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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If someone has a residential-burglary conviction from before 2015 and a new violent-felony conviction after April 1, 2015, are they parole-ineligible in Arkansas?
Yes. An offender with a pre-2015 residential-burglary conviction who commits another violent-felony offense on or after April 1, 2015, is not eligible for parole under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-93-609.…
Can an Arkansas volunteer fire department raise its dues collected on property tax bills without going back to voters?
Yes, in most cases. If the ballot voters approved did not list a specific rate, a volunteer fire department organized as a private, nonprofit corporation can raise its dues without going back to the…
Can an Arkansas county close a criminal justice coordinating committee meeting to the public by calling it 'advisory'?
No. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-109, every county-created body, committee, or subordinate entity must meet publicly, regardless of whether it is labeled 'advisory' or 'governing.' The Washington…
Can a public university release names, ranks, and salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas State University System's plan to release names, ranks, employment status, departments, and current salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination is…
Did Arkansas's Act 714 of 2021 take away an Arkansas city council's authority to set policies for its police department?
No. Act 714 of 2021 did not generally remove a first-class city council's authority to set internal police-department policies. The AG said the council's authority remains under other statutes and…
Can the Arkansas legislature force counties to give sheriff's deputies the same vacation as municipal police?
No. Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution gives each county's quorum court authority to fix the compensation of county employees. The legislature cannot amend Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805 to…
Which Arkansas statute controls how an Arkansas county uses sales-tax proceeds to fund a public economic-development corporation?
It depends on which statute the county used to levy the tax. If Clark County levied its sales tax under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-174-101 et seq. (the older county-economic-development authority), then…
Can a Helena-West Helena city employee block release of her personnel file when the custodian has already classified some records as exempt?
The Arkansas AG declined to give a record-by-record opinion because the records were not provided for review. The opinion lays out the standard FOIA framework: a custodian must classify each…
Can Arkansas State Police release personnel and evaluation records of a former employee who is now running for sheriff?
The Arkansas AG found the State Police custodian's proposed redacted release of Jim Milam's personnel and evaluation records mostly consistent with FOIA. The AG found a compelling public interest in…
Can a concealed-carry license applicant in Arkansas have fingerprints taken on a manual ink card and then scanned and emailed in?
No. The Arkansas AG concluded that under Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-1005, a concealed-handgun-carry background check must be submitted electronically through the Online Criminal Background Check System,…
Who actually has to file electronically for an Arkansas prosecuting attorney's office under Administrative Order 21?
The Arkansas AG declined to interpret Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order 21 because it is the Court's order, not a statute. Section 10 of the order addresses registration and may answer the…
Can a Fort Smith employee block release of just her name in connection with her public-employee compensation data?
The Arkansas AG concluded the City of Fort Smith custodian's decision to release employee names along with salaries, hire dates, and position titles was consistent with the FOIA. Christi Fisher's…
Can a Fort Smith employee block release of her compensation data because she does not know how the requester will use it?
The Arkansas AG concluded that the custodian was correct to release City of Fort Smith employee names, salary, hire dates, and position titles while redacting sensitive personal information. The…
Can a Fort Smith employee block release of her name, salary, hire date, and position by claiming the requester might use the data improperly?
The Arkansas AG concluded the City of Fort Smith custodian was correct to release employee names, salary, hire dates, and position titles while redacting sensitive personal information. The record…
Does an ongoing police investigation let Little Rock withhold all FOIA records relating to the police chief involved in an officer-involved shooting?
The Arkansas AG concluded that Little Rock's plan to withhold or partially withhold records relating to police Chief Keith Humphrey based on an ongoing criminal investigation was outside the AG's…
Can a Fort Smith city employee block release of her name, salary, hire date, and position under the Arkansas FOIA?
The Arkansas AG concluded that the basic employment information requested (employee names, salary, hire dates, position titles) is subject to FOIA inspection and copying, and the custodian was…
Can the State of Arkansas keep your tax refund to pay an unpaid driver's license reinstatement fee?
Yes. The Arkansas AG concluded that driver's license reinstatement fees imposed under Ark. Code Ann. §§ 5-65-119, 27-16-508, and 27-16-808 are 'debts' to the State within the meaning of the Setoff…
Now that Benton County has more than 250,000 people, do its cities have to pay 100% of the local district court costs?
No. Section 16-17-119, which bars counties of 250,000+ residents from paying any district court costs, applies only to local district courts. Benton County's First District is a state district court…
Can the Arkansas Attorney General weigh in on a dispute over Arkansas Activities Association eligibility rules?
No, the AG declined to opine. The Arkansas Activities Association is a voluntary association of school districts, and its rules are private contractual rules among members, not state law. Ark. Code…
When do laws passed in a special legislative session take effect if they have no emergency clause?
Acts of the General Assembly without an emergency clause or specified effective date become effective on the 91st day after sine die adjournment, calculated from the day after adjournment. For the…
Can an Arkansas casino licensee outsource its online sports betting to a vendor who keeps most of the revenue?
No, Amendment 100 does not prohibit such contracts. The constitutional amendment is silent on revenue-sharing terms between casino licensees and third-party vendors. Neither the Arkansas Racing…
Does Arkansas law require a car's rearview mirror to be mounted on the windshield?
No. Section 27-37-305(a) only requires every motor vehicle to be 'equipped with a rearview mirror.' It does not specify windshield, dashboard, or any other location. Loaded vehicles with obstructed…
Does the Arkansas Unclaimed Property Act treat a public water authority's customer deposits the same as a regulated utility's?
No. A water authority formed under the Water Authority Act is exempt from Public Service Commission jurisdiction, which means it does not meet the Unclaimed Property Act's definition of 'utility.'…
Can a city refuse to release records of federal pandemic relief payments to its employees under the Arkansas FOIA?
The AG had not seen the payment records and could not decide their release definitively. Based on the limited facts provided, the city's apparent decision to treat them as personnel records and…
Can Arkansas county equalization board members complete their required training online instead of in person?
Yes. Section 26-27-324 charges the Assessment Coordination Division with providing training to county equalization board members but is silent on format. The ACD director may run the comprehensive…
Can a married couple in Arkansas who live in separate houses both claim the homestead property tax credit?
No. If a married couple jointly owns both homes, only one homestead property tax credit is allowed for the household. And a spouse claiming the 100% disabled veterans' exemption on one residence…
Had the law governing donation of school property changed since Arkansas AG Opinions 2015-105 and 2017-105?
As of December 2021, the AG found no change to the relevant statute or case law. Section 6-21-108(b) limits recipients and purposes for donations of surplus school real property; the Arkansas…
Can an Arkansas county lease out a building it bought with road department money to a non-profit fitness center?
Yes. The County Road Tax and State Aid Road Fund restrict how road revenues can be spent, but not how property bought with those revenues can be used. Counties may lease that property to other…
Are Arkansas Department of Education COVID guidelines for schools legally enforceable like a regulation?
No. Guidance documents that were not promulgated through the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act do not carry the force of law. Arkansas Department of Health rules properly adopted under the APA…
Does an Arkansas school district have to put a long-term lease-purchase deal with a private developer out for public bid?
No public bidding is required for an Act 2177 lease-purchase agreement between a school district and a private developer. The developer is not subject to most school-district statutory or…
Can the Arkansas AG explain who can carry a handgun in a courthouse or county building under Act 1024 of 2021?
The AG declined to opine. Two cases pending in Pulaski County Circuit Court (Corbitt v. Pulaski County Jail and Corbitt v. Ark. Game and Fish Commission) raised the same handgun-carry questions, and…
Can Jackson County’s economic development agency dissolve itself and decide how to distribute its loan fund?
The agency cannot dissolve itself; a county ordinance is required. Based on limited facts, the AG said its board likely has authority to terminate the revolving loan fund and distribute the…
Can a Bella Vista, Arkansas POA architectural committee ban white fences and remove non-compliant ones?
The AG declined to opine. The Bella Vista Property Owners' Association is a private nonprofit corporation governed by recorded covenants and member contracts. Disputes over POA rules and enforcement…
Can a former Little Rock city employee block release of his termination records under the Arkansas FOIA?
The AG had not seen the records and could not decide whether any particular document should be released. She found the custodian's stated redaction decision consistent with the FOIA. The stated…
Can a mayor sit in on an Arkansas Civil Service Commission executive session about the fire chief?
Yes. Where the mayor is the fire chief's immediate supervisor, the mayor may attend an executive session of the city's Civil Service Commission at the Commission's request, provided the session is…
Can a former Arkansas State Police trooper block release of his personnel and evaluation records in response to a FOIA request?
The AG had not seen the records and could not decide whether each one could be released. She said a general privacy objection would not ordinarily justify withholding otherwise releasable records,…
Can the federal government legally require COVID-19 vaccinations for businesses with one hundred or more employees?
The AG declined to issue an opinion. The legality of the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees was already being litigated, with multiple cases consolidated…
Where does an Arkansas circuit judge get the power to declare a state law unenforceable beyond the boundaries of that judge's own judicial district?
The AG declined to issue an opinion. The exact question, whether an Arkansas circuit judge can declare a law unenforceable outside the judge's own judicial district, was already pending in McClane…
In Arkansas, can a doctor refuse to treat patients who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and claim conscience protection under the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act?
No. The Arkansas Medical Ethics and Diversity Act protects a healthcare practitioner's right to refuse a particular service that violates conscience, not a refusal based on patient characteristics.…
Can a city release a former firefighter's suspension letter, termination notice, and supporting investigation records under FOIA, and does the AG decide whether medical information should be redacted?
The AG could not say Cabot's decision to release the suspension letter, termination notice, and supporting documents was inconsistent with FOIA. They were employee-evaluation records; the first…
When did four acts passed after the 93rd General Assembly’s extended recess take effect after their emergency clauses failed?
January 14, 2022. For these four acts, the AG counted from the 93rd General Assembly’s October 15, 2021 sine die adjournment after its extended recess. Amendment 7 also quotes a separate…
Can a county use circuit court automation funds to pay the salary of a sheriff's office employee who collects fines, or a circuit clerk's office employee, when neither works on courtroom technology?
The fund must be used solely for circuit-court-related technology. Paying county employees whose duties have no connection to that technology would appear improper. The AG could not definitively…
Can a city withhold all the records from a police promotion file by classifying them as job-performance records, or do parts of that file have to be released under FOIA?
Mostly consistent with FOIA. Sherwood properly withheld letters of recommendation as job-performance records of the candidates being recommended. But resumes, physical fitness records, and the…
When a former police officer's personnel file is requested under FOIA, can the city release the suspension review along with redacted records, and which items must stay private?
The Employee Conduct Review could be released, but the five Facebook posts could not. The AG said the three Performance records likely did not support the suspension; if that was true, they could…
Can a city release the termination letter of a former firefighter under Arkansas FOIA when the letter explains why he was fired?
The AG agreed that the Cabot firefighter’s termination notice was an evaluation record. The first three disclosure conditions seemed clear; the described policy violations likely supplied a…
Can a city in Arkansas release the names, job titles, and salaries of its employees in response to a FOIA request, even when an employee objects?
Yes. The Fort Smith records custodian's decision to release employees' names, job positions, and salaries was consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. Under the personnel-records balancing test, the…
Can a city release a police captain's name with his salary and job position over his objection that the FOIA request is overly broad and an invasion of all employees' privacy?
Captain Gallant objected that Fort Smith’s request for employee names, positions, salaries, and raises was overly broad and invaded privacy. The AG said its legal analysis and application were the…
Can a city release a police detective's name with her salary and job position under FOIA when the detective fears the release will harm her family?
Yes. The City of Fort Smith's decision to release Detective Charity Abbott's name in conjunction with her job position and salary is consistent with FOIA. The analysis is identical to Op. Att'y Gen.…
Can the City of Fort Smith release a list of all employees' names, job positions, and salary increases since 2015 over an employee's objection that release would harm or embarrass him?
Yes. Public employees' names, job positions, and salary information (including increases) are personnel records under Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105(b)(12). Their release does not generally constitute a…
If a police officer's job application mentions criminal charges that were later sealed or expunged, can the city release that part of the personnel file under FOIA?
The Benton custodian's redacted release was likely not entirely consistent with FOIA. References in Officer Bennett's personnel file to charges that were nolle prossed and later sealed or expunged…
Can an Arkansas city release a clean-up lien on property so a nonprofit can buy and redevelop it, without violating the constitutional ban on giving public funds to private entities?
No constitutional violation. Article 12, section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution bans cities from donating money or property to private entities, but releasing a § 14-54-901 to -904 cleanup lien…
If a FOIA request for an Arkansas state trooper's personnel file looks politically motivated, can the custodian deny it on that ground, and what should be redacted?
A requester's political or subjective motive is generally irrelevant under Arkansas FOIA. The Arkansas State Police custodian's stated redaction list (medical, personal contact info, home address,…
Can a city release a former employee's personnel and termination records when the misconduct involves honesty violations, even though the subject objects?
Release of the redacted personnel records was consistent with FOIA. For the evaluation records, the AG could not say the proposed release was inconsistent on the facts supplied. Whether termination…
Does Arkansas Act 1053 of 2021, which bans pharmacy steering using patient data, conflict with federal law for Federally Qualified Health Centers, and can FQHCs still tell patients about in-house pharmacy services?
Act 1053 of 2021 bans only one narrow practice: using patient charts or billing data to contact patients and solicit a prescription transfer to a particular pharmacy. It does not bar FQHCs from…
Can an Arkansas city council legally hold its meetings online if it has rules letting members attend virtually, and is the COVID-era virtual-meeting law still in effect?
Yes, a city council can meet virtually under rules adopted under § 14-43-501 if proper notice and public access are provided. Act 2 of 2020's virtual-meeting language expired December 31, 2020,…
Does teaching critical race theory or antiracism in Arkansas public schools and universities violate Title VI or the Equal Protection Clause?
Yes, with qualifications. The AG concluded that practices based on critical race theory or antiracism, when they classify, segregate, or stereotype students by race, can violate Title VI, the Equal…
Can a first responder or law enforcement officer who works for an Arkansas state, city, or county take paid leave for voluntary National Guard or reservist training, and does the employer have to hold the job?
The AG answered yes to the first two questions for leave under Ark. Code Ann. § 21-4-102(a), and no to open-ended leave. Covered public employees may take paid leave for qualifying training or…
Is every email a public employee sends from their work account automatically a public record under Arkansas FOIA, and can a vague or voluminous request be denied?
No to both. Whether an email is a public record depends on its content, not who sent it. The custodian decides that case by case. A voluminous request can be acknowledged with a longer timeline, but…
Can a county clerk use poll books instead of voter registration applications to verify absentee ballot signatures, and how far does the county judge's authority over county buildings reach during elections?
A clerk had to compare an absentee application’s signature with the voter-registration application, not a poll book. A county judge could manage county buildings but could not unduly interfere with…
Under Arkansas's medical marijuana law, can an employer designate any job that handles confidential information as a 'safety sensitive position', or only jobs handling criminal investigation files?
Any job working with confidential information can qualify, not just criminal investigation files. The AG read Amendment 98's definition disjunctively: confidential information is one type of…
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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.