would approve or repeal the act, who qualified for premium assistance, how…
Could an Arkansas city release an employee's individual pension amount under the Freedom of Information Act?
Probably not on the facts presented. The AG classified an employee's individual pension amount as a personnel record and concluded that the employee's financial privacy likely outweighed the…
How did Arkansas local firefighter pension funds calculate salary, benefit increases, and payments during insolvency?
Recurring pay for added duties could count as salary if the facts showed it was part of regular compensation. Local boards could set benefits above statutory minimums with state approval, but an…
When did Arkansas laws passed in 2013 take effect if they had no emergency clause or stated effective date?
They took effect on August 16, 2013. The AG counted 90 full days beginning with the first day after the General Assembly adjourned, making the acts effective on the 91st day.
Why did the Arkansas AG reject a proposed referendum ballot title for the Health Care Independence Act of 2013?
The AG accepted the proposed popular name but rejected the ballot title. It emphasized general policy language while omitting major substantive features, including the act's relationship to federal…
Must an Arkansas law school disclose student transcripts or grades under the Freedom of Information Act?
No, a law school was not required to redact transcripts down to isolated letter grades for a public requester. FERPA permitted unredacted faculty access only when the school determined that the…
Which Arkansas public bodies and employee fraud losses were covered by the state's Self-Insured Fidelity Bond Program?
The AG declined to give a universal coverage test without facts about a particular entity. The opinion explained that the program protected the state, counties, municipalities, and school districts…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2013 medical-marijuana initiative's proposed ballot title?
The AG rejected the popular name and ballot title because ambiguities in the proposed act made an accurate voter summary impossible. The text appeared to permit patients to grow marijuana while also…
Can members of an Arkansas city advertising and promotion commission keep serving after their terms expire?
Yes, temporarily. The AG concluded that the expired seats were vacant and could be filled, but the incumbents were de facto officers who could continue serving, with valid and enforceable actions,…
Can an Arkansas records custodian withhold a fired employee's evaluation records because no obvious reason for disclosure appears?
The AG could not decide whether withholding the terminated employee's evaluation records complied with Arkansas FOIA. The county's letters omitted facts needed to assess compelling public interest;…
If Arkansas moves a district fair to another county, must its equipment and mobile home move too?
The AG found no statute definitively deciding whether equipment bought for the North Central district fair must move with the show. He said the joint-fair statute did not apply and that classifying…
Can Arkansas release employee evaluation records when fired employees are later allowed to resign?
Under this opinion, no for the three employees allowed to resign: the AG treated their terminations as not final, so the evaluation records failed the FOIA release test. For the fourth employee,…
Could Arkansas amend a physician drug-dispensing law after a court struck down the old version?
Yes. The AG said lawmakers could change the law prospectively without undoing the earlier judgment. He concluded that Act 1169 supplied standards for Medical Board decisions on physician dispensing…
Can Arkansas apply the state employee 30-working-day break rule to a teacher who changes school districts?
Probably not, the AG said. The teacher sick leave transfer law states no break-in-service limit, while a state employee transfer law expressly requires a transfer without a break in service. The AG…
Can an Arkansas county library use surplus maintenance millage revenue to match grants for a building expansion?
No. The AG concluded that surplus proceeds from a voter-approved maintenance and operation millage could not be moved into a construction account, even to match outside funds. The opinion did not…
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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.