AAC


lished a pattern for most of the United States. Te first county established in Arkansas was Arkansas County in 1813. Anthony Albanese said, “Despite the enormous role that lo-


cal government plays in our daily lives, the constitution makes not one mention of it.” And that’s true. When independence came, as a National Association of Counties (NACo) publica- tion said, “Te framers of the Constitution did not provide for local governments. Rather, they left the matter to the states. Subsequently, early state constitutions generally conceptual- ized county government as an arm of the state.” In the 20th century, the role of local governments strengthened and coun- ties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and legislative bodies to enact local ordinances or laws that do not conflict with state or federal law. Te powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely.


In Connecticut and Rhode Island, as I mentioned earlier, counties are geographic enti- ties, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties handle almost all services, including public education. North Carolina counties have the responsibility of public education. And there are other states where coun- ties shoulder the responsibil- ity of education, Medicaid and other social services, mental health, community colleges, and the list goes on. Medicaid and Aid to Dependent Children is the largest category of expenditure for New York county government. And now we know why property taxes are so high in some states. Having taken a quick look at county government structure


always had a quorum court and the elected officials that we currently have, but the opera- tion has changed.


C


SEEMS TO ME


expenses of the county.” Quorum courts and county judges were part of Arkansas


even during its time as a territory and have been described in all the constitutions of the state. As their names imply, quo- rum courts, justices of the peace, and county judges origi- nally had more of a judicial function rather than the primary legislative and executive functions they now have. Te 1874 Constitution required that each county have one justice of the peace for every 200 voters and a minimum of two per township, but the quorum court met only once each year to levy the taxes and rubber stamp the county budget that had already been drafted. One JP for every 200 voters. Can you imagine the size of the quorum court in Pulaski County under those requirements?


ounty government in Arkansas has changed over the years. We have


County judges ran the county the rest of the year. By the middle of the 20th century, this unwieldy system had given county judges nearly unlimited power within their counties. Various efforts began to reform Arkansas’ system of county gov- ernment. A new Arkansas constitu- tion was proposed in 1970 and it would have replaced the county government system with something similar to what we have today. Te voters of Arkansas did not approve that constitution. Soon after the proposed Ar-


across the country, let’s bring it home to Arkansas where you serve. A county is defined in the very beginning of county gov- ernment code in Title 14 of Arkansas Code Annotated (A.C.A.). A.C.A. 14-14-102 says, “A county is a political subdivision of the state for the more convenient administration of justice and the exercise of local legislative authority related to county affairs and is defined as a body politic and corporate operating within specified geographic limitations established by law.” County government in Arkansas has changed over the years.


We have always had a quorum court and the elected officials that we currently have, but the operation has changed. Quo- rum courts are described in Article 7 of the 1874 Arkansas Constitution. Tey “sit with and assist the County Judge in levying the county taxes, and in making appropriations for the


COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2019


kansas Constitution of 1970 was reduced to shambles by the Arkansas voters’ rejection of it in November 1970, Governor- elect Dale Bumpers of Charleston named a committee to study the possibility of presenting fragments of the document to the voters. Soon after his inauguration, this committee, chaired by Clark County Judge Randall Mathis, one of the few county officials in the state who had supported the Constitution of 1970, began studying the matter. Te committee turned its attention from the beginning to that portion of the document that had purported to deal with county government. During 1971, Mathis’ committee consulted with legisla- tors, members of the Governor’s staff, former Constitutional Convention delegates, the Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) and county officials in an effort to draft a proposal that would be acceptable to members of those diverse groups. Te committee actually began its work by using county gov- ernment provisions of the Local Government Article of the Constitution of 1970 as a starting point and sought ways to


See “STORY” on Page 20 >>> 19


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