Opinion ID: 1661836
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Act 1898 City of Bigelow

Text: The circuit court's order relating to Act 1898 and the City of Bigelow was entered on May 19, 2006. The court stayed its order pending appeal on June 1, 2006. Wilson's notice of appeal was filed on June 9, 2006. The circuit court's order denied Wilson's request for a declaratory judgment that Act 1898 was special and local legislation. Thus, the circuit court's order effectively lifted the temporary restraining order against disbursement of the funds under Act 1898 and denied the prayer for a permanent injunction. No final order has been entered in this case, as this court has already discussed in this opinion. Our rules, however, provide for an interlocutory appeal from an order that dissolves or refuses injunctive relief. See Ark. R.App. P.-Civ. 2(a)(6) (2006); see also, AJ & K Operating Co. v. Smith, 355 Ark. 510, 140 S.W.3d 475 (2004). The circuit court's order relating to Act 1898 and the City of Bigelow was timely appealed and falls squarely within the category of such an interlocutory appeal. We, therefore, conclude that this appeal is properly before us for review. The City of Bigelow points to the following specific factual findings made by the circuit court, which are not disputed in this appeal: (a) Bigelow is located approximately: one mile from the Arkansas River, ten miles from the City of Perryville, ten miles from the City of Conway, eight miles from Wye Mountain, fifteen miles from the city of Maumelle, and twenty miles from the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock; Affidavit of Lorrie Kirk, hereinafter, Kirk Aff., attached to Bigelow's Motion for Summary Judgment as Exhibit A, para. 5; Map of Arkansas Highways, attached to Bigelow's Motion for Summary Judgment as hereto as Exhibit B, grid D-5; (b) Bigelow maintains a park, known as Bigelow Park; Kirk aff., para. 12; (c) in visiting Bigelow Park, people must travel to and through Bigelow, including traveling on its city streets; Id., para. 12; (d) the infrastructure of Bigelow, including, but not limited to, its streets, drainage ditches, has declined over the years and is in need of repair and maintenance; Id., para. 9; and (e) Bigelow's budget is insufficient to meet its infrastructure, sewer and street needs. Id., para. 14. The circuit court then specifically found in its order: Safe travel and tourism are legitimate state purposes, and appropriating funds to municipalities to maintain streets is rationally related to those purposes. The reasons for applying Act 1898 to Bigelow, as opposed to some other area, are rational. Bigelow is uniquely situated, geographically speaking, by being close to Wye Mountain and having a park which draws visitors from the area and the state as a whole. Visitors to Bigelow Park must travel in or through Bigelow; and visitors to Wye Mountain, in many instances, must do the same. Therefore, it is rational and conceivable that the General Assembly, desiring to promote tourism and safe travel, provided funds for infrastructure and street improvements directly to the city. Wilson, on the other hand, urges that the circuit court erred in holding that Act 1898 of 2005 was constitutional. He notes that Act 1898 provides for the appropriation of $400,000 to the City of Bigelow for infrastructure, sewer, and streets but asserts that there is absolutely no legitimate reason for selecting the City of Bigelow for special treatment in the form of $400,000 in taxpayer funds for these purposes. [4] He claims that while the circuit court's order addressed the benefits of infrastructure, sewer, and streets and why Bigelow has these needs, the court's order does not address why treating Bigelow specially was legitimate and rational. Further, he notes that the circuit court stated in its order that Act 1898 did not amount to special, localized treatment for Bigelow because Bigelow has a park, a football team and school, and a civic center; because it has hosted the state basketball championships; and because its infrastructure, sewer, and streets have declined as a result. According to Wilson, the circuit court's rationale could apply to many Arkansas cities, towns, townships, or communities. Our standard of review for purposes of this appeal is clear. Both Wilson and the City of Bigelow filed motions for summary judgment, which resulted in the court's order of May 19, 2006. The facts of this case, as already stated, are not in dispute. In matters of constitutional interpretation, such as we have before us, we conduct a de novo review of the circuit court's interpretation. See, e.g., El-Farra v. Sayyed, 365 Ark. 209, 226 S.W.3d 792 (2006). Amendment 14 to the Arkansas Constitution provides: The General Assembly shall not pass any local or special act. Ark. Const. amend. 14. We have differentiated that `special' legislation arbitrarily separates some person, place, or thing, while `local' legislation arbitrarily applies to one geographic division of the state to the exclusion of the rest of the state. McCutchen v. Huckabee, 328 Ark. 202, 208, 943 S.W.2d 225, 227 (citing Fayetteville Sch. Dist. No. 1 v. Arkansas State Bd. of Educ., 313 Ark. 1, 852 S.W.2d 122 (1993)). With regard to a challenge under Amendment 14, this court has also said: [T]his court has repeatedly held that merely because a statute ultimately affects less than all of the state's territory does not necessarily render it local or special legislation. Fayetteville, supra ; City of Little Rock v. Waters, 303 Ark. 363, 797 S.W.2d 426 (1990). Instead, we have consistently held that an act of the General Assembly that applies to only a portion of this state is constitutional if the reason for limiting the act to one area is rationally related to the purposes of that act. Fayetteville, supra ; Owen [ v. Dalton ], supra [296 Ark. 351, 757 S.W.2d 921 (1988)]; Board of Trustees v. City of Little Rock, 295 Ark. 585, 750 S.W.2d 950 (1988); Streight v. Ragland, 280 Ark. 206, 655 S.W.2d 459 (1983). Of particular interest, is Phillips v. Giddings, 278 Ark. 368, 646 S.W.2d 1 (1983), where we clarified that although there may be a legitimate purpose for passing the act, it is the classification, or the decision to apply that act to only one area of the state, that must be rational. McCutchen, 328 Ark. at 208-09, 943 S.W.2d at 227-28. In McCutchen, supra , we further said that when making a decision as to whether there is a rational reason for applying an act to only one county in this state, this court may look outside the act and consider any fact of which judicial notice may be taken to determine if the operation and effect of the law is local, regardless of its form. 328 Ark. at 209, 943 S.W.2d at 228. We noted in that case that the purpose of Act 739 of 1995 was to provide funds for the construction of a multipurpose civic center (Alltel Arena in North Little Rock) that would increase tourism, recreation, and economic development throughout the state. We further recognized that in order to achieve those purposes, Pulaski County could well have been selected as the regional location for the center because of judicially noticed facts, such as the fact that Pulaski County is the most populous county in the state, because it is centrally located, and because it is the seat of state government. This court found that these reasons were not arbitrary or capricious. Because we acknowledged that it is not this court's role to second-guess the legislature, we concluded that the decision to construct the civic center in Pulaski County was rationally related to the intended purposes of Act 739 of 1995. In the instant case, Act 1898 applies only to the City of Bigelow. Thus, as was the case in McCutchen , the relevant inquiry is whether there exists a rational and legitimate reason for applying this act to only one community in this state. Furthermore, it is Wilson's burden to prove that Act 1898 was not rationally related to a legitimate governmental purpose. See City of Siloam Springs v. Benton County, 350 Ark. 152, 85 S.W.3d 504 (2002). In making this determination, this court may look outside the act and consider any fact of which judicial notice may be taken. See McCutchen, supra . The stated purpose of Act 1898 of 2005 was for infrastructure, sewer and streets. The circuit court recognized that possible reasons for selecting Bigelow to receive such an appropriation might include safe travel and tourism, which are legitimate state purposes. The court also found that appropriating funds to a municipality to maintain streets is rationally related to those purposes. Bigelow also claims that the tiered funding mechanism for roads and highways provides another rational basis for Act 1898. The city explains that the General Assembly funds many major statewide projects using a tiered funding system such as roadways, health care, and libraries. According to Bigelow, this system consists of (1) a major first-tier appropriation to a major first-tier entity such as the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department; (2) a smaller second-tier appropriation to the same entity or another charged with the same responsibilities; (3) a third-tier appropriation to the same entity or another charged with the same responsibilities; and (4) an appropriation by an individual legislator through the General Improvement Fund. Bigelow maintains that the fourth-tier appropriation may be used by individual members of the General Assembly to fill in the funding gaps left in their respective jurisdictions, so as to best meet the needs of their respective constituencies. This system, Bigelow contends, is a completely rational method by which the General Assembly may meet its legitimate public purpose of constructing, maintaining, and operating a transportation network in Arkansas. We are convinced that the reasons put forth to justify the $400,000 appropriation to the City of Bigelow for infrastructure, sewer, and streets could be advanced by multiple cities, towns, and communities throughout the state, as Wilson maintains. We are further convinced that no reason rationally related to a legitimate state purpose has been provided this court for singling out Bigelow for special treatment. Any community located in some proximity to a park or tourist attraction could claim comparable needs. If Act 1898 is allowed to stand, the result would be that Amendment 14's prohibition against special and local legislation would be swallowed by exceptions premised on safety and tourism. We are convinced that the people of Arkansas did not intend such an eventuality when they adopted a flat ban against special and local legislation by approving Amendment 14. In addition, we view the argument of multi-tiered road appropriations as little more than a grouping of various road programs without providing a legitimate reason for affording Bigelow special and local treatment. In this regard, one commentator on Amendment 14's history has said that prior to the overwhelming approval of Amendment 14 by the people of Arkansas in 1926, our State had employed piecemeal limitations through the legislature on local and special legislation, which, over time, proved inadequate to slow the pace of special and local legislation. Robert M. Anderson, Special and Local Acts in Arkansas, 3 Ark. L.Rev. 113, 114 (1949). In fact, editorials and articles published about the time of the passage of Amendment 14 showed that proponents of the Amendment were chiefly concerned with the rapid growth of special and local legislation and the diminishing amount of time devoted to the consideration of general laws. Id. at 114 n. 6. Initially, the enforcement of pre-Amendment 14 limitations on the passage of special and local acts was left largely to the legislature, which led to statements like that of Chief Justice Hart of the Arkansas Supreme Court, who said, [i]f the judgment of the Legislature must control in all cases, the amendment (Amendment 14) could serve no purpose, and the people might just as well not have initiated and adopted it. Id. at 115 (quoting Simpson v. Matthews, 184 Ark. 213, 216, 40 S.W.2d 991, 992 (1931)). Certainly, our case law supports that conclusion. See, e.g., Weiss v. Geisbauer, 363 Ark. 508, 215 S.W.3d 628 (2005) (no rational basis existed for giving only Mississippi River border cities preferential tax treatment); Humphrey v. Thompson, 222 Ark. 884, 263 S.W.2d 716 (1954) (no justification or special need existed for appropriating funds to establish a vocational-technical school in only one county). We hold that the circuit court erred in determining that Act 1898 was constitutional. We reverse the order of the circuit court and remand for entry of an order consistent with this opinion. Dismissed without prejudice in part; reversed and remanded in part. HANNAH, C.J., concurs in part and dissents in part. DICKEY, J., not participating.