Ark. Code Ann. § 15-71-111 (2026)
Procedural rules or orders — Hearing
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- The Oil and Gas Commission shall prescribe its rules of order or procedure in hearings or other proceedings before the commission.
- The commission's rules of order and procedure shall be adopted in accordance with the law of this state.
- The commission shall comply with the laws of this state and the commission's rules that are applicable to the commission's hearings and proceedings.
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- A rule or order, including change, renewal, or extension of a rule or order in the absence of an emergency shall not be made by the commission under this act except after an opportunity for a public hearing upon at least ten (10) days' notice given in the manner and form as may be prescribed by the commission.
- The public hearing shall be held at the time, place, and in the manner prescribed by the commission.
- Any person having any interest in the subject matter of the hearing shall be entitled to be heard.
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- In the event an emergency is found to exist by the commission which in its judgment requires the making, changing, renewal, or extension of a rule or order without first having a hearing, the emergency rule or order shall have the same validity as if a hearing with respect to that rule or order had been held after due notice.
- The emergency rule or order permitted by this subsection is effective until the date of the next regular commission hearing set to be held after the emergency rule or order was issued.
- In any event, it shall expire when the rule or order made after due notice and hearing with respect to the subject matter of the emergency rule or order becomes effective.
- Should the commission elect to give notice by personal service, the service may be made by any officer authorized to serve process or by any agent of the commission in the same manner as is provided by law for the service of summons in civil actions in the circuit courts of this state. Proof of the service by the agent shall be by the affidavit of the person making personal service.
- All rules and orders made by the commission shall be in writing and shall be entered in full by the Director of Production and Conservation in a book to be kept for such purpose by the commission. This book shall be a public record and shall be open to inspection at all times during reasonable office hours. A copy of the rule or order, certified by the director, shall be received in evidence in all courts of this state with the same effect as the original.
- Any interested person shall have the right to have the commission call a hearing for the purpose of taking action in respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the commission by making a request therefor in writing. Upon the receipt of any request, the commission shall promptly call a hearing thereon, and, after the hearing, and with all convenient speed and in any event within thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the hearing, shall take such action with regard to the subject matter thereof as it may deem appropriate.
History. Acts 1939, No. 105, § 12; A.S.A. 1947, § 53-112; Acts 2009, No. 1175, § 10; 2015, No. 906, § 1; 2019, No. 315, §§ 1226, 1227.
Amendments. The 2009 amendment rewrote (a); subdivided (b) and substituted “ten (10)” for “seven (7)” in (b)(1); subdivided (c) and substituted “subsection is effective until the date of the next regular commission hearing set to be held after the emergency rule, regulation, or order was issued” for “section shall remain in force no longer than ten (10) days from its effective date” in (c)(2); and made a minor stylistic change.
The 2015 amendment, in (b)(1), substituted “rule or order” for “rule, regulation, or order,” deleted “the provisions of” preceding “this act,” and inserted “an opportunity for.”
The 2019 amendment deleted “regulation” following “rule” throughout (c) and (e); and deleted “regulations” following “rules” in the first sentence of (e).
Meaning of “this act”. See note to § 15-71-101.
Case Notes
Constitutionality.
Provision in subsection (c) of this section authorizing emergency regulations without hearing is not violative of due process since no rule can be made in the absence of an emergency except after a public hearing on at least seven days' notice and emergency rule order expires automatically in ten days unless sooner terminated. Lion Oil Ref. Co. v. Bailey, 200 Ark. 436, 139 S.W.2d 683 (1940).
Emergency Orders.
Whether emergency for order existed was for determination of the commission and not the courts, so long as there is substantial evidence to support it and fraud is not shown. Lion Oil Ref. Co. v. Bailey, 200 Ark. 436, 139 S.W.2d 683 (1940).
Emergency shutdown order not void for failure to state that waste was being committed or was imminent and that an emergency existed, since order showed on its face that it was made in the interest of conservation, to prevent waste, and the commission was acting in an emergency, even though the word “emergency” was not used in the order. Lion Oil Ref. Co. v. Bailey, 200 Ark. 436, 139 S.W.2d 683 (1940).
Failure to Comply with Rules.
Issuance of a commercial disposal well permit was made upon unlawful procedure and was thus subject to reversal under § 25-15-212(h)(3) because the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission failed to comply with its own rules pursuant to subdivision (a)(3) of this section when it did not require timely proof of financial assurance under Ark. Oil & Gas Comm'n Rule H-1. Capstone Oilfield Disposal of Ark., Inc. v. Pope County, 2012 Ark. App. 231, 408 S.W.3d 65 (2012).