Allport dissolution

The Senate approved a bill aimed at prodding Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office to file a lawsuit to dissolve the small community of Allport in Lonoke County.

The Senate voted 31-2 to approve House Bill 1627 by Rep. Richard Womack, R-Arkadelphia, sending the bill to the governor.

The bill would enable the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee to require the attorney general to appear before the committee to explain if the office does not ask a court to dissolve a municipal corporation as required under state law within 30 days of the receipt of a notification from the audit committee. It also would allow the audit committee to recommend measures to the budget committee or other committees to address the failure of the attorney general to file pleadings.

Act 712 of 2017 — sponsored by now-Senate President Pro Tempore Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana — created a procedure for the revocation of a municipal corporation that doesn’t comply with state municipal accounting law.

In mid-September, the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee voted to begin the process of revoking Allport’s charter under Act 712. The committee authorized the notification of the attorney general and the governor. Act 712 requires the attorney general’s office, based on that notification, to file pleadings in the 6th Judicial Circuit.

Rutledge spokeswoman Amanda Priest said Monday night that the attorney general’s office has been negotiating with Allport and discussed with the bill’s sponsors about “concerns and possible amendments.”

“It is unfortunate that the Senate pushed through a potentially unconstitutional bill in its attempt to take the unprecedented step of eliminating this small town,” Priest said in a written statement. “The Attorney General is determining the appropriate next steps.”