Arkansas § 14-86-603 - State agencies and commissions owning land to pay assessments.

§ 14-86-603. State agencies and commissions owning land to pay assessments.

It is hereby found and determined by the General Assembly that some state agencies and commissions owning land within levee, drainage, or other improvement or special assessment districts do not pay the assessments; that such land may be benefitted by the assessment levied by the district; that although public property used exclusively for public purposes is exempt from ad valorem property taxation under the Arkansas Constitution, the Arkansas Supreme Court has distinguished a tax from an assessment, stating that the word “taxes” refers to exactions laid by the government for the purpose of general revenues and that the word “assessments” refers to exactions laid for making improvements; and that state agencies and commissions owning land in these districts should pay the assessments levied by the districts because they benefit from the districts' improvements.