Arkansas Attorney General certifies multiple Freedom of Information Act ballot measures
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Multiple ballot measures intended to make the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act part of the state constitution were certified by Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday.
Griffin approved four ballot measures. Each addressed a component of the state FOIA.
The four were:
The certification means canvassers may now begin gathering signatures. After 90,704 signatures are collected for each ballot measure, they must be turned in to the AG for certification by July 5. Once the signatures are certified, the measure may appear on the November ballot.
The certifications were prepared by Deputy Attorney General Ryan Owsley over Griffin’s signature and addressed to David Couch and Jennifer Standerfer, two Arkansas attorneys who filed the proposals with the AG’s office. Couch and Standerfer were two of the three people who filed a lawsuit filed with the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, calling for a mandatory injunction on Griffin to make the attorney general either certify the ballot titles or substitute a more suitable and correct ballot title within three days.
Standerfer issued a statement Thursday that a further FOIA submission to the AG’s office, an act, is expected back Thursday.
“The Amendment and Act are a package,” she said. “They only work together. We’re grateful for today’s opinion, but the Committee cannot meet to determine next steps until then. We’re looking forward to reading tomorrow’s opinion from the Attorney General.”
Attorney General Tim Griffin certifies Arkansas Abortion Amendment ballot language
The first certified ballot measure of the group, The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment of 2024, was submitted to the AG’s office under the popular name The Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment. Griffin, in his certification opinion, had rewritten both the popular name and the ballot title.
According to a spokesperson for the AG’s office, changes to the popular name and ballot title may be made prior to certification. The text of the proposals, what will actually become law, may not be altered by the office.
The FOIA dictates the terms of openness for government operations and records.
A coalition to make the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act was formed after a special legislative session in 2023 made changes to the law. The stated intent of Arkansas Citizens for Transparency is to make the FOIA more difficult to change in the future.
Coalition wants to make Freedom of Information Act part of Arkansas Constitution
The Wednesday certifications came after a certifcation by the AG’s office on Tuesday of a ballot initiative to make access to abortion in Arkansas part of the constitution in specific cases.
The attorney general’s opinions may be found at ArkansasAG.gov.
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