Arkansas Auditor of State
| Arkansas Auditor of State | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Term limits: | 2 terms |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Constitution of Arkansas, Amendment 63, Article 6 |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder | |
 | |
| Name: | Charlie Daniels |
| Officeholder Party: | Democratic |
| Assumed office: | January |
| Compensation: | $54,594 |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 |
| Last election: | November 2, 2010 |
| Other Arkansas Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Secretary • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Exec. Director • Labor Director • Public Service Commission | |
Contents |
Current officeholder
The current auditor is Charlie Daniels, a Democrat, who was first elected in November 2010 and took office in January 2011. Daniels will first come up for re-election in 2014.
Before becoming auditor, Daniels served as secretary of state from 2003 to 2011. Prior to that, he was commissioner of state lands from 1984 to 2002. Earlier in his career, Daniels worked as director of government affairs for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives and director of the Arkansas Department of Labor under Governor David Pryor. He also served in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves Daniels attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and South Arkansas University. He is a widower and has two children.[2]
Authority
The office of auditor is established by Amendment 63 to Article 6 of the Arkansas Constitution.[3]
Constitution of Arkansas, Amendment 63
|
The Executive Department of this State shall consist of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Auditor, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, Attorney General and Commissioner of State Lands, all of whom shall keep their offices at the seat of government, and hold their offices for the term of four (4) years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. |
Qualifications
The Arkansas Constitution requires all elected or appointed officeholders to be an elector. That is, they must fulfill the state's voter registration requirements -- being a U.S. citizen, a resident of Arkansas, at least 18 years old. Felons and citizens judged to be mentally incompetent by a court are also ineligible to vote and, by extension, to hold office.
Other requirements to complete a voter registration form -- essentially, qualifications to be an elector -- are given by Amendment 59, Section 6 of the constitution.
Incumbents may not hold any other state, federal, or civil office, and may not have ever been convicted of "embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery, or other infamous crime."
Constitution of Arkansas, Article 19, Section 3
|
No persons shall be elected to, or appointed to fill a vacancy in, any office who does not possess the qualifications of an elector. |
Constitution of Arkansas, Article 5, Section 9
|
No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to the General Assembly or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this State. |
Constitution of Arkansas, Amendment 51, Section 6
|
(6) The mail voter registration application form shall include the following questions along with
boxes for the applicant to check "yes" or "no" in response: |
Elections
Arkansans elect their auditor for four year terms during federal midterm election years (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.). Auditors of state, like all Arkansas executives, served two year terms until 1982, when Amendment 63 to the Constitution of Arkansas increased the term length to its current level. The first elections held under the new system occurred in 1986, and every four years since.[4]
Term limits
Auditors of state, like all Arkansas executives, face an absolute limit of two terms in office.[5]
Vacancies
Per Article 6, Section 22 of the Arkansas Constitution, when the office of auditor becomes vacant "by death, resignation, or otherwise," the governor appoints a replacement to complete the unexpired term.
Duties
The auditor acts as the state's general accountant and supervises "all fund and appropriation balances of all state agencies,"[1] in addition to writing the warrants, or checks, used to pay the state's liabilities. The auditor's office ensures the solvency of each state agency and "makes sure each agency appropriation has a sufficient balance before the warrants are released."[1] It also acts as disbursing officer for some federal funds destined for state judicial or legislative actors, including judges, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The auditor also sits on the State Board of Finance, the Commercial Mobile Radio Services/Emergency Telephone Services Board and the Boards of Continuing Education for County and Circuit Clerks, County Treasurers and County Collectors. He or she is also an ex- officio board member of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System and the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System.
In addition to his or her other duties, the auditor also manages the state's unclaimed property division; it holds such property for three years before depositing that property in the state's general fund.
Divisions
- Unclaimed Property
- Accounting
- Administration
- Data Processing
- Warrants
Compensation
In 2010, the auditor received compensation in the amount of $54,594.[6] The salaries of members of the state's executive department, including the auditor, are determined by the state constitution. A majority vote of all legislators and a voter referendum is required to change the compensation executive officials receive. However, salaries are automatically increased every year in line with increases in inflation as represented by the Consumer Price Index.[7]
Contact info
Physical address:
1401 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 325
Little Rock, RA 77201
Phone: (501) 682-6030
E-mail: info@auditor.ar.gov
See also
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Arkansas Auditor of State, "General Information," accessed June 17, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Auditor of State, "Biography of Charlie Daniels," accessed July 7, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 63," accessed June 17, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 63, Section 1," accessed June 16, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 73, Section 1b," accessed June 16, 2011.
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2010, Table 4.11," accessed May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 70, Sections 1-3," accessed June 16, 2011.
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
