Title 19 — Public Finance

(a) The following are exempt from this subchapter:(1) Funds required by the terms of a bond indenture to be held by paying agents for the payment of interest and principal on such bonds;(2) Petty cash funds held by the various state agencies;(3) Memorials, endowments, bequests, g…

(a) The state-supported institutions of higher education may determine the depositories and the nature of investments of any of their cash funds that are not currently needed for operating purposes. In making these determinations, these state-supported institutions of higher educ…

(a) (1) State agencies operating under this subchapter may establish petty cash accounts, subject to approval by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State. (2) Only minor expenditures or emergency purchases shall be made from petty cash accounts authorized by this subsection. (1) Sta…

(1) Each executive head of a state agency handling cash funds shall establish:(1) Adequate internal administrative procedures and controls to ensure prompt and accurate payment of obligations to be liquidated from those funds to promote good public relations and to take advantage…

(a) The executive head of a state agency, the bonded disbursing officer, or his or her designated bonded assistant is responsible for recovery of erroneous or improper payments. (b) The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State is not liable under his or her surety bond for any erroneous…

(1) Requirements for supporting documentation for disbursements are determined as follows:(1) In connection with purchasing procedures, the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall prescribe and define the necessary documents and other evidence that shall be retained by the agency…

(a) The original evidences of indebtedness, including documents prepared in connection with purchasing procedure, and all other original contracts, invoices, statements, receipts, petty cash tickets, bank statements, cancelled checks drawn upon bank accounts, and other original s…

A state agency that is authorized by law or under the purchasing procedures of this state to enter into contract for the procurement of property, commodities, or services shall keep on file in its respective place of business a copy of the contract for public inspection or audit …

(a) Beginning with fiscal year 2021, cash funds of the following constitutional officers and departments shall be budgeted and proposed expenditures approved by enactments of the General Assembly:(1) The Governor;(2) The Secretary of State;(3) The Attorney General;(4) The Treasur…

The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall promulgate rules with respect to travel and travel allowances and prescribe the forms and procedures for reporting, approving, and paying such travel allowances for all officers and employees of the state government or for other persons…

(a) (1) The board, commission, or administrative head in charge of each state agency is responsible for authorizing travel, or any expenses in connection with travel.(2) Travel expenses shall not be authorized or allowed without the approval of the board, commission, or administr…

(a) (1) Except for special authorization by the cabinet-level secretary, director, chief executive officer, or chief fiscal officer of the department, board, or commission for which the travel is incurred, reimbursement for meals and lodging while traveling on official business o…

(a) (1) The limitations of this subchapter relating to travel rules do not apply to:(A) Except as provided in § 19-4-903(b), the constitutional or elective officials and their employees; or(B) Official guests of the state.(2) This subchapter shall not be used to supersede or set …

(a) All state-owned motor vehicles that are purchased under the authority of the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall be licensed in such manner so as to identify each state-owned motor vehicle as state property. (b) The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall provide a specia…

(a) (1) Funds appropriated for the various state agencies, authorities, boards, commissions, departments, and institutions of higher education listed in this section shall not be used to purchase, lease for over thirty (30) days, operate, repair, or provide services for more than…

The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State may direct all state agencies to maintain records with respect to all state-owned motor vehicles and may require that the agencies file reports on the state-owned motor vehicles covering the operating costs of the state-owned motor vehicles.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Bank” or “banking institution” means a state bank, national bank, savings bank, savings association, thrift, or other financial institution authorized to do business and having a main office or branch office in this state, which is insured by t…

The legal funds referred to in §§ 19-5-101 — 19-5-107 as being eligible for deposit in depositories shall include funds that may come into the hands of treasurers, collectors, commissioners, sheriffs, clerks, and receivers by reason of their official capacities as commissioners.

(a) (1) It is a felony, punishable by fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or one (1) year in prison, or both, for an officer of a bank to accept for deposit more public funds in the aggregate than that amount designated by this section, § 19-5-101, § 19-5-102, and…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, all public funds shall be deposited into banks located in the state. (b) A school district may seek a hardship waiver from the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee from this section and deposit public funds into an out-of-…

(a) Annually, on December 1, the Bank Commissioner shall furnish to the governing board of each city, or town officer, and the county board of each county, and also any officer of any improvement district or any other political subdivision, having the supervision of public funds …

(a) (1) (A) The quorum court of each county shall by ordinance establish a county depository board.(B) The county depository board shall be composed of the county judge, the county treasurer and county collector, or the sheriff when acting as ex officio tax collector, or those of…

(a) (1) After the receipt from the Bank Commissioner of the list of banks or banking institutions eligible for public deposits, the depository boards shall:(A) Designate the banks or banking institutions into which the funds shall be deposited; and(B) With each bank or banking in…

When securities must be furnished by a depository in the State of Arkansas as security for the deposit of funds, or when securities must be deposited with an official of the State of Arkansas under a statute of this state, mortgages insured and debentures issued by the Federal Ho…

All banks that are by law authorized to accept deposits of public funds may tender, and all officers or boards whose duty it is to award contracts for the deposit of public funds and all officers or boards whose duty it is to accept security for the deposit of public funds may ac…

It is lawful for a person, firm, or corporation required by law to maintain a cash deposit as public security, or in lieu of a cash deposit to file a bond of approved security in favor of the State of Arkansas, to deposit with the officer of the State of Arkansas designated as th…

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, including §§ 19-5-103 and 19-5-105, the state or local government and any trusts established under the Local Government Joint Investment Trust Act, § 14-79-101 et seq., may invest public funds through an eligible bank under § 19-5-105 …

The law specifying what securities may be accepted as security for the deposit of public funds of the State of Arkansas or any political subdivision of the state is inadequate in that it is unduly restrictive on the types of securities that may be accepted. The types of securitie…

(1) As used in this subchapter, “public funds” means without limitation funds of:(1) The State of Arkansas, or any agency, department, board, commission, or instrumentality thereof;(2) A political subdivision of the State of Arkansas, or an agency thereof;(3) A school board or sc…

(a) When a depository in the State of Arkansas must furnish security for the deposit of any public funds pursuant to Arkansas law or when security must be granted to a public official in connection with public funds, the following shall be considered as eligible security for such…

(a) When existing Arkansas law authorizes a board, commission, or agency of the State of Arkansas or a county, municipality, or improvement district to issue bonds or coupon bonds, the authorization shall be deemed to, and is extended to, include the authority to issue bonds that…

(a) In cases in which a valid bond, note, interest coupon, or evidence of indebtedness, that is, an “instrument”, issued by the State of Arkansas, or any of its departments, agencies, or political subdivisions, including without limitation school districts and improvement distric…

(a) Paying agents with whom the state or any political subdivision of the state has deposited or shall deposit funds for the payment of obligations of the state or of any political subdivision of the state shall remit to the Treasurer of State all the funds that have been in the …

(1) After the Treasurer of State has purchased and then held a government bond or state bond for a period of five (5) years, the Treasurer of State shall:(1) Liquidate the bond and place the proceeds to the credit of the General Revenue Fund Account; or(2) Remit the bond to the p…

Every bond issued by the state or by a political subdivision of the state shall be paid by the state or by the political subdivision unless it is barred by the statute of limitations.

(1) The State Board of Finance may:(1) Take such action as may be provided by law for the issuance of refunding bonds for outstanding obligations to the State of Arkansas;(2) Issue replacement bonds, either typewritten, printed, or lithographed, for lost, mislaid, destroyed, or s…

(a) The agent of the state for payment of the maturing principal of, and interest on, its direct obligation bonds, irrespective of any other legislation on the subject, is for all obligations a bank located in this state, to be designated by the State Board of Finance. (b) Fees o…

The Treasurer of State is the official registrar of all direct obligation bonds of this state. Upon the application of the holder of any such obligations, the Treasurer of State shall register them as to principal only or as to both principal and interest. Thereafter, upon simila…

(a) Whenever appropriations and funds are available, the State Board of Finance may purchase direct obligations of this state in advance of maturity for the purpose of retirement under the procedure set forth in this subchapter. (b) All obligations purchased as prescribed, and th…

The Treasurer of State shall classify and record all paid and cancelled state obligations and, from time to time as directed by the State Board of Finance, destroy these obligations by burning them to ashes after preparing for execution certificates of incineration, which shall s…

(a) When refunding bonds are issued by the state, a county, municipality, school district, state-supported educational institution, improvement district of any kind, agency, or political subdivision, which may be called “issuing authorities”, the bonds may either be sold or deliv…

(a) (1) Where refunding bonds are to be issued by a municipality, county, state-supported educational institution, or improvement district of any kind and the bonds to be refunded cannot be presented for payment and cancellation simultaneously with the payment and delivery of the…

Refunding bonds authorized to be sold by the State of Arkansas or an agency or instrumentality of the state at public sale, notwithstanding the provision for public sale, nevertheless may be sold to the United States or an agency of the United States at private sale without publi…

(a) A county, school district, improvement district, or municipality may refund bonds issued under statutory or constitutional authority at any time outstanding by the issuance of bonds bearing a rate or rates of interest that the issuer deems to be just and fair, whether or not …

The refunding bonds may be issued with the privilege of conversion to a lower rate or rates of interest if the issuer receives no less and pays no more than the issuer would receive or pay if the bonds were not converted. The conversion is subject to the approval of the issuer.

The State of Arkansas, an agency of the state, a county, a municipality, a school district, an improvement district of any kind, or any other political subdivision of the state, which may be called “issuing authorities”, may include in the principal of refunding bonds the amount …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Registered Public Obligations Act of Arkansas”.

(a) The Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., provides that interest with respect to certain obligations may not be exempt from federal income taxation unless the obligations are in registered form. It is therefore a matter of state concern that public entities be authori…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Authorized officer” means any individual required or permitted, alone or with others, by any provision of law or by the issuing public entity, to execute, on behalf of the public entity, a certificated registered public obligation or a writing …

(a) Unless at any time before or at original issuance of a registered public obligation the official or official body of the issuer determines otherwise, this subchapter applies to the registered public obligation, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary. When this s…