The Arkansas Constitution of 1874 is the supreme law of Arkansas, overriding any statute, regulation, or local ordinance that conflicts with it. Adopted after Reconstruction ended, it replaced earlier versions that many residents viewed as imposed by outside political forces, and the framers built a document that restricts government power at nearly every level. More than a century and a half later, the 1874 framework is still in force, reshaped by dozens of amendments but intact in its basic design.
Rights Protected by the Declaration of Rights
Article 2, the Declaration of Rights, is where the constitution sets the limits the state cannot cross. Section 3 declares that all people are equal before the law and prohibits the state from granting or denying any right based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.1Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 2 – Declaration of Rights Section 24 protects religious liberty broadly: no one can be compelled to attend or financially support any place of worship, and the state cannot give legal preference to any religious denomination over another.2Ballotpedia. Article 2, Arkansas Constitution
Section 5 guarantees the right to keep and bear arms “for their common defense,” language that has given this provision a collective-defense flavor distinct from the federal Second Amendment’s framing.2Ballotpedia. Article 2, Arkansas Constitution Section 27 prohibits standing armies in peacetime and requires the military to remain strictly subordinate to civilian authority.350 Constitutions. Arkansas Constitution
The right to a jury trial is preserved in Section 7 for both civil and criminal cases. Section 15 protects residents against unreasonable searches and seizures, functioning as a state-level counterpart to the Fourth Amendment. If the government takes private property for public use, Section 22 requires just compensation to the owner.1Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 2 – Declaration of Rights
How State Government Is Organized
The constitution divides state power among three branches, each confined to a defined role. The separation is more than theory. A law that lets one branch grab authority belonging to another can be struck down on that ground alone.
The General Assembly
Article 5 vests legislative power in the General Assembly, made up of a Senate and a House of Representatives.4Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 5 – Legislative Department The same article also reserves significant power directly to the people through the initiative and referendum, so the General Assembly does not hold a monopoly on lawmaking. Members must meet residency and age requirements, and their primary job is enacting statutes and passing the state budget.
The Governor and Executive Officers
Article 6 places supreme executive power in the Governor. The Governor can veto legislation, but the override threshold is lower than in most states: a simple majority of all members elected to each chamber is enough to override, rather than the two-thirds supermajority common elsewhere.5Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 6 Section 15 – Approval of Bills – Vetoes Other statewide officers like the Attorney General and Secretary of State hold their own constitutional authority and do not serve at the Governor’s pleasure.
The Courts
Amendment 80 reorganized the judicial branch into four tiers: the Supreme Court with seven justices, the Court of Appeals, circuit courts, and district courts.6Justia. Arkansas Constitution Amendment 80 – Qualifications of Justices and Judges Circuit courts are the main trial courts, with broad jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. District courts handle cases of limited jurisdiction and cannot try felonies or hear equity cases. The Supreme Court has final appellate authority and superintending control over every other court in the state.
Term Limits on Elected Officials
Arkansas imposes some of the nation’s more restrictive term limits. Amendment 73, as later modified by Amendment 94, caps total legislative service at 16 years in the General Assembly, whether served consecutively or not. Time in the House and Senate is combined when counting against that limit.7Ballotpedia. Arkansas State Legislative Term Limits Initiative (2020) Partial terms resulting from special elections or reapportionment do not count. Executive branch officials are limited to two four-year terms in the same office.8Justia. Arkansas Constitution Amendment 73
Taxes, Spending, and State Debt
Article 16 controls how Arkansas collects revenue and spends public money, and the framers built it to be tight-fisted. All property taxes must be equal and uniform, and no class of property can be taxed at a higher rate than another class of equal value.9FindLaw. Arkansas Constitution of 1874 Art. 16, Sect. 5 – Property Taxation by Value Exemptions Property is assessed at 20% of its appraised value, and the constitution caps how many mills counties and cities can levy. Counties top out at 21 mills across all purposes, cities at 20. School districts must levy at least 25 mills but have no constitutional ceiling, though any change requires voter approval.
The state cannot spend money without a specific legislative appropriation, which keeps the General Assembly firmly in control of the purse. Article 16, Section 1 also prohibits the state from lending its credit to private individuals or corporations.10Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 16 – Finance and Taxation The practical result is a pay-as-you-go philosophy. The state generally cannot take on significant debt without public approval.
Public Education as a State Duty
Article 14 imposes an affirmative duty on the state to maintain “a general, suitable and efficient system of free public schools” and to adopt all suitable means to secure the advantages of education for its people.11Ballotpedia. Article 14, Arkansas Constitution That language has real teeth. Courts can measure state education policy against this standard, and a failure to provide adequate funding or resources can be challenged as a constitutional violation. The provision also authorizes the General Assembly and school districts to spend public funds on education for people over 21 and under 6, extending the state’s responsibility beyond the traditional K-12 range.
Who Can Vote
Article 3 sets four requirements to vote in Arkansas. You must be a United States citizen, a resident of the state, at least 18 years old, and lawfully registered to vote in the election.12Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 3 Section 1 – Qualifications of Electors The constitution uses the phrase “except as otherwise provided by this Constitution,” which means other provisions can impose additional restrictions or expand eligibility in specific circumstances. The General Assembly has statutory authority to establish registration procedures and election administration rules, but those rules cannot contradict the constitutional baseline.
Suing the State: Sovereign Immunity
Article 5, Section 20 contains one of the blunter provisions in any state constitution: “The State of Arkansas shall never be made defendant in any of her courts.”13FindLaw. Arkansas Constitution of 1874 Art. 5, Sect. 20 In plain terms, you generally cannot sue the state of Arkansas in its own courts unless the state consents. The General Assembly has created limited exceptions through the Arkansas Claims Commission and specific statutes that waive immunity in certain situations, but the constitutional default is absolute protection. This is separate from federal sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment and applies specifically in state courts. Lawsuits against individual state officials acting outside their legal authority can sometimes proceed, but claims against the state itself face this constitutional wall.
County and City Government
Counties and municipalities get their authority from the constitution, not from any inherent right to self-governance. Article 12 bars local governments from becoming stockholders in private companies or lending public credit to any corporation, association, or individual.14FindLaw. Arkansas Constitution of 1874 Art. 12, Sect. 5 – Political Subdivisions Not to Become Stockholders in or Lend Credit to Private Corporations
Amendment 55 established the quorum court as the legislative body for each county. A quorum court can exercise any local legislative authority not denied by the constitution or state law, including setting the number and pay of county employees, filling vacancies in elected county offices, and adopting ordinances for county governance. It can override the county judge’s veto with a three-fifths vote of its total membership.15Justia. Arkansas Constitution Amendment 55 – Revision of County Government The county judge serves as the chief executive officer of county government. Municipalities may operate under home rule powers and adopt local ordinances without specific legislative permission, but no local law can contradict a state statute.
How the Constitution Gets Amended
Changing the Arkansas Constitution is deliberately harder than passing a regular law, and the framers built two distinct paths.
By the Legislature
Under Article 19, Section 22, either chamber of the General Assembly can propose amendments during a regular session. If a majority of all members elected to each house approves the proposal, it goes on the ballot at the next general election for state legislators. Voters then decide by simple majority. The constitution caps legislative proposals at three per election cycle, and each must appear separately on the ballot.16Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 19 Section 22 – Constitutional Amendments
By Citizen Initiative
Article 5, Section 1, as added by Amendment 7, lets citizens bypass the legislature entirely. To propose a constitutional amendment, petitioners must gather signatures from at least 10% of the state’s legal voters. For a proposed statute, the threshold is 8%.17Justia. Arkansas Constitution Article 5 Section 1 – Initiative and Referendum The petition must include the full text of the proposed measure. The Secretary of State reviews petitions for validity, and qualifying measures go before voters at the next general election. Arkansans have used this power to make major constitutional changes, including the adoption of term limits.
Arkansas has no constitutional provision for calling a constitutional convention. Unlike many states that allow the legislature or voters to convene a convention to draft a replacement constitution, Arkansas limits constitutional change to the amendment-by-amendment process described above.