Arkansas attorney general approves FOIA amendment title

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has approved the title of a proposed amendment to enshrine the Freedom of Information Act in the state constitution.

The proposal was put forth by Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT). The group hopes to get a constitutional amendment put on the ballot in November called the “The Arkansas Government Transparency Act.”

The law would enshrine the Freedom of Information Act in the State constitution. This comes after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders made moves to weaken FOIA last year.

Arkansas attorney general approves FOIA amendment title

Daniel Breen/Little Rock Public Radio

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday approved language of an amendment title to enshrine FOIA in the state constitution.

AG Griffin rejects FOIA initiated acts, education amendment

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

A day after rejecting four proposed constitutional amendments affecting the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Attorney General Tim Griffin on Tuesday (Jan. 9) also rejected four initiated act proposals tied to FOIA as well as a proposed education amendment.

Arkansas Citizens for Transparency, the advocacy group seeking to get the FOIA measures on the November 2024 ballot were stymied again by Griffin, who cited problems with the four proposals.

“Having reviewed the text of your proposed constitutional amendment, as well as your proposed popular name and ballot title, I must reject your popular name and ballot title due to the following problem,” he said.

AG Griffin rejects FOIA initiated acts, education amendment

Third proposed Arkansas government transparency amendment submitted to AG

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Proposed ballot language that would make government transparency a constitutional right in Arkansas still lacks clarity and is unfit for a statewide vote, Attorney General Tim Griffin wrote in a Monday opinion.

In response, the nonpartisan Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT) submitted another draft to Griffin’s office Monday evening.

ACT proposed a second iteration of the amendment Dec. 20 after Griffin rejected an earlier attempt. The group submitted four potential ballot titles:

• The Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment

• The Arkansas Government Openness Amendment

• The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment

• The Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Amendment

Third proposed Arkansas government transparency amendment submitted to AG

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin speaks alongside Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in this file photo.

Arkansas Attorney General rejects FOIA amendment

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin rejected a group's first attempt to get a constitutional amendment strengthening open records laws on the 2024 ballot.

An organization called Arkansas Citizens for Transparency is trying to get an amendment on the ballot in 2024 which would enshrine the Freedom of Information Act in the state constitution.

Arkansas has some of the strongest FOIA laws in the nation. This year, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders failed to roll back the law. She said its broadness jeopardized her safety and wanted to significantly alter it. The plan received massive bipartisan backlash. Sanders was able to pass a piece of compromise legislation exempting her travel information from FOIA.

Arkansas Attorney General rejects FOIA amendment

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

Attorney General Tim Griffin rejected a ballot proposal Monday to enshrine FOIA in the state constitution.

Citizen-initiated government transparency act proposal submitted to Arkansas Attorney General

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas government transparency advocates proposed a ballot measure on Monday that would define a public meeting and create a special body to help citizens denied access to public records.

Arkansas Citizens for Transparency submitted a proposed ballot title and popular name for the “Arkansas Government Transparency Act,” a companion to a proposed constitutional amendment submitted last week that would create a right to government transparency.

Attorney General Tim Griffin has until Dec. 11 to approve or reject the amendment ballot title and until Dec. 18 to approve or reject the proposed citizen-initiated act.

Citizen-initiated government transparency act proposal submitted to Arkansas Attorney General

Michael Hibblen/KUAR News

A proposed ballot measure would seek to strengthen Arkansas' open records laws.

FOIA transparency advocates submit constitutional amendment to AG; initiated act to follow

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas Citizens for Transparency, a ballot title group seeking to imbed a Freedom of Information Act into the state constitution and state statute, submitted a draft of their constitutional amendment proposal to Attorney General Tim Griffin on Monday (Nov. 27).

ACT said the amendment submitted for AG review does three things:

• Creates an Arkansas citizen’s right to government transparency;

• Requires a law making government business less transparent to pass through approval by the people of Arkansas; and

• Allows the state of Arkansas to be sued in state court for failure to comply with Arkansas government transparency laws.

Read a copy of the proposed amendment here.

FOIA transparency advocates submit constitutional amendment to AG; initiated act to follow

Arkansas transparency group unveils new drafts for FOIA constitutional amendment, initiated act

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

The government transparency group hoping to enshrine the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act in the state Constitution released a second draft of a proposed amendment with an accompanying citizen-initiated act Monday.

Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT) unveiled its first draft of the proposed amendment last month, with the goal of qualifying for the 2024 statewide ballot. The nonpartisan group formed after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders advocated for several exemptions to the FOIA and signed one into law after a special legislative session in September.

The seven members of ACT’s drafting committee realized they could better achieve their goals of creating enforceable government transparency policy by proposing an act as well as an amendment, they said in a statement Tuesday.

Arkansas transparency group unveils new drafts for FOIA constitutional amendment, initiated act

Jacob Kauffman/Little Rock Public Radio