A bill in The Arkansas House of Representatives has passed to separate the Poinsett County tax collectors from the sheriff's office and has been referred to the State Senate.
House Bill 1050 passed the House on Jan. 22nd. The Poinsett County Quorum Court passed a resolution to separate the two offices, but it still needs legislative approval before it can go into effect.
Representative Dwight Tosh's bill will be heard by the State Senate's City, County, and Local Affairs Committee.
"I think all of us would agree that we need to separate these offices," Tosh said in front of the House. "We need the sheriff to sheriff this county. They need to be focused on public safety and not trying to collect taxes."
Tosh said that the practice of having the two offices combined dates back to the British.
"This started back in England around the 9th century, I believe it was," Tosh said. "When the American colonies came in and then became the states, they adopted this, where we had the tax collector and the sheriff were the same."
Tosh pointed out that 51 of Arkansas' 75 counties have separated the two positions. If passed, Poinsett would be number 52.
The bill was passed unanimously in the House.