Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands

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Commissioner of State Lands
Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands Seal.png
Seal of the Commissioner of State Lands
Incumbent
Tommy Land
StyleThe Honorable
Term lengthFour years
Two terms[Note 1]
Constituting instrumentArkansas Constitution
PrecursorCommissioner of Immigration and State Lands (1868–1874)
Formation1868
First holderJ. M. Lewis
SuccessionAppointment (1868–1874)
Election (1874–present)
Websitewww.cosl.org

Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands is an executive position and constitutional officer within the Arkansas government which has been an elective post since 1874. Land Commissioners are elected to four year terms. The current state Land Commissioner is Republican Tommy Land.[2][3]

History[]

The position was created by the Arkansas General Assembly as the Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands in 1868.[4] had control over public works in the state, which eventually included road improvements. Under the Arkansas Constitution of 1874,[Note 2] the position became an elected office.[4] The highway duties were so important to the position it was referred to as the Highway Commissioner everywhere except official state documents.[6]

In 1929, the General Assembly passed a measure to abolish the position of Highway Commissioner as an elected office in response to corruption in the highway system. However, the measure did not have authority to abolish a constitutional office. The General Assembly instead assigned the highway-related duties to the Arkansas State Highway Commission, which became an appointed office.[6] , the incumbent office holder, transitioned to the State Highway Commission, and his sister, Belva Martin was appointed to the State Land Commissioner position. She won election in her own right in 1930, but did not seek reelection in 1932.[7] Martin was the first woman to seek the Democratic nomination for a statewide office in Arkansas,[6] and as of February 2018, she remains the only female to hold the office.

List of Arkansas Commissioners of State Lands[]

Term Name Party
1957–1981 Democratic
1981–1985 Democratic
1985–2003 Charlie Daniels Democratic
2003–2011 Mark Wilcox Democratic
2011–2019 John Thurston Republican
2019- Tommy Land Republican

See also[]

  • Flag of the United States.svg United States portal
  • A coloured voting box.svg Politics portal

Notes[]

  1. ^ Amendment 73 of the Arkansas Constitution imposed term limits on constitutional officers, including State Land Commissioner. It was passed in 1992, and took effect in 1998.[1]
  2. ^ The Constitution of 1874 is the current constitution.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ Pruden III, William H. (December 29, 2017). "Term Limits". Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  2. ^ A Brief History. Office of the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands
  3. ^ John Thurston, Commissioner of State Lands Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. Office of the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands
  4. ^ a b Staff of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture (March 22, 2017). "Office of Commissioner of State Lands". Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Goss, Kay C. (December 8, 2017). "Arkansas Constitutions". Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Staff of the Harrison Daily Times (February 21, 1930). "Man and Woman in State Race". . 11 (131). Harrison: The Times Publishing Company. p. 3. OCLC 18545584 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
  7. ^ Staff of the Associated Press (April 11, 1932). "State Political Notes". Hope Star. 88 (171). Hope: Star Publishing Company. p. 1. OCLC 23187909 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.

External links[]

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