25-20-104. Agreements for joint or cooperative action — Authority to make — Requirements generally.

25-20-104. Agreements for joint or cooperative action — Authority to make — Requirements generally. (a) Any governmental powers, privileges, or authority exercised or capable of exercise by a public agency of this state alone may be exercised and enjoyed jointly with any other public agency of this state which has the same powers, privileges, or authority under the law and jointly with any public agency of any other state of the United States which has the same powers, privileges, or authority, but only to the extent that laws of the other state or of the United States permit the joint exercise or enjoyment. (b) Any two (2) or more public agencies may enter into agreements with one another for joint cooperative action pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Appropriate action by ordinance, resolution, or otherwise pursuant to law of the governing bodies of the participating public agencies shall be necessary before the agreement may enter into force. (c) Any agreement for joint or cooperative action shall specify the following: (1) Its duration; (2) The precise organization, composition, and nature of any separate legal or administrative entity created thereby, together with the powers delegated to it, provided that the entity may be legally created; (3) Its purposes; (4) The manner of financing the joint or cooperative undertaking and of establishing and maintaining a budget therefor; (5) The permissible methods to be employed in accomplishing the partial or complete termination of the agreement and for disposing of property upon the partial or complete termination; and (6) Any other necessary and proper matters. (d) In the event that the agreement does not establish a separate legal entity to conduct the joint or cooperative undertaking, in addition to the items enumerated in subdivisions (c)(1) and (c)(3)-(6) of this section, the agreement shall contain the following: (1) Provisions for an administrator or a joint board responsible for administering the joint or cooperative undertaking. In the case of a joint board, public agencies party to the agreement shall be represented; and (2) The manner of acquiring, holding, and disposing of real and personal property used in the joint or cooperative undertaking. (e) No agreement made pursuant to this chapter shall relieve any public agency of any obligation or responsibility imposed upon it by law, except that, to the extent of actual and timely performance thereof by a joint board or other legal or administrative entity created by an agreement made hereunder, performance may be offered in satisfaction of the obligation or responsibility. (f)(1) Every agreement made under this section prior to and as a condition precedent to its entry into force shall be submitted to the Attorney General, who shall determine whether the agreement is in proper form and compatible with the laws of this state. (2) The Attorney General shall approve any agreement submitted to him or her under this section unless he or she finds that it does not meet the conditions set forth in this section and shall detail, in writing addressed to the governing bodies of the public agencies concerned, the specific respects in which the proposed agreement fails to meet the requirements of law. (3) Failure to disapprove an agreement submitted hereunder within sixty (60) days of its submission shall constitute approval thereof. (g) Financing of joint projects by agreement shall be as provided by law. (h) In addition to other specific grants of authority as provided in the Arkansas Constitution and statutes and in addition to the formal cooperation authorized by this chapter, cities, towns, counties, and other units of government are authorized to associate and cooperate with one another on an informal basis without complying with the detailed procedure set out in this section. (i) In addition to the legal or administrative entities which may otherwise be legally created under Arkansas statutes, public agencies may create a separate legal entity in the form of a public body corporate and politic pursuant to: (1) Section 25-20-201 et seq. for the purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining a public library system; (2) The Consolidated Waterworks Authorization Act, § 25-20-301 et seq., for the purpose of constructing, owning, operating, financing, and maintaining a consolidated waterworks system; or (3) The Consolidated Wastewater Systems Act, § 25-20-501 et seq., for the purpose of constructing, operating, financing, and maintaining a consolidated wastewater system.