Current and former journalists, Freedom of Information Law attorneys, and other “lifelong supporters of FOIA” are working toward stronger public records laws through a new ballot question committee called Arkansans for a Free Press Participating in
The committee was established last week to support two government transparency ballot initiatives proposed by the government. Arkansans Demand Transparency (activity). Ashley Kemp Wimberly, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association, said a bipartisan committee, with each member having different connections, would lead to a broader reach.
“meanwhile, [FOIA] This is a right of all Arkansans and a tool that must be made available to those in our journalism community to continue their work,” Wimberly said. “This is extremely important to our association and to everyone in the media industry.”
The committee is chaired by Maurice “Buddy” King, a former journalist with more than 50 years of experience in the industry. Other members include Skip Rutherford, who has been involved in Arkansas politics for many years. Robert Steinbach, law professor and regular columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. James “Rusty” Fraser, publisher of the Stone County Leader. and Andrew Bagley, publisher of Helena World.
“I am honored to chair this committee, which is comprised of longtime supporters and friends of the Arkansas journalism community,” Dr. King said in a statement. “While some of us have very different political views, this is not a political campaign. FOIA is nonpartisan in nature and should be important to all Arkansans. This is a tool that must be put in place to preserve community journalism and democracy.”
The committee's 15 members will work with ACT to collect signatures and donations. Mr. Wimberly, Mr. Steinbach and attorney John E. Tull, who is involved in the new committee, helped draft the voting plan. Former state Rep. Nate Bell, who is involved with ACT, said he is excited to see more people join the coalition.
“[Arkansans for a Free Press] We’re just bringing more people to the forefront of this effort,” Wimberly said. “I think the only thing that’s going to happen is if we can bring in more people and reach a wider area, we’re going to move faster.”
Ms. Wimberly herself will serve in an advisory capacity, including informing the committee of the work ACT is already doing, explaining its goals, and leading a discussion on whether APA should fund the work. He said it includes:
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Efforts to vote
ACT's two proposed ballot initiatives aim to strengthen the state's public meetings and open records laws to ensure residents continue to receive information from government officials.
Although the Arkansas Government Information Disclosure Amendments and the Act are closely related, they both have different requirements. At least 72,563 signatures must be submitted to the Secretary of State's Office by July 5 for the measure to be placed on the November ballot. The constitutional amendment bill requires 90,704 signatures. A current estimate of the number of signatures was not available Monday.
action You'll likely establish policies and define phrases like “government transparency,” “cybersecurity,” and “public meetings.” It would also create the Arkansas Government Transparency Commission, a five-member group to help give the public access to public records and meetings.
Amendment bill It would enshrine the principle of government transparency in the Arkansas Constitution, limit the circumstances under which the Legislature can enact government transparency laws, and ensure that officials can sue the state if they fail to comply.
ACT, which was created after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the law into law during her campaign. special session In September 2023, it restricted public access to certain records regarding public security spending. Previous versions of the FOIA law added more exemptions to the law, but bipartisan concerns led to the change.
Lawmakers propose narrower changes to Arkansas' FOIA after bipartisan opposition
Although the Sanders administration introduced sweeping legislation that essentially watered down FOIA, attacks on public records laws have been going on for years, Wimberly said.
“It was like death by 1,000 cuts,” Wimberly said. “Any lawmaker will say, 'This doesn't do much, it's just a small change to FOIA.'” But he makes small changes to FOIA, and if he receives 30 or 40 invoices, They can have a large cumulative effect. ”
“The Law of the People”
While journalists may be increasingly concerned about the changes to FOIA because of the significant impact it will have on access to information, there is evidence that limiting government transparency is an issue that affects all Arkansans. Barry said.
“When you talk about government transparency, people get very passionate about this issue,” she says. “What we commonly hear from the far left, the far right, and everywhere in between is that it's taxpayer money and they have a right to know how it's spent. .”
Bagley said the people he's reached out to about the effort, regardless of political party, have been overwhelmingly supportive.
“Everyone agrees that people should have the right to know what their government is doing. [the] The government should not hide information or make it difficult to find,” Bagley said.
Reporters aren't the only ones using FOIA in Helena-West Helena, Bagley said. Bagley said he lives in a “very political” town, where several residents have asked local officials for information, and without FOIA everything could be swept under the rug.
“FOIA is for everyone, so we want everyone from potheads to preachers,” Bagley said.
Fraser said FOIA provides great checks and balances for governments and is “the best tool in our arsenal” for journalists.
“Every elected official in government supports, or will say they support, transparency in government,” Fraser said. “How many of them are lying? They're all close together.”
Mr. Bagley and Mr. Fraser have published articles exclusively using FOIA for many years. Bagley said he exposed several broken security cameras to a local school district, and Fraser said he helped save a surgeon's career.
“If it’s political in nature, whether it’s the far left or the far right, [Arkansas] The Press Association will not be involved,” Wimberly said. “This is simply about protecting the Freedom of Information Act, which is one of the most powerful freedom of information laws in this country, and making sure that we preserve what we have.”
