Opinion ID: 2416855
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: legislation by reference

Text: Another argument presented regarding Act 31 is that it does not violate the specificity requirements of Ark. Const. art. 5, § 23, which provides as follows: No law shall be revived, amended, or the provisions thereof extended or conferred by reference to its title only; but so much thereof as is revived, amended, extended or conferred shall be reenacted and published at length. This portion of the Constitution has repeatedly been held to be inapplicable to an amendatory statute. See e.g. Hall v. Ragland, 276 Ark. 350, 635 S.W.2d 228 (1982). A comparison of Act 31 with Act 827 and section 17 of Act 26 reveals that Act 31 was an amendatory statute to section 17 of Act 26 that incorporated all of the language of that section in the subsequent reenactment. Section 17 of Act 26 levied a use tax in all counties which, prior to its enactment, adopted only a sales tax under Act 991. Act 827 subsequently added Act 26 sales taxes and provided exclusions to avoid duplicate taxation. In repealing Act 827, Act 31 again used wording identical to section 17 of Act 26, adding the tax rate to be used and references to Act 26 for the administration, collection and levy of the tax. There can be no doubt that both Act 827 and Act 31 were amendments to section 17 of Act 26 and both of the amendatory acts contained all of that portion of the act which was amended. Act 31 was, from its effective date forward, a valid amendment of section 17 of Act 26.