Judges: WINSTON BRYANT, Attorney General
Filed Date: 7/16/1991
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Linda L. Beene, Director Board of Private Career Education 612 Summit, Suite 102 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Dear Ms. Beene:
This is in response to your request for an opinion on whether the Board of Private Career Education (the Board) has the authority under A.C.A. §
Although the resolution of this issue is not entirely clear following a review of the act, it is my opinion that the Board does have such authority.
The relevant provision provides as follows:
(a) Whenever the board or director acting for the board has probable cause to believe that a person, agent, group, or entity has committed any acts that would be in violation of this subchapter, such as fraud, misrepresentation, or unethical practices, the board or director acting for the board shall first give notice in writing by certified mail or in person, to the agency, or entity affected.
(b) The person, agent, or entity will have ten (10) days in which to respond to the notice of violation.
(c) If action on the part of the person, agent, or entity in response to notice is to seek to eliminate the violation, a further extension of time may be granted by the director acting for the board. Otherwise, the board may order a cease and desist of such acts after a formal hearing or the director shall have the duty to request the Attorney General or district prosecuting attorney in the county where the offense was committed to seek in a court of competent jurisdiction an injunction restraining the commission of such acts. [Emphasis added.]
The answer to your question turns upon the emphasized language above. That language gives the Board authority to conduct hearings on "any acts that would be in violation of th[e] subchapter." It is a violation of the subchapter to operate a private career school or solicit the enrollment of students residing in this state without a license. A.C.A. §
It is my opinion that both of these issues can be determined in the negative. First, there is an established doctrine of statutory construction called "ejusdem generis" which provides that where general words follow specific words in a statutory enumeration, the general words are construed to embrace only objects similar in nature to those objects enumerated by the preceding specific words. Cherokee Public Service Co. v. City ofWest Helena,
Additionally, had the legislature intended to restrict the Board's authority to hold formal hearings to licensees, it could easily have used the word "licensees" in the statute; that is, instead of providing that "whenever the board . . . has probable cause to believe that a person, agent, group, or entity has committed any acts . . . in violation of th[e] subchapter. . . ." the legislature could have easily provided that "whenever . . . any licensee has committed any acts in violation of the subchapter. . . ." The legislature instead used broad generic terms to include any "person," not necessarily a licensee.
Second, there is nothing to indicate that the legislature intended for the criminal penalty set out at A.C.A. §
For these reasons, it is my opinion that the Board does have the authority to hold formal hearings concerning unlicensed schools.
The foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve, was prepared by Assistant Attorney General Elana L. Cunningham.
Sincerely,
WINSTON BRYANT Attorney General
WB:arb