Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1122 3
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By: Representative M. McElroy 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING REPORTS OF 9
IMPROPER OR ILLEGAL PRACTICES; AND FOR OTHER 10
PURPOSES. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING REPORTS 15
OF IMPROPER OR ILLEGAL PRACTICES. 16
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 18
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 10 -4-309 is amended to read as follows: 20
10-4-309. Enforcement by prosecuting attorney . 21
(a)(1) In such cases when compliance has not been obtained by the 22
public servant within the above -given time periods, the Legislative Joint 23
Auditing Committee shall notify and refer the matter to the respective 24
prosecuting attorney of each public servant and the prosecuting attorney 25
Attorney General, who shall conduct an investigation into the transactions 26
coming within the fiscal management laws contained in § 10 -4-304 as to the 27
public servant's compliance with the laws as they related to the public 28
servant's functions within a state agency, institution, department, board, 29
commission, bureau, or within a county, municipality, or school district. 30
(2) The prosecuting attorney Attorney General shall report back 31
to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee within forty -five (45) days from 32
the date of the matter's being referred to him or her by the Legislative 33
Joint Auditing Committee. 34
(3) If at the conclusion of his or her investigation under 35
subsection (a) of this section the Attorney General believes that one (1) or 36 HB1122
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more criminal charges are warranted, he or she shall notify the prosecuting 1
attorney having criminal jurisdiction in the matter within five (5) days of 2
the conclusion of the investigation. 3
(b) The prosecuting attorney commits the offense of noncompliance if 4
after being duly advised of the given facts of a situation that relate to a 5
charge of noncompliance against another public servant he or she fails or 6
omits to perform the duty of conducting an investigation required of him or 7
her by this section. 8
(b)(1) For purposes of this section, the Attorney General has 9
concurrent jurisdiction with local law enforcement agencies to investigate 10
the transactions under subsection (a) of this section. 11
(2) If requested by the Attorney General, a law enforcement 12
agency shall assist in the investigation of the transactions under subsection 13
(a) of this section. 14
(3)(A) Upon request, a public servant and all records of the 15
public servant shall be made available to the Attorney General for the 16
purpose of conducting an investigation under this section. 17
(B) Upon request, a financial record maintained by a bank 18
or a similar institution shall be made available to the Attorney General for 19
the purpose of conducting an investigation under this section. 20
(4)(A) A subpoena requiring the production of a document or the 21
attendance of a witness at an interview, trial, or hearing conducted under 22
the jurisdiction of the Attorney General under this section may be served by 23
the Attorney General or any authorized law enforcement officer in this state 24
personally, telephonically, or by registered or certified mail. 25
(B) In the case of service by registered or certified 26
mail, the return post office receipt of delivery of the subpoena shall 27
accompany the return. 28
(C)(i) If a person upon whom a subpoena is served objects 29
or otherwise fails to comply with the Attorney General's request for records, 30
the Attorney General may file an action in circuit court for an order to 31
enforce the request. 32
(ii) Venue for the action to enforce the request is 33
in Pulaski County. 34
(iii) Upon cause shown, the circuit court shall 35
order the person to tender the requested record to the Attorney General for 36 HB1122
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the purpose of conducting an investigation under this section. 1
(D)(i) A record obtained by the Attorney General under 2
this section shall be classified as confidential information, is exempt from 3
the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25 -19-101 et seq., and is 4
not subject to outside review or release by any individual except when the 5
record is used or is potentially to be used by any governmental entity in any 6
legal, administrative, or judicial proceeding. 7
(ii) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, 8
a person is not subject to any civil or criminal liability for providing a 9
record or providing access to a record under this section to the Attorney 10
General or to a prosecuting attorney. 11
(c)(1) An attorney employed in the office of the Attorney General may 12
be designated by a prosecuting attorney having criminal jurisdiction in a 13
matter as a special deputy prosecutor for the purpose of prosecuting in a 14
court of competent jurisdiction an action brought in relation to an 15
investigation of a transaction under subsection (a) of this section. 16
(2)(A) As a special deputy prosecutor, an attorney designated 17
under subdivision (c)(1) of this section may issue a subpoena and administer 18
an oath as provided in § 25 -16-705. 19
(B) The subpoena shall be substantially in the form set 20
forth in § 25-16-705(b). 21
(3) A special deputy prosecutor appointed and functioning as 22
authorized under this subsection is entitled to the same immunity granted by 23
law to the prosecuting attorney. 24
(4)(A) Appointment as a special deputy prosecutor does not 25
enable an attorney designated under subdivision (c)(1) of this section to 26
receive any additional fee or salary from the state for a service provided 27
under the appointment. 28
(B) Any expense of the special deputy prosecutor and any 29
fees and costs incurred by the special deputy prosecutor in the prosecution 30
of a case as provided in this section is the responsibility of the Attorney 31
General. 32
(5) The prosecuting attorney may revoke the appointment of a 33
special deputy prosecutor under this section at any time. 34
(d) If the Attorney General or an employee of his or her office is the 35
public servant at issue, the notice and referral under subsection (a) of this 36 HB1122
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section shall be made to the prosecuting attorney having criminal 1
jurisdiction in the matter, who shall perform the duties of the Attorney 2
General under this section. 3
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 10 -4-419 is amended to read as follows: 5
10-4-419. Report of improper or illegal practices. 6
(a)(1) If an audit report presented to the Legislative Joint Auditing 7
Committee or the appropriate standing subcommittee of the Legislative Joint 8
Auditing Committee reflects evidence of improper practices of financial 9
administration or inadequacy of fiscal records, the Legislative Auditor shall 10
report the evidence to the appropriate executive official or officials 11
affected thereby and to the governing body of the entity of the state or 12
political subdivision of the state. 13
(2) If the findings relate to an entity of the state, the 14
Legislative Auditor shall also report the findings to the Chief Fiscal 15
Officer of the State and the Attorney General. 16
(3) If the findings relate to a prosecuting attorney's office, 17
the Legislative Auditor shall also report the findings to the Attorney 18
General for review and appropriate action. 19
(b)(1) If an audit report presented to the Legislative Joint Auditing 20
Committee or the appropriate standing subcommittee of the Legislative Joint 21
Auditing Committee reflects evidence of apparent unauthorized disbursements 22
or unaccounted-for funds or property by a public official or employee, the 23
Legislative Auditor shall promptly report the transactions in writing to the 24
prosecuting attorney for the county in which the entity of the state or the 25
political subdivision of the state is located, the Governor, the Attorney 26
General, the appropriate executive official or officials affected thereby, 27
and the governing body of the entity of the state or political subdivision of 28
the state. 29
(2) If the findings relate to an entity of the state, the 30
Legislative Auditor shall also report the findings to the Chief Fiscal 31
Officer of the State. 32
(3) [Repealed.] 33
(c)(1) The Attorney General shall conduct an investigation of a 34
transaction reported under subsection (b) of this section. 35
(2) If at the conclusion of his or her investigation under this 36 HB1122
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subsection the Attorney General believes that one (1) or more criminal 1
charges are warranted, he or she shall notify the prosecuting attorney having 2
criminal jurisdiction in the matter within five (5) days of the conclusion of 3
the investigation. 4
(d)(1) For purposes of this section, the Attorney General has 5
concurrent jurisdiction with local law enforcement agencies to investigate 6
the transactions reported under subsection (b) of this section. 7
(2) If requested by the Attorney General, a law enforcement 8
agency shall assist in the investigation of the transactions reported under 9
subsection (b) of this section. 10
(3)(A) Upon request, a public official or employee and all 11
records of the public official or employee shall be made available to the 12
Attorney General for the purpose of conducting an investigation under this 13
section. 14
(B) Upon request, a financial record maintained by a bank 15
or a similar institution shall be made available to the Attorney General for 16
the purpose of conducting an investigation under this section. 17
(4)(A) A subpoena requiring the production of a document or the 18
attendance of a witness at an interview, trial, or hearing conducted under 19
the jurisdiction of the Attorney General under this section may be served by 20
the Attorney General or any authorized law enforcement officer in this state 21
personally, telephonically, or by registered or certified mail. 22
(B) In the case of service by registered or certified 23
mail, the return post office receipt of delivery of the subpoena shall 24
accompany the return. 25
(C)(i) If a person upon whom a subpoena is served objects 26
or otherwise fails to comply with the Attorney General's request for records, 27
the Attorney General may file an action in circuit court for an order to 28
enforce the request. 29
(ii) Venue for the action to enforce the request is 30
in Pulaski County. 31
(iii) Upon cause shown, the circuit court shall 32
order the entity or person to tender the requested record to the Attorney 33
General for the purpose of conducting an investigation under this section. 34
(D)(i) A record obtained by the Attorney General under 35
this section shall be classified as confidential information, is exempt from 36 HB1122
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the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25 -19-101 et seq., and is 1
not subject to outside review or release by any individual except when the 2
record is used or is potentially to be used by any governmental entity in any 3
legal, administrative, or judicial proceeding. 4
(ii) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, 5
a person is not subject to any civil or criminal liability for providing a 6
record or providing access to a record under this section to the Attorney 7
General or to a prosecuting attorney. 8
(e)(1) An attorney employed in the office of the Attorney General may 9
be designated by a prosecuting attorney having criminal jurisdiction in a 10
matter as a special deputy prosecutor for the purpose of prosecuting in a 11
court of competent jurisdiction an action brought in relation to an 12
investigation of a transaction reported under subsection (b) of this section. 13
(2)(A) As a special deputy prosecutor, an attorney designated 14
under subdivision (e)(1) of this section may issue a subpoena and administer 15
an oath as provided in § 25 -16-705. 16
(B) The subpoena shall be substantially in the form set 17
forth in § 25-16-705(b). 18
(3) A special deputy prosecutor appointed and functioning as 19
authorized under this subsection is entitled to the same immunity granted by 20
law to the prosecuting attorney. 21
(4)(A) Appointment as a special deputy prosecutor does not 22
enable an attorney designated under subdivision (e)(1) of this section to 23
receive any additional fee or salary from the state for a service provided 24
pursuant to the appointment. 25
(B) Any expense of the special deputy prosecutor and any 26
fees and costs incurred by the special deputy prosecutor in the prosecution 27
of a case as provided in this section is the responsibility of the Attorney 28
General. 29
(5) The prosecuting attorney may revoke the appointment of a 30
special deputy prosecutor under this section at any time. 31
(c)(1)(f)(1) The Legislative Auditor shall notify and cooperate with 32
the appropriate prosecuting attorney and the Attorney General on all matters 33
that appear to involve a criminal offense. 34
(2) Upon request and with the approval of the cochairs of the 35
Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, the Legislative Auditor shall cooperate 36 HB1122
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in any other investigations by the appropriate prosecuting attorney, the 1
Attorney General, the Division of Arkansas State Police, or any other state 2
or federal law enforcement agency. 3
(d)(1)(g)(1) While the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee is not 4
established as an agency to effect through its own direct action the 5
correction of improper practices of financial administration or the 6
inadequacy of fiscal records, the prosecution of defaulting public officials, 7
or the improvement of accounting systems in any entity of the state or 8
political subdivision of the state, it is nevertheless determined that the 9
action or nonaction on the part of the appropriate public officials in 10
respect to the correction of the matters when called to their attention or in 11
respect to the institution of criminal proceedings where proper, has 12
pertinent bearing upon the question of the necessity for future remedial 13
legislation. 14
(2) It is for this reason that the Legislative Joint Auditing 15
Committee is authorized to inform public officials to the extent provided by 16
law of the findings of the Legislative Auditor in respect to any such 17
matters. 18
(e)(1)(h) If the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee determines that 19
an entity of the state or a political subdivision of the state has not 20
corrected the deficiencies noted in one (1) or more previous reports, the 21
Legislative Joint Auditing Committee may request the prosecuting attorney of 22
the judicial district in which the entity of the state or the political 23
subdivision of the state is located Attorney General to take appropriate 24
action to assure that the records of the entity of the state or the political 25
subdivision of the state are maintained in accordance with law. 26
(2) If the prosecuting attorney fails or refuses to take 27
appropriate action within a reasonable time after receipt of notice from the 28
Legislative Joint Auditing Committee that an entity of the state or a 29
political subdivision of the state is not maintaining its records in 30
substantial compliance with law, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee may 31
request the Attorney General to take such appropriate action as may be 32
necessary to assure that the records of the entity of the state or political 33
subdivision of the state are maintained in compliance with law. 34
(f)(1)(i)(1) By June 30 of each year, the Attorney General and each 35
prosecuting attorney to whom the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee or the 36 HB1122
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Legislative Auditor has reported a matter under this section shall file with 1
the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee a disposition report on the status 2
of the matters that have not been previously reported as resolved to the 3
Legislative Joint Auditing Committee. 4
(2) A disposition report shall address all matters that have not 5
been previously reported as resolved under subdivision (f)(1)(i)(1) of this 6
section prior to and during the preceding calendar year. 7
(3) A disposition report shall include without limitation: 8
(A) The date the matter was reported to the Attorney 9
General or the prosecuting attorney ; 10
(B) The amount of loss or funds unaccounted for in 11
connection with the matter; 12
(C) The status or disposition of the matter; and 13
(D) Other comments pertinent to the investigation or 14
disposition of the matter. 15
(j) If the Attorney General or an employee of his or her office is the 16
public official or employee at issue, the report under subsection (b) of this 17
section shall be made to the prosecuting attorney having criminal 18
jurisdiction in the matter, who shall perform the duties of the Attorney 19
General under this section. 20
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