To Amend The Law Concerning The Members Of A County Depository Board.
Summary
HB1785 amends Arkansas law governing county depository boards, which oversee the selection of county depositories for public funds. Under current law, each county quorum court must establish a depository board made up of the county judge, the county treasurer and county collector, or the sheriff when serving as ex officio tax collector, or equivalent officials if county offices have been altered under Amendment 55.
The bill adds a specific rule for counties where the offices of county treasurer and county collector have been combined by law. In those counties, the third member of the county depository board must be one of the other elected county constitutional officers, and the quorum court must adopt an ordinance selecting that member. The measure is a targeted administrative change intended to clarify board composition when county offices are consolidated.
Impact
HB1785 updates Arkansas Code § 19-8-106 to provide a clearer method for filling the third seat on a county depository board in counties where the treasurer and collector offices have been combined. It affects county government structure and the administration of public funds, but does not change the basic purpose of the board or the county’s authority to establish it by ordinance. The bill primarily impacts quorum courts and elected county constitutional officers in counties with consolidated offices.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong, unanimous support for the bill in both chambers, with a 95-0 vote in the House and a 34-0 vote in the Senate on third reading. No committee transcripts are available, but the lack of recorded opposition and the unanimous floor votes suggest the measure was viewed as a straightforward technical clarification rather than a controversial policy change.
Contention
No notable opposition is reflected in the available record. The only substantive issue addressed by the bill is how to designate the third county depository board member in counties that have combined the treasurer and collector offices. Any potential point of discussion would likely have centered on local control and which elected county officer should serve in that role, but the bill leaves that selection to the quorum court by ordinance, which appears to have reduced controversy.