LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The tug of war playing out in the courts between Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ administration and the state Board of Corrections has a potential impact far beyond prison management into Arkansans’ wallets.
Dean Emeritus and law professor John DiPippa with the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law cautions that the conflict could reach into the operation of other state commissions. It could even end up costing the state money, as well as slowing down processes in the Natural State, he said.
“I think there are a couple reasons to be concerned,” DiPippa said. “The first is what I call the ‘Good Government’ reason.”
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DiPippa explained that the debate between the governor’s office and the board over the constitution’s meaning when it states the board’s powers “should never be diminished.” Here the question is about the government following the rules, he said.
The professor continued that the second reason points to the passage of a ballot initiative in 1942 to remove state boards from political influence. A component of this problem is the constitution does not state what these powers are, specifically, given to boards, only that they should never be diminished — an issue that may lead to the courts having to decide the powers and their limits, he said.