The only way lawmakers can restore funds that have been withheld from 43 municipalities is to expunge a vote they took in July to prevent the state treasurer from releasing the money, the attorney general’s office opined this week.

The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee last month directed Arkansas State Treasurer John Thurston to restore so-called turnback funds that had been withheld because the affected towns and cities had failed to file required audits of their water and sewer systems by July 1, 2024.

That vote had no legal authority, according to the attorney general’s opinion , issued Monday and authored by Assistant Attorney General William R. Olson. Thurston’s office requested the opinion after the Joint Auditing Committee’s vote in September.

According to the opinion, Act

See Full Page