Administrative Departments Generally

Ark. Code Ann. tit. 25, ch. 2

in effect

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-101 Legislative findings and purpose — Construction.

(a) The General Assembly declares that this act is necessary: (1) To create a structure of state government which will be responsive to the needs of the people of this state and sufficiently flexible to meet changing conditions; (2) To establish executive authority over those areas where executive responsibility presently lies; (3) To provide a reasonable opportunity to create budgetary and administrative efficiencies within an orderly organizational structure of state government; (4) To strengthen the role of the General Assembly in state government; (5) To encourage greater participation of the public in state government; (6) To effect the grouping of state agencies into a limited number of departments primarily according to function; and (7) To eliminate overlapping and duplication of effort. (b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for an orderly transfer of powers, duties, and functions of the various state agencies to the principal departments with a minimum of disruption of governmental services and functions and with a minimum of expense. (c) To the ends stated in this section, this act shall be liberally construed.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-102 Certain professional boards excepted.

Nothing in this act shall apply to state boards that license the professions of the healing arts under the following statutes: (1) Chiropractics, § 17-81-101 et seq.; (2) Dentistry, § 17-82-101 et seq.; (3) Medicine and surgery, § 17-95-201 et seq.; (4) Nursing, § 17-87-101 et seq.; (5) Optometry, § 17-90-101 et seq.; (6) Pharmacy, § 17-92-101 et seq.; (7) Physical therapy, § 17-93-101 et seq.; (8) Podiatry, § 17-96-101 et seq.; (9) Psychology, § 17-97-201 et seq.; (10) Massage therapy, § 17-86-101 et seq.; or (11) Veterinary medicine, § 17-101-101 et seq.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-103 Effect of act on preexisting rules, regulations, etc.

This act shall not affect the orders, rules, regulations, and standards made or promulgated before February 4, 1971, by any department, institution, division, bureau, board, commission, council, or other agency, the functions, powers, and duties of which have been herein assigned or transferred to a principal department established by this act. The orders, rules, regulations, and standards shall continue with full force and effect until amended or repealed pursuant to law.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-104 Type 1 transfers.

(a)(1) When any department, institution, or other agency, or part thereof, is transferred to a principal department under a type 1 transfer, that department, institution, or other agency, or part thereof, shall be administered under the direction and supervision of that principal department but shall retain exactly the same prescribed statutory powers, authorities, duties, and functions as it had prior to the transfer, including: (A) Rulemaking, regulation, licensing, and registration; (B) The promulgation of rules, rates, and standards; and (C) The rendering of findings, orders, and adjudications. (2) It shall exercise those powers, authorities, duties, and functions independently of the head of the principal department. (b) Following a type 1 transfer, the members of any statutory board or commission so transferred, and their successors, shall continue to be selected in the manner and serve for the terms provided by the statutes applicable to the board or commission as such statutes may from time to time be amended. (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this section, under a type 1 transfer, all budgeting, purchasing, and related management functions of any transferred department, institution, or other agency, or part thereof, shall be performed under the direction and supervision of the head of the principal department.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-105 Type 2 transfers.

(a) Under this act, a type 2 transfer means the transferring of all or part of an existing department, institution, or other agency to a principal department established by this act. When all or part of any department, institution, or other agency is transferred to a principal department under a type 2 transfer, its statutory authority, powers, duties, functions, records, personnel, property, unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds, including the functions of budgeting or purchasing, are transferred to the principal department. (b) When any department, institution, or other agency, or part thereof, is transferred by a type 2 transfer to a principal department under the provisions of this act, its prescribed powers, duties, and functions, including rulemaking, regulation, and licensing; promulgation of rules, rates, regulations, and standards; and the rendering of findings, orders, and adjudications are transferred to the head of the principal department into which the department, institution, or other agency, or part thereof, has been transferred. (c) Following a type 2 transfer, the members of any statutory board or commission so transferred, and their successors, shall continue to be selected in the manner and serve for the terms provided by the statutes applicable to that board or commission as such statutes may from time to time be amended.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-106 Type 3 transfers.

(a) Under this act, a type 3 transfer means the abolishing of an existing department, institution, or other agency and the transferring of all or part of its powers, duties, and functions, records, personnel, property, unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds to a principal department as specified under this act. (b) When any department, institution, or other agency, or part thereof, is transferred by a type 3 transfer to a principal department under the provisions of this act, its prescribed powers, duties, and functions including rulemaking, regulation, and licensing; promulgation of rules, rates, regulations, and standards; and the rendering of findings, orders, and adjudications are transferred to the head of the principal department into which the department, institution, or other agency, or part thereof, has been transferred.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-107 Type 4 transfers.

(a) Under this act, a type 4 transfer means the transferring of all or part of an existing department, institution, or other agency to a principal department established by this act in the following circumstances: (1) When all or part of any department, institution, or other agency is transferred to a principal department under a type 4 transfer, the board, commission, or other governing body of the transferred department, institution, or other agency is retained and shall continue to exercise its statutory authority, powers, duties, and functions; (2) The director of the department, institution, or other agency shall be nominated by the board or commission or governing body of the transferred department, institution, or other agency subject to confirmation by the Governor. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor; and (3) All records, personnel, property, unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds, including the functions of budgeting and purchasing, are transferred to the principal department. (b) Following a type 4 transfer, the members of any statutory board or commission so transferred and their successors shall continue to be selected in the manner and serve for the terms provided by the statutes applicable to the board or commission as such statutes may from time to time be amended.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-108 Reports, certifications, etc., to transferred agency.

Unless specifically provided otherwise in this act or by any operative law, whenever, pursuant to existing law, reports, certifications, applications, or requests are required or permitted to be made to a department, institution, division, bureau, board, commission, council, or other agency whose powers and duties are herein assigned or transferred by a type 2, 3, or 4 transfer, then those reports and certifications shall thereafter be filed with, and the applications or requests shall thereafter be made to, the principal department or agency to which assignment or transfer has been made.

Ark. Code Ann. § 25-2-109 Senatorial confirmation of certain appointments.

(a) Irrespective of other provisions of this act to the contrary, if the laws in effect on the date of the passage of this act required senatorial confirmation of the appointment of any board or commission member, or of the head of any agency or department of government, or of any head of a division of an agency or department of government, and that board, commission, agency, or department is consolidated or merged with a principal department under this act, then the appointments requiring confirmation shall be made as provided in this act with respect to all agencies merged or consolidated into a principal department by a type 1, 2, 3, or 4 transfer. (b) It is the intent of this act, with respect to all affairs of government which are under the administrative control or responsibility of any official of government whose appointment was subject to senatorial confirmation prior to the passage of this act, that the head of the successor department or the head of the division within the successor department into which the agency or program was merged shall be subject to confirmation of the Senate.

Source: Public.Resource.Org / UniCourt, Official Code of Arkansas Annotated, Release 78 (2020) (unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ar)URL: https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ar/transforms/ar/ocar/r78/gov.ar.code.title.25.htmlFetched: 11/8/2026