LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Petitions for two Freedom of Information ballot initiatives are gaining traction in the lead up to November’s election—if they receive the signatures needed, Arkansans will be able to decide if they want to enshrine Arkansas’ FOIA law in the state constitution with an amendment…as well as make changes to the existing law.
The embattled ballot initiatives had previously been rejected multiple times by the Attorney General but were finally approved and began collecting signatures a few weeks ago.
At last year’s special session, the governor pushed a bill to place restrictions on the state’s Freedom of Information Law, “FOIA”—a move met with overwhelming bipartisan opposition.
A group called Arkansas Citizens for Transparency then formed to protect the state’s Freedom of Information with both a proposed constitutional amendment and an expansion of the existing FOIA law in an initiative act.
One of the groups members and a drafter of the proposed amendment and initiative act is Robert Steinbuch, a professor at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law.
Steinbuch explained the proposed changes in Arkansas’ FOIA law to KATV.
“It guarantees that if someone sues a government entity and wins, that they will continue—as the law currently says—be able to collect their attorney’s fees, only in those cases that they win. It provides extra privacy protections for Arkansans whose private information is caught up in government records, it clarifies the definition of a public meeting, it creates a penalty provision for individuals who violate purposefully the FOIA—not government money, it comes from their own pockets—and it establishes an alternative resolution method through a commission for Arkansans who have had their transparency rights violated,” Steinbuch said.
The enshrinement of state’s existing FOIA law in the constitution would also mean that any future changes to the law would ultimately be in the hands of Arkansas voters rather than the legislature.
“It’s important that we know what our government’s doing,” said State Rep. Matt Duffield, (R) District 53. “What are they doing with our tax dollars? What decisions are being made, why are they being made for us? Because, the job of government is to represent the will of the people. And that’s what we’ve got to preserve.”
Not all lawmakers are for the proposed changes to Arkansas’ FOIA, including Senate President Bart Hester, (R) District 33, who supported the governor in her push to place limits on Arkansas’ FOIA law.
“I think it’s going to be a really uphill climb for them to convince people there’s a problem, because there’s not, and then number two, actually get them to sign,” Hester said. “The common Arkansan doesn’t believe that someone should be able to FOIA 10,000 pages every single working day. We do have the strongest FOIA in the country—we do not think it should be abused.”
Hester and others argue that the proposed changes go too far, placing an undue burden on the state, unfairly favoring those submitting FOIA requests, particularly with regard to FOIA lawsuits against the state.
“I think the people of Arkansas understand that if we’re being sued, we ought to be able to have our plans and the information private until it’s here in court, just like the plaintiff’s side,” Hester said.
Both sides argue the other is advocating for big government.
“Every time they meet, they talk about a bigger government that can do more for them and serve them and as a conservative Republican I just reject that,” Hester said.
“The folks that have been advocating against this disclosure act and the disclosure amendment are seeking to defend big government,” Steinbuch said. “That’s not the Republican party that I know
Ultimately, the future of the state’s Freedom of Information is in your hands as an Arkansas voter.
The ballot initiative to enshrine FOIA in Arkansas’ constitution requires roughly 90,000 signatures, while the initiative to change the existing law requires a little over 70,000. The deadline for both is July 5.
