§ 12-8-403 - Inquiry to determine abuse. - Arkansas Statutes

12-8-403. Inquiry to determine abuse.

(a) (1) Upon the request of the prosecuting attorney of any judicial district in which an affected municipality is located, the Director of the Department of Arkansas State Police is authorized to investigate and determine whether any municipality is abusing police power.

(2) (A) The investigation shall require the affected municipality to submit a certified record of all fines, costs, citations, municipal expenditures, and percentage of citations that are written for ten miles per hour (10 m.p.h.) or less than the posted speed.

(B) The records may be over a reasonable period of time as requested by the Department of Arkansas State Police, but in no event shall there be less than ninety (90) days worth of documentation.

(C) (i) The affected municipality shall submit requested records within thirty (30) days, unless an extension for submission is approved, and shall cooperate with all other aspects of the investigation.

(ii) Failure to comply with any requirement of this section shall result in automatic sanctions.

(b) It shall be presumed that the affected municipality is abusing police power upon a finding that:

(1) The amount of revenue produced by fines and costs from traffic offenses that are misdemeanors or violations of state law or local ordinance for which citations are written by the police department of the affected municipality occurring on the affected highways exceeds thirty percent (30%) of the affected municipality's total expenditures, less capital expenditures and debt service, in the preceding year; or

(2) More than fifty percent (50%) of the summons written for the traffic offense of speeding that is a misdemeanor or a violation of state law or local ordinance in the affected municipality are written for speed limit violations that are ten miles per hour (10 m.p.h.) or less than the posted limit.