Arkansas government transparency advocates expect to begin collecting signatures this week for two proposed ballot measures meant to make government records and meetings more accessible to the general public.
On Monday, Attorney General Tim Griffin certified ballot language for a proposed set of changes to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. The decision came less than a week after he approved language for a proposed constitutional amendment to create the right to government transparency.
The nonpartisan Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT) has been trying since November to get Griffin’s approval for both measures. Griffin rejected the third iteration of the proposed act Thursday, citing a “misleading provision” that “was unidentified previously” and promising a quick response to a new submission with the requested change. He had previously rejected two earlier versions of the amendment and of the act.
David Couch, an attorney on ACT’s drafting committee, said he plans to submit the two certified ballot titles in petition form to the Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday. ACT will then be able to start collecting signatures from registered voters.
Proposed acts require 72,563 signatures by July 5 in order to appear on the November ballot, while proposed amendments require 90,704 signatures.
FOIA act language certified
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ACT formed after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law enacted during a special legislative session in September that shields certain state officials’ security records from public access. The group also reacted to Sanders advocating for several more exemptions to the FOIA that met bipartisan pushback and did not advance in the Legislature.
The ACT drafting committee initially sought to propose only an amendment but realized they would be best able to create enforceable government transparency policy by introducing an initiated act and an amendment that would support each other, they said in November.
The proposed act would mandate that records concerning the planning or provision of security services to the governor and other state elected officials be considered public and accessible under the FOIA after three months.
Another goal of the proposed act, the drafters have said, is to codify a definition of a “public meeting,” which has long frustrated both elected officials and members of the news media, and broaden the legal definitions of a “governing body” and “communication” among members of government bodies.
The proposed act would also:
- Define “cybersecurity,” “government transparency,” “minority party,” and “public notice.”
- Protect citizens’ right to appeal FOIA decisions and collect any resulting attorneys’ fees.
- Create the Arkansas Government Transparency Commission, with members appointed by state elected officials, to help citizens enforce their rights to obtain public records and observe public meetings.
- Create stiffer civil penalties for violating the FOIA.
- Repeal Act 883 of 2023, which allows Arkansas school boards more reasons to go into executive session and allows more people to have closed-door meetings with school board members.
ACT defines “government transparency” as “the government’s obligation to share information with citizens.” Griffin wrote in his first rejection of the proposed amendment in December that the term needed to be clearly defined for voters.
Griffin modified some of the language that ACT submitted in the ballot title, but the changes did not deviate from the group’s goals, Couch said Monday.
In his opinion certifying the edited ballot title, Griffin included a “cautionary note” for the drafters, saying the “length and complexity” of the measure might make it susceptible to a legal challenge.
“Any ambiguity in the text of a measure could lead to a successful court challenge,” Griffin wrote. “Significant changes in law often have unintended consequences that, if known, would give voters serious grounds for reflection.”
ACT sued Griffin last week over his second rejection of the proposed amendment, asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to compel him to certify that version of the ballot language. Couch said ACT will collect signatures for the version that Griffin certified while continuing with the court case.
Couch filed a motion last week asking the high court for an expedited hearing in the case. Griffin has until noon Tuesday to submit his response.
