Opinion No.

The Honorable Chaney Taylor, Jr. State Representative Post Office Box 2721 Batesville, AR 72503-2721

Dear Representative Taylor:

I am writing in response to your request for an opinion on a question I will paraphrase as follows:

Are the term extension provision(s) of House Bill 2553 and Senate Bill 917 constitutional?

RESPONSE

In my opinion, the answer to this question is in all likelihood "yes," provided that the legislature extends the terms of certain appeals court judges as little as necessary to realize the desired public policy goal of having staggered terms of office.

Section 1 of these…