SUBTITLE I.
THE
COMMISSION
Section 101.1.
NAME OF THE COMMISSION. The name of the Commission
shall be "Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission"
("Commission").
Section 101.2.
SEAL OF COMMISSION. The Commission shall have a seal.
The Commission Secretary shall have possession of the seal.
Section 101.3.
OFFICE OF
COMMISSION. The administrative office of the Commission shall be
in the city of Little Rock, State of Arkansas. The Commission may have branch
offices at such other place Or places as it may from time to time
designate.
Section 101.4.
NUMBER AND QUALIFICATION.
The Commission shall consist of nine (9) members, residents and
electors of the State of Arkansas, to be appointed by the Governor with the
advice and consent of the Senate of the Arkansas General Assembly. At least two
(2) members shall reside in each congressional district as existed on August 1,
1985. The term of office shall be for seven (7) years.
Section 101.5.
PROHIBITED
ACTIVITIES. No member of the Commission, including the Secretary
shall:
A. Use his position to secure special
privileges or exemption for himself, his spouse, child, parents, or other
persons standing in the first degree of relationship, or for those with whom he
has a substantial financial relationship, that is not available to others,
except as may be otherwise provided by law.
B. Accept employment or engage in any public
or professional activity while serving as a public official which he might
reasonably expect would require or induce him to disclose any information
acquired by him by reason of his official position which is declared by law or
regulation to be confidential.
C.
Disclose any such information gained by reason of his position, nor shall he
otherwise use such information for his personal gain or benefit. (Ark. Code
Ann. §
21-8-304
).
Section 101.6.
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY. The Commission may by
resolution duly adopted, delegate to the Secretary any of the powers or duties
vested in or imposed upon it by law, rule or regulation.
SUBTITLE II.
OFFICERS
Section
102.1.
OFFICERS. The officers of the
Commission shall be a Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary. The Chairman and
Vice-Chairman shall be elected from the membership of the Commission and serve
a term of one (1) calendar year. The election shall be held at the last
regularly scheduled meeting of the prior calendar year. If elections are not
held at the last regular meeting, then the current officers shall serve until
the next regular meeting when elections will be held.
Section 102.2
CHAIRMAN. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the
Commission. He or she is authorized to execute all documents on behalf of the
Commission and appoint the committees of the Commission.
Section 102.3.
VICE-CHAIRMAN. The Vice-Chairman, in absence of the Chairman,
shall act as Chairman.
Section
102.4.
SECRETARY The Executive Director
of the Commission shall be ex-officio Secretary of the Commission, but have no
vote on matters coming before it. The Secretary shall:
A. Submit such recommendations and
information as he or she may consider proper concerning the business, affairs,
and policies of the Commission.
B.
Have the power to affix the seal of the Commission attested by his or her
signature to all contracts and instruments as may require the same.
C. Be charged with administering the
provisions of the Commission's code, rules, regulations and orders established
thereunder.
D. Be custodian of all
property held in the name of the Commission.
E. Be the disbursing agent of all funds
available for its use.
SUBTITLE III.
MEETINGS
Section 103.1.
REGULAR MEETINGS.
A.
The Commission shall have at least one (1) regular meeting in any three (3)
calendar month period.
B. At the
last regular meeting of each calendar year, the Commission shall adopt a
schedule of meetings for the next calendar year. This schedule shall state
date, time and location of meetings.
C. The Chairman in consultation with the
Secretary may make necessary changes in time, date, or location of meetings not
inconsistent with the law or subsection (a) of this
Section.
Section 103.2.
SPECIAL MEETINGS. A special meeting may be called by
the Chairman, or the Vice-chairman if he be, for any reason, the acting
Chairman, either at his own instance, or upon the written request of at least
four (4) members.
Section 103.3.
QUORUM.
A quorum shall consist of more than one-half (1/2) of the
Commission membership at any regular or special meeting for the purpose of
conducting -Commission business and exercising Commission powers and for all
other purposes, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time until a
quorum is obtained. When a quorum is in attendance action may be taken by the
Commission upon an affirmative vote of more than one-half (1/2) of the
members.
Section 103.4.
MANNER OF VOTING. Each member shall have one (1) vote
in all matters coming before the Commission. In all but unanimous decisions the
voting on all questions coming before the Commission shall be by yeahs and nays
and the vote of each Commissioner present shall be announced by the Chairman
and entered upon the minutes of such meetings.
Section 103.5.
RECORD OF
MEETINGS. The Secretary or his/her designated representative shall
record minutes at all regular and special meetings except in the case of an
executive session of the Commission. As soon as practical, but no less than
seven (7) days prior to the next regular meeting, the Secretary shall mail to
each member a draft copy of the proposed minutes of the previous regular
meeting in order that the members may review and make corrections to the
proposed minutes. Any draft minutes of special meetings held since the last
regular meeting shall be forwarded as soon as practical in order that the
members may review and make corrections to the proposed minutes. Upon
resolution of approval by the Commission, these minutes shall be the official
record of the Commission's action. The Secretary may, at the request of the
Chairman or if he/she deems it appropriate prepare a verbatim transcript of
meetings or portions of meetings to preserve the record in its
totality.
Section 103.6.
PERMANENT RECORD. The Secretary shall keep a
permanent record of Commission actions including minutes, transactions,
findings, orders, determinations, resolutions, rules and regulations in the
Commission's administrative office. The Secretary shall upon request certify,
photocopies as true and correct copies of the official Commission
records.
Section 103.7.
NOTICE OF MEETING; AGENDA. The Secretary shall provide
Commission members with notice of regular meetings by mail at least seven (7)
days prior to the meeting date. For special meetings the Secretary shall give
notice by means most practical. Each special meeting shall be at a time and
place which in the opinion of the Chairman and Secretary would allow the
greatest number of members to attend. Included in this notice shall be an
agenda outlining the items to be considered at the meeting, along with any
briefing materials.
Section 103.8.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND OPEN MEETINGS. In all
proceedings, the Commission shall follow rules set forth in Ark. Code Ann. §
25-19-101 et
seg. governing "Freedom of Information". All meetings of the Commission, formal
and informal, special or regular, shall be public meetings. The time and place
of each regular Commission meeting shall be furnished to anyone who requests
the information,, and the time and place of special Commission meetings shall
be announced to representatives of newspapers, radio station, and television
stations requesting notification at least two hours before said special
meeting. Executive sessions will be permitted only for the purpose of
considering employment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining, or
resignation of any officer or employee. No action of the Commission considered
or arrived at in any executive session shall be legal unless following the
executive session the Commission reconvenes in public session and presents and
votes on such action.
Section 103.9
APPEARANCE, PRESENTATION, OR SUBMISSION TO THE
COMMISSION.
A. Unless provided
otherwise in the Commission's Rules and Regulations, persons wishing to make an
appearance or presentation before or submission to the Commission shall notify
the Secretary at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting at which the
appearance or presentation is to be made or submission is to be considered. The
notice shall contain enough information as to convey the essence of the
appearance, presentation, or submission.
B. If the Secretary determines that the
appearance, presentation or submission is of such technical engineering,
scientific, or legal nature as to require detailed Commission staff review, he
or she may in consultation by the Chairman postpone the appearance,
presentation, or submission until the regular meeting following review by the
Commission staff.
C. If any time
frame requirement under this section creates a significant adverse impact to
any person, the Secretary or Chairman may waive the requirements.
D. This Section shall not apply to any matter
that is an administrative adjudication under the Arkansas Administrative
Procedures Act (Ark. Code Ann. §
25-15-201 et
seg.).
SUBTITLE
IV.
DECLARATORY ORDERS
Section 104.1.
DECLARATORY
ORDER-REQUEST. Any person requesting a declaratory order shall
make application as if requesting such action, order or permit. On the
application the applicant shall state "Request For Declaratory
Order".
Section 104.2.
REVIEW AND DETERMINATION. Upon receipt of request for
declaratory order, the Secretary shall promptly review and determination as to
the applicability of the laws of the State of Arkansas and the rules of the
Commission.
Section 104.3.
NOTICE OF DETERMINATION. The Secretary shall give
applicant written notice of his determination. A copy of such determination
shall be provided to members of the Commission.
Section 104.4.
APPEAL. The determinations under this subtitle may be
appealed pursuant to Title I Subtitle V of the rules of the Commission.
SUBTITLE V.
APPEALS PROCEDURE
Section 105.1.
APPEALS
PROCEDURE-GENERALLY. This procedure shall apply to all matters
where the Commission is required by law to make its determination after notice
and hearing including but not limited to the following:
A. Issuance of permits.
B. Determination of compliance
C. Adjudication of an order. .
Section 105.2.
REVIEW:
REFEREES DECISION. ■' Any aggrieved party may request
that the decision of a Referee, including Executive Director/Secretary of the
Commission, be reviewed by the Commission by filing written request for review
with the Secretary within ten (10) days from date of Referee's
decision.
Section 105.3.
COMMISSION INITIATED REVIEW. Within ten (10) days of
the Referee's decision, any Commission member or the Secretary of the
Commission may file with the Secretary a request for review before the
Commission.
Section 105.4.
COMMISSION REVIEW. The Commission review shall be
limited to the record before the Referee with such written or oral argument as
may be authorized by the presiding officer at the hearing of the review. The
review may be conducted before such members of the Commission as may be
designated, but the affirmative vote of a majority shall be necessary for any
Commission action.
Section 105.5.
JUDICIAL REVIEW. The Referee's decision, if not
reviewed pursuant to the rules of the Commission and if reviewed, the
Commission decision, shall constitute final agency action for the purpose of
judicial review. Judicial review of final agency action shall be as provided by
the Arkansas Administrative Procedures Act.
Section 105.6.
STAY PENDING
REVIEW. .
A. Any decision of a
Referee will be stayed pending Commission review.
B. Upon petition by affected party, the
Commission may stay any decision pending judicial
review.
SUBTITLE X.
FEES
Section 110.1.
FEES GENERALLY. . The Commission has the authority to
establish and collect fees for services that it provides. The fees and
procedures for collecting the fees are contained in the rules to the applicable
program under which the service is provided.
Section 110.2.
MISCELLANEOUS
FEES.
A. The Executive Director
shall establish fees for miscellaneous services provided by the Commission.
Services for which fees will be charged shall include, but are not limited to,
photocopying, handling and mailing, providing publications and processing
dishonored checks.
B. The Executive
Director will prepare and make available to the public a list of services for
which fees apply and the applicable charges. This list may be updated from time
to time as the Executive Director determines necessary.
Section 110.3.
FEES DEPOSITED
INTO WATER DEVELOPMENT FUND. All fees collected shall be deposited
into the Water Development Fund, unless the applicable law or the Commission
rules provide otherwise. The fees collected shall be used for the general
operation of the Commission