§ 1-2-116 - Amendments to Code. - Arkansas Statutes

1-2-116. Amendments to Code.

(a) All acts enacted after December 31, 1987, of a general and permanent nature shall be enacted as amendments to this Code. No local, private, or temporary acts or provisions and no provisions appropriating funds shall be enacted as amendments to this Code. If the subject matter of any law is already generally embodied in one of the titles of this Code or can be appropriately classified therein, that new law shall be enacted as an amendment to that title of the Code. If it is not possible to classify the subject matter of a new law in an existing title, a new title shall be enacted containing the new law as a chapter or chapters, each chapter to contain a proper designation and descriptive name or heading, as provided in subsection (c) of this section.

(b) A new title shall be created only as a last resort and only when it would be unreasonable to include the new law in an existing title. If a new title is created, it shall be given a name and a number sequentially following that of the last title number. New titles shall be given names which are broad and comprehensive in scope so that each will accommodate the greatest number of new laws having related subject matter.

(c) The reserved sections, subchapters, chapters, and subtitles are for the purpose of accommodating future growth and expansion of the law, thereby permitting the insertion in the Code of new laws in their most logical positions with respect to existing related laws. When a new unit is enacted it shall be given a name, which shall be sufficiently broad and comprehensive to describe generally its subject matter, and a number designating its position within a title. The name is not to be confused with the title of a bill.

(d) A unit should be repealed, as distinct from amended, when an outright repeal thereof is intended or when the subject matter of the proposed new law is more than a mere amendment or revision of the old unit.

(e) When sections of this Code are amended, the descriptive headings or catchlines immediately preceding or within them need not be amended. When new sections are enacted, descriptive headings or catchlines need not be enacted to accompany them except that any desired changes in the section numbers contained in the headings or catchlines shall be made by specific statutory amendments of the numbers and new sections shall be assigned proper title section numbers by the law which enacts them.

(f) In the enactment of new laws, the plan, scheme, style, format, arrangement, and classification of this Code shall be followed as closely as possible with the result that the Code and all amendments to it will compose a harmonious entity containing all the laws of the State of Arkansas of a general and permanent nature.