Title 23, Public Utilities and Regulated Industries

No telegraph or telephone corporation organized by virtue of the laws of this state or doing business in this state by virtue of the laws of any other state, or of the United States, shall have the power to contract with the owners of lands or the right in lands, or with any pers…

(a) (1) In consideration of the right-of-way over the public property conceded in this section and §§ 23-17-101 — 23-17-105, 23-17-107, 23-17-108, and 23-17-113, every telephone corporation in the case of war, insurrection, or civil commotion of any kind and for the arrest of cri…

If any person without authority intercepts a dispatch or message transmitted by telephone or willfully destroys or injures any telephone pole, wire, cable, or fixture, he or she is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

Every telegraph and telephone company doing business in this state, under a penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for each and every refusal to do so, must transmit over its wires to localities on its lines for any individual, corporation, or other telegraph or telephone company…

In order to ascertain what the regular charges of such companies are, all telegraph companies doing business in this state are required to keep in all their offices in this state a schedule of the regular rates charged by them, which shall be open to the inspection of any person …

(a) All telegraph companies doing business in this state shall be liable in damages for mental anguish or suffering even in the absence of bodily injury or pecuniary loss for negligence in receiving, transmitting, or delivering messages. (b) In all actions under this section, the…

(a) (1) Every telephone company doing business in this state and engaged in a general telephone business shall supply all applicants for telephone connection and facilities without discrimination or partiality, within ten (10) days after written demand therefor, if the applicants…

(a) The fee or charge imposed by any telephone company doing business in this state for the initiation of local telephone service at a residential location, but not including contributions in aid of construction, if any, shall be billed to the residential customer in equal monthl…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Commercial mobile radio service” means the same as defined at § 12-10-303; and(2) “Prepaid wireless telecommunications service” means a telecommunications service that provides the right to utilize a mobile wireless service as well as other nontel…

(a) (1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission by rule shall establish calling plans in telephone exchanges in the state.(2) The commission shall determine the size of exchanges that will be eligible for the calling plan. (1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission by rule shall e…

(a) Two (2) or more eligible telecommunications carriers may enter into an agreement under this section for special terminating access rates or plans between exchanges of the parties to the agreement. The agreement is conditioned upon the approval of the Arkansas Public Service C…

(a) As used in this section, “provider” means an entity that provides a telecommunications service, a Voice over Internet Protocol, commonly known as “VoIP”, service, a commercial radio service, or a similar service. (b) Beginning July 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, a provider…

This subchapter may be cited as the “Rural Telecommunications Cooperative Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Acquire” means and includes construct, acquire by purchase, lease, devise, gift, or other modes of acquisition;(2) “Board” means a board of directors of a corporation organized under this subchapter;(3) “C…

Cooperative nonprofit membership corporations either with or without capital stock may be organized under this subchapter for the purpose of furnishing telecommunications service and other services to the widest practicable number of users of such services.

(1) Any cooperative created under the provisions of this subchapter shall have power to:(1) Sue and be sued in its corporate name;(2) Have perpetual existence unless limited for a shorter term in its articles of incorporation;(3) Adopt and use a corporate seal and to alter it;(4)…

Cooperatives doing business in this state pursuant to this subchapter shall be subject to the general jurisdiction of the Arkansas Public Service Commission. Jurisdiction shall be exercised by the commission in the same manner and to the same extent as provided by law for the reg…

Any three (3) or more natural persons of the age of twenty-one (21) or more who are residents of this state may act as incorporators of a cooperative to be organized under this subchapter by executing articles of incorporation as provided in § 23-17-210.

The words “telecommunications cooperative” or “telephone cooperative” shall not be used in the corporate names of corporations organized under the laws of this state or authorized to do business herein, other than cooperatives organized pursuant to the provisions of this subchapt…

(a) The articles of incorporation shall state:(1) The name of the cooperative. The name shall include the words “Telephone Cooperative” or “Telecommunications Cooperative”, and the abbreviation “Inc.”;(2) The purpose for which the cooperative is formed;(3) The names and addresses…

(a) Duplicate originals of the articles of incorporation shall be signed by the incorporators and acknowledged before an officer authorized by the laws of this state to take acknowledgments to deeds and conveyances. These duplicate originals shall be filed in the office of the Se…

(a) Any cooperative organized under this subchapter, from time to time and as desired, may amend its articles of incorporation in any respect. However, only such provisions shall be inserted by amendment that could be lawfully and properly inserted in original articles of incorpo…

(a) Upon the issuance of a certificate of incorporation by the Secretary of State, the corporate existence of the cooperative shall begin. (b) The certificate of incorporation shall be conclusive evidence, except as against the state, that all conditions required to be performed …

(a) After the issuance of the certificate of incorporation, an organizational meeting shall be held at the call of a majority of the incorporators for the purpose of adopting bylaws and electing officers and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before t…

(a) (1) The power to make, alter, amend, or repeal the bylaws of the cooperative shall be vested in the board of directors, subject to amendment by the members at an annual meeting.(2) (A) The board shall not change, alter, amend, or repeal a provision of the bylaws adopted by th…

Subject to the provisions of this subchapter, the articles of incorporation of a cooperative, and the bylaws of a cooperative, a cooperative's board shall have the authority to determine the qualifications for membership in the cooperative and to establish and from time to time m…

(a) When a member of a cooperative has paid the membership fee in full, a certificate of membership shall be issued to the member. (b) Memberships in the cooperative and the certificates thereof shall be nontransferable and nonassignable. (c) Membership may be cancelled upon the …

(a) Meetings of members may be held at such place as may be designated by the board. In the absence of any such provision, all meetings shall be held in the principal office of the cooperative in this state. (b) Annual meetings of the members shall be held at such time as may be …

(a) The business affairs of a cooperative shall be managed by a board of directors consisting of not fewer than five (5) in number, which shall exercise all the powers of a cooperative except those which are conferred upon the members by this subchapter, by the articles of incorp…

(a) The directors of a cooperative shall hold office until their terms expire or until their successors are elected and qualified. (b) (1) At each annual meeting or, in case of failure to hold the annual meeting as specified in the bylaws, at a special meeting called for that pur…

(a) Meetings of the board of directors, regular or special, shall be held at such place and upon such notice as the bylaws may prescribe. (b) (1) Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular meeting of the board of directors need be specified in the n…

(a) (1) (A) The board of directors shall elect a president, a vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer, and one (1) person may be elected to the office of secretary-treasurer.(B) The board of directors may elect such other officers as it deems necessary.(2) The powers, duties…

(a) By its bylaws, any cooperative may provide for an executive committee to be elected from and by its board of directors. (b) To such committee may be delegated the management of the current and ordinary business of the cooperative and such other duties as the bylaws may prescr…

(a) Any person entitled to notice of a meeting may waive notice in writing either before or after the meeting. (b) If any person attends a meeting, his or her attendance shall constitute a waiver of notice of the meeting, unless the person participates therein solely to object to…

(a) (1) Any two (2) or more cooperatives may enter into an agreement subject to the approval by the required authorities, if any, for the consolidation of the cooperatives.(2) The agreement shall set forth the terms and conditions of the consolidation, the name and the proposed c…

(a) Any cooperative may dissolve by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the members present at any regular meeting or at any special meeting of its members called for that purpose or by the vote required in the bylaws, whichever requires the greater number. (b) A certificate of dissolution …

(1) The Secretary of State shall charge and collect for:(1) Filing articles of incorporation and issuing a certificate of incorporation — ten dollars ($10.00);(2) Filing articles of amendment and issuing a certificate of amendment — ten dollars ($10.00);(3) Filing articles of con…

(a) Each cooperative shall be operated on a nonprofit basis for the mutual benefit of its members and patrons. (b) (1) The bylaws of a cooperative or its contracts with members and patrons shall contain provisions consistent with § 23-17-229 relative to the disposition of revenue…

(1) The revenues of the cooperative shall be devoted to:(1) The payment of operating and maintenance expenses, the rendition of efficient service, and the creation of adequate depreciation reserves sufficient to maintain the investment in facilities;(2) The payment of the princip…

Cooperatives formed under this subchapter shall continue to be exempt from all other excise taxes of whatsoever kind or nature except the Arkansas gross receipts tax under the Arkansas Gross Receipts Act of 1941, § 26-52-101 et seq., and the Arkansas compensating tax under the Ar…

(a) The board of directors of a cooperative shall have full power and authority, without authorization by the members thereof, to authorize the execution and delivery of leases, mortgages, or deeds of trust of, or by pledge or encumbering of, any or all of the property, assets, r…

(a) Any mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument executed by a cooperative which affects real and personal property and which is recorded in the real property records in any county in which the property is located or is to be located shall have the same force and effect as if…

No member or shareholder shall be liable or responsible for any debts of the cooperative, and the property of the members and shareholders shall not be subject to execution therefor.

No cooperative shall be liable for damage resulting from loss, interruption, or diminished quality of service due to earthquake, flood, storm, infestation, pestilence, civil insurrection, act of war, act of terrorism, software or hardware failure, malfunction, or error, or any ca…

(a) Construction of telecommunications lines and facilities by a telecommunications company or cooperative as a minimum requirement shall comply with the standards of the National Electrical Safety Code of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in effect at the tim…

No suit shall be brought against any telecommunications company or cooperative by the reason of the installation, use, or maintenance of telecommunications lines, poles, equipment, or fixtures on any real property, or within any right-of-way of any public way, unless it is commen…