AR
Arkansas Senate Bill SB525

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB525 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
22 *SSS103* 03/19/2025 12:28:19 PM SSS103
33 State of Arkansas 1
44 95th General Assembly A Bill 2
55 Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 525 3
66 4
77 By: Senator M. Johnson 5
88 By: Representative Brooks 6
99 7
1010 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1111 AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING INCORPORATION AND 9
1212 ORGANIZATION OF MUNICIPALITIES; TO TRANSFER 10
1313 INCORPORATION DUTIES TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE; AND 11
1414 FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
1515 13
1616 14
1717 Subtitle 15
1818 TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING 16
1919 INCORPORATION AND ORGANIZATION OF 17
2020 MUNICIPALITIES; AND TO TRANSFER 18
2121 INCORPORATION DUTIES TO THE SECRETARY OF 19
2222 STATE. 20
2323 21
2424 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22
2525 23
2626 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 14 -38-101 is amended to read as follows: 24
2727 14-38-101. Petition for incorporation. 25
2828 (a)(1) When the inhabitants of a part of any county not embraced 26
2929 within the limits of any city or incorporated town shall desire to be 27
3030 organized into a city or incorporated town, they may apply, by a petition in 28
3131 writing, signed by the greater of either two hundred (200) seventy-five (75) 29
3232 or a majority of the qualified voters residing within the described 30
3333 territory, to the county court of the proper county. 31
3434 (2) The petition shall: 32
3535 (A) Describe the territory proposed to be embraced in the 33
3636 incorporated town and have annexed to it an accurate map or plat of the 34
3737 territory; 35
3838 (B) State the name proposed for the incorporated town; and 36 SB525
3939
4040 2 03/19/2025 12:28:19 PM SSS103
4141 (C) Name the persons authorized to act in behalf of the 1
4242 petitioners in prosecuting the petition. 2
4343 (b)(1) Unless the governing body of the municipal corporation has 3
4444 affirmatively consented to the incorporation by written resolution or the 4
4545 area that seeks to be incorporated contains a population of one thousand five 5
4646 hundred (1,500) or more, the court Secretary of State shall not approve the 6
4747 incorporation of a municipality if any portion of the territory proposed to 7
4848 be embraced in the incorporated town lies within: 8
4949 (A) Three (3) miles of an existing municipal corporation; 9
5050 or 10
5151 (B) The area in which that existing municipal corporation 11
5252 is exercising its planning territorial jurisdiction. 12
5353 (2) The planning territorial jurisdiction limitation shall not 13
5454 apply if the area proposed to be incorporated is land upon which a real 14
5555 estate development by a single developer, containing not less than four 15
5656 thousand (4,000) acres, has been or is being developed under a comprehensive 16
5757 plan for a community containing streets and other public services, parks, and 17
5858 other recreational facilities for common use by the residents of the 18
5959 community, churches, schools, and commercial and residential facilities, and 19
6060 which has been subdivided into sufficient lots for residential use to 20
6161 accommodate a projected population of not fewer than one thousand (1,000) 21
6262 persons, and for which a statement of record has been filed with the United 22
6363 States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Interstate Land 23
6464 Sales Full Disclosure Act. 24
6565 (c)(1) When any petition shall be presented to the court, it shall be 25
6666 filed in the office of the county clerk, to be kept there, subject to the 26
6767 inspection of any persons interested, until the time appointed for the 27
6868 hearing of it. 28
6969 (2) The county clerk shall verify the signatures of the petition 29
7070 within thirty (30) days of receipt of the petition. 30
7171 (3) If the petition is verified by the county clerk under 31
7272 subdivision (c)(2) of this section, the county clerk shall submit a copy of 32
7373 the verified petition to the Secretary of State. 33
7474 (d)(1) At or before the time of the filing, the court Secretary of 34
7575 State shall fix and communicate to the petitioners, or their agent, a time 35
7676 and place for the hearing of the petition, which time shall not be less than 36 SB525
7777
7878 3 03/19/2025 12:28:19 PM SSS103
7979 thirty (30) days after the filing of the petition. 1
8080 (2)(A)(i) Thereupon, the The petitioners or their agent shall 2
8181 cause a notice to be published in some newspaper of general circulation in 3
8282 the county for not less than three (3) consecutive weeks. 4
8383 (ii) If there is no newspaper of general circulation 5
8484 in the county, a notice shall be posted at some public place within the 6
8585 limits of the proposed incorporated town for at least three (3) weeks before 7
8686 the time of the hearing. 8
8787 (B) The notice shall contain the substance of the petition 9
8888 and state the time and place appointed for the hearing. 10
8989 (3) The Secretary of State shall publish notice of the hearing 11
9090 at least three (3) weeks before the hearing on the Secretary of State's 12
9191 website. 13
9292 14
9393 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 14 -38-103 is amended to read as follows: 15
9494 14-38-103. Hearing on petition. 16
9595 (a)(1) Every incorporation hearing under this chapter shall be public 17
9696 and may be adjourned from time to time. 18
9797 (2) Any person interested may appear and contest the granting of 19
9898 the prayer of the petition, and affidavits in support of or against the 20
9999 petition, which may be prepared and submitted, shall be examined by the 21
100100 county court Secretary of State. 22
101101 (b)(1) In its At his or her discretion, the court Secretary of State 23
102102 may permit the agent named in the original petition to amend or change it. 24
103103 (2) However, no No amendment shall be permitted whereby 25
104104 territory not before embraced shall be added or the character of the proposed 26
105105 city or incorporated town changed from special to general, or from general to 27
106106 special, without appointing another time for a hearing and requiring new 28
107107 notice to be given as provided in § 14 -38-101. 29
108108 30
109109 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 14 -38-104 is amended to read as follows: 31
110110 14-38-104. Order of incorporation — Transcript. 32
111111 (a) The county court Secretary of State shall make out and endorse on 33
112112 the petition an order to the effect that the city or incorporated town as 34
113113 named and described in the petition may be organized if the court Secretary 35
114114 of State shall be satisfied after hearing the petition that: 36 SB525
115115
116116 4 03/19/2025 12:28:19 PM SSS103
117117 (1) The greater of either two hundred (200) seventy-five (75) or 1
118118 a majority of the qualified voters residing within the described territory 2
119119 have signed the petition; 3
120120 (2) The limits have been accurately described and an accurate 4
121121 map or plat of the limits made and filed; 5
122122 (3) The name proposed for the city or incorporated town is 6
123123 proper and sufficient to distinguish it from others of like kind in the 7
124124 state; and 8
125125 (4) Moreover, that it shall be deemed right and proper in the 9
126126 judgment and discretion of the court that the petition shall be granted The 10
127127 proposed business plan sufficiently addresses the continuation of services 11
128128 which may include without limitation: 12
129129 (A) Police services; 13
130130 (B) Fire services; 14
131131 (C) Utilities; and 15
132132 (D) Trash services. 16
133133 (b)(1) The order shall be signed and delivered by the court Secretary 17
134134 of State, together with the petition and the map or plat, to the recorder of 18
135135 the county, whose duty it shall be to record it as soon as possible in the 19
136136 proper book or records and to file and preserve in his or her office the 20
137137 original papers, having certified thereon that it has been properly recorded. 21
138138 (2)(A) It shall also be the duty of the recorder to make out and 22
139139 certify, under his or her official seal, two (2) transcripts of the record. 23
140140 (B) The recorder shall forward one (1) copy to the 24
141141 Secretary of State and deliver one (1) copy to the agent of the petitioners, 25
142142 with a certificate thereon that a similar transcript has been forwarded to 26
143143 the Secretary of State as provided by this section. 27
144144 (c) A petition for incorporation under this chapter shall not be 28
145145 denied because the proposed boundaries of the municipality fall within more 29
146146 than one (1) county. 30
147147 31
148148 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 14 -38-107(b), concerning hearing on a 32
149149 complaint for incorporation, is amended to read as follows: 33
150150 (b) If it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or judge that 34
151151 the proposed city or incorporated town does not contain the requisite number 35
152152 of inhabitants, that a majority of them have not signed the original 36 SB525
153153
154154 5 03/19/2025 12:28:19 PM SSS103
155155 petition, or that the limits of the proposed city or incorporated town are 1
156156 unreasonably large or small or are not properly and sufficiently accurately 2
157157 described, then the court or judge shall order the record of the incorporated 3
158158 town to be annulled. 4
159159 5
160160 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 14 -38-117 is amended to read as follows: 6
161161 14-38-117. Effective date of incorporation required. 7
162162 (a)(1) The county court order of incorporation affecting territory 8
163163 under this chapter shall include the effective date upon which the petition 9
164164 for incorporation is granted and the municipality is considered organized. 10
165165 (2) County court orders An order issued under this chapter that 11
166166 fail fails to include a specified effective date in the order shall require 12
167167 using the date of the county clerk's file mark as the effective date for all 13
168168 purposes. 14
169169 (b) The effective date specified in the order of incorporation issued 15
170170 under § 14-38-104 is the official effective date to be used by any county or 16
171171 state official charged with recording, forwarding, maintaining, or 17
172172 instituting the order of incorporation. 18
173173 (c)(1) In the event of a circuit court challenge to the county court 19
174174 order of incorporation, the final order of the circuit court shall specify a 20
175175 change to the effective date, if any. 21
176176 (2) In the absence of a specific attestation, the county court-22
177177 ordered effective date that appears on the signed order of incorporation is 23
178178 the effective date. 24
179179 25
180180 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code Title 14, Chapter 38, Subchapter 1, is 26
181181 amended to add an additional section to read as follows: 27
182182 14-38-118. Rules. 28
183183 The Secretary of State may promulgate rules to implement this 29
184184 subchapter. 30
185185 31
186186 32
187187 33
188188 34
189189 35
190190 36