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County voluntary tax program Three criteria must be met
any corporation, association, institution or individual,” according to Arkansas Constitution, Art. 12, § 5. In opinion No. 2011-149 the Arkansas Attorney General said a county has the authority to place on the tax bills a voluntary tax or voluntary contribution for the benefit of a public entity such as a voluntary fire department organized as a “fire protection district” (a public entity). Te Arkansas Attorney General said in opinion. No. 2005-205 that Arkansas Constitution, Ar- ticle 12, § 5, would “foreclose a county from using its resources to ‘obtain’ voluntary payments on be- half of an organization structured as a private nonprofit corpora- tion.” In opinion 2011-149, the AG
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said “case law as evolved over the years strongly suggests that an or- ganization’s formation as a private nonprofit corporation will in itself foreclose that entity’s receiving direct or indirect support from a political subdivision.” Public Services: “No county ... shall ... appropriate money for,
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any corporation, association, [or] institution ...,” according to Ar- kansas Constitution, Article 12, § 5. In opinion No. 94-397, quoting
tutional and legal if a conveyance of money or land or equipment or other county property is made for “the welfare of the community and its inhabitants” and the underlying con- sideration for the contribution is that “direct benefit results to the public.
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McQuillin, Municipal Corpora- tions § 12, the AG said that a county conveyance is constitutional and legal if a conveyance of money or land or equipment or other county property is made for “the welfare of the community and its inhabitants” and the underlying consideration for the contribution is that “direct benefit results to the public.” Public Generally: “No county ... shall ... appropriate money for ... any ... individual,” according to Arkansas Constitution, Article
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t is permissible under Arkansas Constitution, Article 12, § 5, for a county to collect “a voluntary tax or voluntary contribution” so long as three (3) “public” criteria are met: public entity and public services and public generally. Public Entity: “No county ... shall ... obtain ... money for,
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12, § 5. In opinion No. 94-397, the AG articulated a two-prong test for constitutional county gifts, stating: “Te goods distributed by the City ... [1] inure primarily to the benefit of the public (at least the younger portion of the public), and [2] not to ... discrete individuals. Te AG was answering a question about whether a city could spend city money for candy to be dis- tributed to children attending a public Christmas parade. In his answer, the AG articulated principles that can be
County Law Update
Mike Rainwater Risk Management Legal Counsel
n opinion No. 94-397, the AG said that a county conveyance is consti-
applied to any request made to a city or county for a “gift.” Te AG said unconstitutional gifts include city/county expenditures for employee parties (e.g., Christ- mas, birthday); traveling expenses of official’s spouses; flowers, gifts and cards; Christmas presents (like a ham) for employees; employee picnics; and monetary payments to employees for long faithful ser- vice are unconstitutional, accord- ing to AG Opinions 91-410 and 94-317. Tus, a county is allowed to make a public conveyance (in- cluding cash) for a reason that primarily benefits the public at large but not an outright gift that benefits only discrete individuals, according to Arkansas Constitu- tion, Article 12, § 5; Ark. Attor- ney General Opinion Nos. 94-397 and 93-211.
(Mike Rainwater, a regular contributor to County Lines and lead
attorney for AAC Risk Management, is principal shareholder of Rain- water, Holt and Sexton, P.A., a state-wide personal injury and disability law firm. He has been a lawyer for more than 30 years, is a former deputy prosecuting attorney and has defended city and county officials for more than 25 years.)
Did an aspect of county government “make news” recently in your county? Did any
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COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2013
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