AAC Clerk
RESEARCH CORNER Continued From Page 13 <<<
and to litigation specific inquiries. Tis year, the AAC hired Colin Jorgensen as litigation coun-
sel. Jorgenson, formerly of the state Attorney General’s Office, now represents some AACRMF counties in court. Jorgensen is part of the litigation team assembled by the AAC
to represent the AAC, the AACRMF, the AACWCT and the majority of Arkansas counties in opioid litigation. Various cases have been filed in state and federal court against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Te objective of the litiga- tion is to seek damages to mitigate the cost the opioid crisis has imposed on Arkansas and the on- going cost to clean it up. Tis is by no means the first government lawsuit against opioid manufac- turers, but it is the first of its kind. Dozens of cities, counties, and states have filed claims against these corporations, but the Arkansas Mu- nicipal League (ARML) and AAC are teaming up with litigators to represent local govern- ments across the state of Arkansas. Tis tactic will ensure that county interests are not overlooked among the dozens of big-city lawsuits. Te opioid crisis has taken a toll on local governments. Law enforcement must now be prepared to respond to emergency overdose situations, including carrying the expensive medication Naloxone, which is used to stop the effects of an opioid overdose. Courts and jails are busy address- ing drug crimes, and jail space is being used for detox situations. Monetary damages recovered from this lawsuit will go directly to address these problems by establishing treatment centers, educating the public, and training law enforcement to recognize and respond to situations involving drugs. Blake Gary, a law clerk on the policymaking side of AAC, has contributed to several projects. He has worked on Amendment 98, dealing with medical marijuana, and has been research- ing the current system of emergency preparedness in Arkansas. Since September, he has worked with AAC Governmental Affairs Director Josh Curtis to improve the 9-1-1 systems in
law clerk’s main role is to provide legal research. Clerks are law students who work at AAC part time while attending law school. Te work allows them to put their developing research skills into practice. Law clerks have been instrumental in researching numerous
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projects at AAC, including those related to election laws, ambulance services, floodplain management, jail over-
crowding, 9-1-1 emergency dispatch centers, fine collec- tion, county special funds, legislative audit matters, and the day-to-day operations of county government.
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Arkansas. Te Arkansas Department of Emergency Manage- ment (ADEM) and the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) assisted AAC in developing a plan to help Arkansas implement Next Generation 9-1-1 technology. Tis is a system that will be able to receive text messages, photos, and videos, and also pinpoint the exact location of a 9-1-1 call. AAC is con- fident this new system will be more effective and cost efficient for the state of Arkansas. Former law clerk Sarah
Giammo helped to re- form floodplain manage- ment policy in Arkansas. Recent, record floods have created loss of life and substantial prop- erty damage. She helped study existing laws and the laws of other states, and to provide viable solutions for legislation. Te legislation Giammo helped create provides county judges necessary legal authority to fill va- cancies on levee boards. Giammo also worked with the County Judges’ Association of Arkansas (CJAA) to gain passage of legislation increasing the minimum threshold at which public improve-
ment construction contracts must take bids. Tat threshold rose from $20,000 to $35,000. House Bill 1595 sponsored by Rep. Mike Holcomb and Sen. Ronald Caldwell, enacted as Act 725 of 2017, assists counties in efficiently accessing contractors for small construction projects and reduces the costs of those proj- ects. Te act increased the minimum bid level to be commensu- rate with inflation and in line with surrounding states. With the implementation of Act 725, counties can contract with contrac- tors for small projects faster and more efficiently. Former law clerk Kevin Liang joined the AAC as a part-time policy clerk in Spring 2014. Liang started his clerkship by revising and editing multiple county procedural manuals. With the experience he obtained from updating laws and researching policies, Liang quickly learned about the legislative process and laws impacting county government. He eventually specialized in ethics for county government officials, emergency medical services policy, and annexation for counties. Liang presented
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