Title 14 — Local Government

Where a proposed plan approved by the electors for alternative county organization provides for the creation of any elective office by consolidation of two (2) or more offices, the proposed plan shall establish procedures for the appointment of an interim officer, who shall serve…

(a) A county quorum court may abandon any alternative county organization plan, or any part or section thereof, adopted by the electors pursuant to this subchapter, by referral and adoption of a revised organizational plan at a general election. However, no revised alternative co…

(a) Any two (2) or more adjoining counties may consolidate functionally similar county offices or departments, either elective or appointive, pursuant to the provisions of Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 55, §§ 1(c) and 2(b). (b) (1) Consolidation of Elective Offices. (A) Initia…

(a) Ballot Title. (1) Upon receipt of an alternative county organization proposal for either a single county or multicounty which is to be referred to the electors, it shall be the duty of the members of the county board of election commissioners to take due cognizance and to cer…

(a) It is determined by the General Assembly that:(1) The present service organization of county government does not meet the needs of every county in this state; and(2) County governments can be made more responsive to the service needs of the people through the reorganization o…

(1) The county quorum court of each county may prescribe, by ordinance, the department, board structure, and organization of their respective county governments and may prescribe the functions of all offices, departments, and boards. However, no ordinance shall be enacted by a qu…

(a) Unless otherwise provided or permitted by the Arkansas Constitution, county governments shall maintain the following organization of elected county offices:(1) Office of the County Judge. The judge of the county court serves as the principal executive officer of the county an…

(a) The county quorum court of each county, by ordinance, may establish any number of departments for the conduct of county affairs and may prescribe the functions and duties of each department. This authority of a quorum court to establish county departments shall be conclusive …

(a) A county quorum court, by ordinance, may establish county advisory or administrative boards for the conduct of county affairs. (b) (1) Advisory Boards. (A) An advisory board may be established to assist a county office, department, or subordinate service district. The advisor…

(1) The clerk of the county court shall maintain a register of county advisory and administrative board appointments established by a county quorum court, including:(1) The name of the board;(2) The ordinance reference number establishing the board;(3) The name of the board membe…

(a) Initial Meeting. The time and place for the initial meeting of a county board shall be established by the county judge through written notification of each board member. (b) Meeting Dates and Notification. All boards shall by rule provide for the date, time, and place of regu…

(a) Authority to Establish. Subordinate service districts to provide one (1) or more of the services authorized to be provided by county governments may be established, operated, altered, combined, enlarged, reduced, or abolished by the county quorum court by ordinance. (b) Area …

(a) Procedure Generally. A subordinate service district may be established by ordinance of the quorum court in the following manner:(1) Upon petition to the quorum court by twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of realty owners within the proposed subordinate service district, …

(a) Modification. A quorum court may, after adoption of an ordinance, with notice and public hearing:(1) Increase, decrease, or terminate the type of services that the subordinate service district is authorized to provide unless fifty percent (50%) of the electors residing in the…

(a) Generally. A subordinate service district may be administered directly as a part of the office of the county judge, as a part of a department with or without an advisory or administrative board, or as a separate department with or without an advisory or administrative board. …

(a) All laws providing for the organization, jurisdiction, and operation of county boards and commissions, except the laws relating to county hospital boards of governors and except laws relating to county nursing home boards, shall be given the status of county ordinance until J…

(a) As provided by Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 55, § 1, Part (a), a county government, acting through its county quorum court, may exercise local legislative authority not expressly prohibited by the Arkansas Constitution or by law for the affairs of the county. (b) These po…

(a) A county government, acting through the county quorum court, shall provide, through ordinance, for the following necessary services for its citizens:(1) The administration of justice through the several courts of record of the county;(2) Law enforcement protection services an…

The power of county government to provide services includes the power to provide necessary and convenient facilities to support the services.

The power of a county government to provide services includes the power to exercise regulatory powers in conjunction with the services.

(1) Each county quorum court in the State of Arkansas exercising local legislative authority is prohibited the exercise of the following:(1) Any legislative act that applies to or affects any private or civil relationship, except as an incident to the exercise of local legislativ…

(1) Each county quorum court in the State of Arkansas exercising local legislative authority is prohibited the exercise of the following powers, unless the power is specifically delegated by the General Assembly:(1) The legislative power to authorize a tax on income or the sale o…

(1) A county exercising local legislative power is subject to the following provisions. These provisions are a prohibition on the legislative power of a county acting other than as provided:(1) All state laws providing for the:(A) Corporation or disincorporation of cities and tow…

(a) A county government exercising local legislative authority is prohibited the exercise of any power in any manner inconsistent with state law or administrative rule or regulation in any area affirmatively subjected by law to state regulation or control. (b) The exercise of leg…

(a) If a county government is authorized to regulate an area which the state by statute or administrative rule also regulates, the local government may regulate the area only by enacting ordinances which are consistent with state law or administrative rule. (b) If a state statute…

(a) (1) In the passage of this section, the General Assembly is cognizant of the responsibilities of the county judge and of the county quorum court with respect to the establishment and operation of public roads and for the construction, maintenance, repair, and upkeep of county…

(a) The quorum court of each county is authorized to pay a portion of the salary and related matching benefits of the county judge from the county road fund and the county solid waste fund. (b) (1) The portion of the county judge's salary paid from the county road fund shall not …

(a) A “cemetery”, as used in this section, means any burying place for the dead, a burial plot, a graveyard, or any land, public or private, dedicated and used for the interment of human remains which includes at least six (6) grave markers. (b) (1) The county judges of the sever…

(a) To the extent that it is not inconsistent with the powers exercised by incorporated towns and cities of the first class and cities of the second class under § 14-54-901 et seq., counties are empowered to order the owner of real property within the county to:(1) Abate, remove,…

(a) Upon the written request of a property owners' association of a private community that is located outside the boundaries of a municipality, a county may by ordinance regulate the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the private community within all or any part of th…

The legislative power of county government is vested in the quorum court of each county of the state, subject to the limitations imposed by the Arkansas Constitution and by state law.

(a) Secretariat. (1) The secretariat of the county quorum court shall be the clerk of the county court of each county unless otherwise provided by county ordinance.(2) Alternative Designation. A quorum court may provide by ordinance for the establishment of minimum qualifications…

(a) Minutes. The quorum court of each county shall provide for the keeping of written minutes which include the final vote on each ordinance or resolution indicating the vote of each individual member on the question. (b) County Ordinance and Resolution Register. (1) There shall …

(a) Time and Place of Quorum Court Assembly. (1) (A) (i) The justices of the peace elected in each county shall assemble and organize as a county quorum court body on the first regular meeting date after the beginning of the justices' term in office, or the county judge may sched…

(a) Introduction of Ordinances and Amendments to Existing Ordinances. A county ordinance or amendment to an ordinance may be introduced only by a justice of the peace of the county or through the provisions of initiative and referendum pursuant to Arkansas Constitution, Amendment…

(a) Authority to Establish. (1) (A) A county quorum court may fix penalties for the violation of any ordinance, and these penalties may be enforced by the imposition of fines, forfeitures, and penalties on any person offending against or violating the ordinance.(B) The fine, forf…

(a) (1) Generally. An appropriation ordinance or amendment to an appropriation ordinance is defined as a measure by which the county quorum court designates a particular fund, or sets apart a specific portion of county revenue in the treasury, to be applied to some general object…

(a) Generally. An emergency ordinance or emergency amendments to existing ordinances may be introduced in the manner provided by law for the introduction of ordinances. An emergency ordinance may be enacted only to meet public emergencies affecting life, health, safety, or the pr…

(a) For the purpose of this section, “code” means any published compilation of rules which has been prepared by various technical trade associations, model code organizations, federal agencies, or this state, or any agency thereof, and shall include specifically, but shall not be…

(a) Generally. The county court of each county may contract, cooperate, or join with any one (1) or more other governments or public agencies, including any other county, or with any political subdivisions of the state or any other states, or their political subdivisions, or with…

(a) Authority to Veto. The county judge of each county shall preside over the county quorum court with the power of veto. (b) Limitations of Veto. The power of veto shall be limited to the total text of an ordinance or amendment to an existing ordinance, and this veto power shall…

(a) Power of Veto Override. The quorum court of each county shall have the power to override the veto of the county judge. (b) Vote Required. An affirmative vote of three-fifths (⅗) of the total membership of a quorum court shall be required to override the veto of any ordinance …

(a) A county resolution or amendment to a resolution may be introduced only by a justice of the peace of the county. (b) No resolution or amendment to a resolution passed by a county quorum court shall contain more than one (1) comprehensive topic and shall be styled “Be It Resol…

(a) County Legislative Powers Reserved. The powers of initiative and referendum are reserved to the electors of each county government pursuant to Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 7. (b) Restrictions. No county legislative measure shall be enacted contrary to the Arkansas Constit…

(a) Style Requirements of Petitions. A petition for county initiative or referendum filed by the electors shall:(1) Embrace only a single comprehensive topic and shall be styled and circulated for signatures in the manner prescribed for county ordinances and amendments to ordinan…

(a) Jurisdiction of Circuit Court. Jurisdiction is vested upon the circuit courts to hear and determine petitions for writs of mandamus, injunctions, and all other actions affecting the submission of any proposed county initiative or referendum petitions. All such proceedings and…

(a) Time of Election for Initiative and Referendum Measures. (1) Initiative. Initiative petition measures shall be considered by the electors only at a regular general election at which state and county officers are elected for regular terms.(2) Referendum. Referendum petition me…

(a) Recording of Enactment. Upon passage of any initiative or referendum measure by the electors, the county clerk shall record the enactment in the county ordinance and resolution register in the manner provided by law for all county ordinances and resolutions. The register entr…

All referendum petitions under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 7, against any measure, as the term is used and defined in Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 7, pertaining to a county bond issue or a short-term financing obligation of a county under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment…

(a) There is created the County Collector's Continuing Education Board, which shall be composed of the following members:(1) Eight (8) members of the Arkansas County Tax Collectors Association, designated by the Arkansas County Tax Collectors Association;(2) One (1) member design…