Attacking FOIA

Scott Loftis

If you read this column even occasionally, you’re likely familiar with my thoughts on the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Arkansas’ public-records law is one of the strongest in the nation and it’s an important tool not just for journalists but also for citizens who want to know what their government is doing. The FOIA goes a long way toward ensuring that public business is done in public view rather than behind closed doors — even if there are some public officials who seem to view it more as an annoying suggestion than state law.

With more and more regularity, however, those who support FOIA have to defend it from attacks by state legislators. Every time the Arkansas General Assembly convenes in Little Rock, it seems, there’s an effort to water down the law. That’s certainly the case this year. Two particularly concerning bills have been filed in the current legislative session. One — House Bill 1726 — would have allowed government officials to bill individuals requesting public records for the agency’s time in compiling those records. If you don’t believe that kind of policy would be quickly abused by officials who want to discourage the public — and those nosy reporters — from asking too many questions, call me sometime and I’ll tell you an interesting story about the Eureka Springs city attorney.

Fortunately, HB 1726 was voted down in committee last week after a marathon hearing. But another horrendous bill — HB 1610 — was approved by the state House of Representatives and referred to the state Senate. HB 1610 would allow members of government bodies to meet privately as long as there is not a quorum. So, for instance, four or five members of the Carroll County Quorum Court could meet to discuss county business with no notification to the press — or more importantly, to the public. Ostensibly, two or three members of that gathering could then meet with two or three more quorum court members. A whole lot of public business could get done in private under an arrangement like that. Just to be clear, I’m using the quorum court as a for-instance. With one notable exception, that body has always followed the law on public meetings. In fact, almost all of our local government bodies do. Almost, but not all, and I can only imagine how much worse that would get under HB 1610.

In addition to a robust public-records law, we in Arkansas are also blessed with a strong, proactive state press association. Executive director Ashley Wimberley and her staff have worked tirelessly during this legislative session on behalf of the state’s newspapers. By doing so, they’ve also labored on behalf of the state’s citizens and their right to know.

The press association has adopted the motto: “Democracy dies in darkness.” If that sounds like an exaggeration, it isn’t.

An attack on the FOIA is an attack on democracy. That’s no exaggeration, either.

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Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews.com