Title 23 — Public Utilities and Regulated Industries

(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.C.A. § 23-17-227Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(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.

A.C.A. § 23-17-234Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

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…

(a) (1) A cooperative shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative, other than an action by or in …

(a) A director shall discharge his or her duties as a director, including his or her duties as a member of a committee:(1) In good faith;(2) With the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances; and(3) In a manner he or she reas…

(a) When a cooperative formed under this subchapter declares capital credits and any capital credit which remains unclaimed one (1) year after notice of the capital credit was transmitted to the last known address of the beneficiary of the credit:(1) The cooperative shall not be …

(a) Any cooperative established under this subchapter may opt out of coverage under the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act, § 14-271-101 et seq., by providing written notice to the Arkansas Public Service Commission by first class mail. (b) Any references in th…

(1) Any cooperative organized prior to January 1, 1979, under the provisions of this subchapter may enter into an agreement with any other cooperative so organized for one of the cooperatives to acquire the other cooperative, subject to the following provisions:(1) Any agreement …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Universal Telephone Service Act”.

The General Assembly finds and declares that changes in pricing for telephone services mandated by the Federal Communications Commission and made necessary by the divestiture of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company from American Telephone and Telegraph Company will cause significa…

(1) As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Commission” means the Arkansas Public Service Commission;(2) “Interexchange carriers” includes persons, corporations, or other organizations which provide communications services which interconnect with lo…

(a) There is created the Universal Telephone Service Fund to be established by assessing upon all interexchange carriers operating in this state a charge on interexchange communication services based on usage, revenue, volume, or other appropriate factors. (b) (1) The amount of t…

The Universal Telephone Service Fund shall be effective on the date the interstate Universal Service Fund or similar arrangement is established by the Federal Communications Commission unless the Arkansas Public Service Commission, prior to that date and after hearing, finds that…

(a) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall allocate the Universal Telephone Service Fund among all local exchange carriers operating in Arkansas in such a manner as to moderate the disruptive effects of changes in methods of pricing of telephone services and to hold prices …

The Arkansas Public Service Commission may collect, administer, and distribute the Universal Telephone Service Fund, itself, or it may delegate to a trustee or other agent acting under its supervision the administration and distribution of the fund upon such conditions and securi…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Telecommunications Regulatory Reform Act of 2013”.

(1) It is the intent of the General Assembly in enacting this subchapter to:(1) Provide for a system of regulation of telecommunications services, consistent with the federal act, that assists in implementing the national policy of opening the telecommunications market to competi…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Access line” means a communications facility extending from a customer's premises to a serving central office comprising a subscriber line and, if necessary, a trunk facility;(2) “Access minute”, unless otherwise defined by the Arkansas Public …

(a) (1) The Arkansas High Cost Fund (AHCF) is established by this section in order to promote and assure the availability of universal service at rates that are reasonable and affordable and to provide for reasonably comparable services and rates between rural and urban areas.(2)…

(a) The incumbent local exchange carrier, its successors and assigns, that owns, maintains, and provides facilities for universal service within a local exchange area on February 4, 1997, shall be the eligible telecommunications carrier within the local exchange area. (b) The Ark…

(a) Any incumbent local exchange carrier may elect to have the rates, terms, and conditions for its telecommunications services determined pursuant to the provisions of this section. (b) An incumbent local exchange carrier shall file a notice of its intent with the Arkansas Publi…

(a) (1) The rates for basic local exchange service and switched-access services that were in effect in the date twelve (12) months prior to the date of filing of a notice of election by a local exchange carrier pursuant to § 23-17-406 shall be the maximum that the electing local …

(a) The earnings of an electing company shall not be subject to rate of return or rate-base monitoring or regulation, and the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall not consider rate of return, rate base, or the earnings of an electing company in connection with rate changes ma…

(a) (1) (A) Consistent with the federal act and the provisions of § 23-17-410, the Arkansas Public Service Commission is authorized to grant certificates of convenience and necessity to telecommunications providers authorizing them to provide telecommunications services, includin…

(a) A rural telephone company shall not have any duty to negotiate terms and conditions of or to enter into any agreement for the provision to any other telecommunications provider of interconnection with the rural telephone company's network as provided by 47 U.S.C. §§ 251(c) an…

(a) Regarding the earnings, rates of return, or rate-base calculation of any electing company, any incumbent local exchange carrier that has filed notice in accordance with § 23-17-412, or any competing local exchange carrier, and provided that all such companies and carriers oth…

(a) (1) Telephone companies that file notice with the Arkansas Public Service Commission of an election to be regulated in accordance with the provisions of this section are authorized to determine and account for their respective revenues and expenses, including depreciation exp…

In order to assign the place of primary use for mobile telecommunications services pursuant to the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, Pub. L. No. 106-252, the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration may choose whether to furnish vendors with a database that…

(a) The Arkansas Public Service Commission shall promulgate rules that enable customers in a local exchange service area to petition the commission directly or by a resolution of the customers' quorum court or other local governing body to request that an incumbent local exchange…