Arkansas group reacts to attorney general’s decisions on FOIA ballot measures; Senate President speaks on special session changes
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Attorney General Tim Griffin rejected a ballot proposal Thursday despite his approval on Wednesday of several measures that are intended to go with it.
It is the latest twist in the story of the Freedom of Information Act in Arkansas, and the latest efforts by Arkansans to restore parts of the law.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin rejects Freedom of Information Act ballot proposal
The ballot question committee working with Arkansas Citizens for Transparency on the FOI proposals decided Thursday night to try again and get that act approved.
The group is also in a lawsuit against Griffin regarding the ballot approval process, based on changes members said he has made to proposals members that impact the potential policy.
Former Arkansas legislator and GOP member Nate Bell is working with the group on the issues. He said the goal is to accomplish two main things through a constitutional amendment and act.
“It’ll make it a right to the people of Arkansas to have access to open government records and meetings,” he said. “The second thing it does it takes it off the table for the legislature to alter it makes it so it can only be operated by the vote of the people.”
This comes just a few months after the special session at the state capitol, partially focused on revisions to FOIA. Governor Sarah Sanders was behind the effort, saying more privacy in government records was needed for the safety and security of her family, and for fairness purposes with state legal matters.
Senate Bill 10 passed in September during that session, as the final version of the changes to the state Freedom of Information Act. It adds provisions to remove documents covering the governor and cabinet security arrangements from eligibility of FOIA searches. The legislature went through multiple versions of this bill to reach this final version.
Arkansas Attorney General certifies multiple Freedom of Information Act ballot measures
Bell said this was the final straw when it comes to what he feels has been an attack on government transparency for years.
Additionally, the governor and Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) have told media they would still consider further restrictions in the future, specifically to make up for what did not pass in the special session.
“I would support more restrictions on FOIA in the areas of fairness and safety,” Hester said Thursday.
Hester also pointed to his colleagues in the general assembly on both sides of the aisle who supported the changes, too.
“I think we have to understand and know what our government’s doing with our tax dollars, but there are certainly times we don’t need to know, or know right now what’s happening,” Hester said, specifically referring to documents related to the governor’s security detail.
Hester added that he is not concerned about the amendments or act, if it gets approved in the future, because he feels it has become too complex for enough voters to get behind.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult to get broad-based support on,” Hester said. “I think it’s a very hard issue to communicate to people.”
Bell, on the other hand, pointed to the Republicans and Democrats who have shown support of the measures and protecting FOIA since the special session.
“We have the most diverse coalition I’ve seen in over 40 years of political involvement,” Bell said.
The group will now need to collect more than 90,000 signatures from Arkansas voters on one of the approved amendments and will have to resubmit the proposed act to the attorney general for reconsideration.
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