Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 780 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S4/7/25 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 500 3
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By: Senator J. Petty 5
By: Representative Hall 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LEVEE DISTRICTS; 9
TO ALLOW A LEVEE DISTRICT CREATED BY AN ACT OF THE 10
GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO ADOPT PROCEDURE CONCERNING THE 11
COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LEVEE 16
DISTRICTS; AND TO ALLOW A LEVEE DISTRICT 17
CREATED BY AN ACT OF THE GENERAL 18
ASSEMBLY TO ADOPT PROCEDURE CONCERNING 19
THE COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS. 20
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22
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SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Uncodified Section 6 of Acts 1909, No. 67, 24
concerning the creation of the Crawford County Levee District, is amended to 25
read as follows: 26
SECTION 6. The Sheriff of Crawford County, Arkansas, shall act as 27
collector of levee taxes. He shall be notified each year by the secretary of 28
the said board, the per cent. that is to be collected that year as levee tax 29
on the assessed valuation on the lands and real estate in the levee district. 30
The said sheriff shall proceed to collect such levee tax at the same time and 31
place as provided by law for the collection of State and County Taxes, and 32
shall receive two per cent. commission on all levee taxes collected by him, 33
and the Secretary of the Board shall make out and furnish to him each year 34
books in which shall be listed the lands and real estate in the levee 35
district, and in separate columns opposite the lands and real estate shall be 36 As Engrossed: S4/7/25 SB500
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put the names of the supposed owners of each tract and the amount of the 1
levee tax to be collected that year. If the levee taxes as assessed are not 2
paid by the tenth day of April of each year, a penalty of twenty -five per 3
cent. shall be assessed for the failure to pay, and said Board of Directors 4
shall enforce the collection thereof by proceedings in the Chancery Court for 5
Crawford County, and said court shall give judgment against such lands and 6
real estate for the amount of such taxes and said penalty of twenty -five per 7
cent. and interest on the same from the 10th day of April at the rate of six 8
per cent. per annum and all costs of the proceedings, including a reasonable 9
attorney's fee for plaintiff. Such judgment shall provide for the sale of 10
said delinquent lands for cash by commissioner of the court, after 11
advertising as hereinafter set out, said proceedings and judgment shall be in 12
the nature of proceedings in rem, and it shall be immaterial that the 13
ownership of said lands be incorrectly alleged in said proceedings, and said 14
judgment shall be enforced wholly against said lands and not against any 15
other property or estate of the said defendant. All or any part of said 16
delinquent lands or real estate may be included in one suit instituted for 17
the collection of said delinquent taxes as aforesaid, and notice of the 18
pendency of such suit shall be given by a publication weekly for four weeks 19
in some newspaper published in Crawford County, the defense thereto to be 20
filed thirty days after the last publication of said notice, which public 21
notice may be in the following form: 22
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CRAWFORD COUNTY LEVEE DISTRICT. 23
vs. 24
Delinquent Lands. 25
All persons having or claiming an interest in any of the following 26
described lands are hereby notified that suit is pending in the Chancery 27
Court of Crawford County, Arkansas, to enforce the collection of certain 28
levee taxes from the subjoined list of lands, the name of each supposed owner 29
having been set opposite his, her or its lands, together with the amounts 30
severally due from each, towit: (Then show below a list of the supposed 31
owners with a descriptive list of said delinquent lands and amounts due 32
thereon as aforesaid) and said public notice may conclude in the following 33
form: 34
All persons and corporations interested in said lands are hereby 35
notified they are required by law to appear and make defense to said suit in 36 As Engrossed: S4/7/25 SB500
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said court on the ............day of........... (said return day to be thirty 1
days after the last publication of this notice), or the same will be taken 2
for confessed, and final judgment will be entered, directing the sale of said 3
lands for the purpose of collecting said levee taxes, together with the 4
payment of interest penalty and costs allowed by law. 5
.............................. 6
Clerk of Crawford Chancery Court. 7
And said suit shall stand for trial the first day the court is in 8
session after thirty days after the fourth publication of said notice, 9
whether said weekly notice has been published four times thirty days before 10
the first day of the term of court, or during the said term of court, to 11
which said suits are brought, respectively, unless a continuance be granted 12
for good cause shown within the discretion of the court, and such continuance 13
for good cause shown may be granted as to the part of the said lands, without 14
effecting the duty of the court to dispose finally of the others as to which 15
no continuance may be granted, and in all cases where notice has been 16
properly given as aforesaid, and where no answer has been filed or if filed 17
and the cause decided for the plaintiff, the court by its decree shall grant 18
the relief as prayed for in the complaint, and shall direct said commissioner 19
to sell the lands described in the complaint, at the court house door of 20
Crawford County, at public out -cry to the highest and best bidder, for cash 21
in hand, after first advertised said sale (such advertisement may include all 22
of lands described in the decree) weekly for two weeks consecutively, in some 23
newspaper published in Crawford County, and if all the land be not sold on 24
the day advertised, such sale shall continue from day to day until completed, 25
and said commissioner shall, by proper deeds, convey to the purchasers the 26
lands so sold, and the title to said lands shall thereupon become vested in 27
such purchaser as against all others whomsoever, saving infants and insane 28
persons who have no guardians or curators, the right they now have by law to 29
appear and except to such proceedings within twelve months, after their 30
disabilities are removed. 31
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 14, Chapter 123, Subchapter 4, is 33
amended to add an additional section to read as follows: 34
14-123-423. Levee district created by act of General Assembly – 35
Collection of taxes and assessments. 36 As Engrossed: S4/7/25 SB500
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(a) Upon written request of a levee district created by an act of the 1
General Assembly, the taxes for the assessments levied by the levee district 2
shall be: 3
(1) Extended on the tax books of the county against the taxable 4
lands of the levee district from a certified list of assessments provided by 5
the levee district to the county collector by December 15 of each year; and 6
(2) Collected by the county collector at the same time and in 7
the same manner as other assessments and property taxes. 8
(b) Levee district collections shall be deposited with the county 9
treasurer on a monthly basis by the county collector in accordance with § 21 -10
6-310(a)(1). 11
(c)(1) The county treasurer shall properly receipt the funds and upon 12
a proper certificate of distribution shall credit the funds to the levee 13
district fund established on the books of the county. 14
(2) The county treasurer shall promptly remit the levee district 15
assessments to the treasurer of the levee district. 16
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/s/J. Petty 18
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APPROVED: 4/17/25 21
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