Transparency? Not so much

Scott Loftis

If you read this space with any regularity, you’ll already be aware that I am a staunch supporter of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

This week, the FOIA needs all the support it can get. The law is the target of a bill, endorsed — “ordered” is more accurate — by Gov. Sarah Sanders, that is expected to be considered by state legislators at a special session in Little Rock.

In fact, by the time you read this, the special session might already be completed and the bill might be waiting for Sanders’ signature. That would be a disappointing development for our state.

The bill to be considered this week would create exemptions to the state FOIA, which was adopted in 1967 and is widely regarded as one of the best open-records laws in the country. Those proposed exemptions include certain records related to the governor’s security — and that makes perfect sense. But even that exemption goes beyond records whose release could lead to dangerous consequences. And other proposed exemptions — including one that would strip citizens’ access to information about the “deliberative process” that results in decisions made by state government agencies and another that would make it more difficult for plaintiffs who sue for access to government records to have their attorneys’ fees paid — are ill-advised and certainly don’t constitute the kind of emergency legislation that a special session is intended to address.

The Arkansas Press Association, of which I am a member of the board of directors, has issued a statement opposing the bill. That was to be expected, of course. What stunned me, on the other hand, were statements issued by the Republican committees in Pulaski and Saline counties expressing their disapproval of the bill.

“Our party platform states, ‘We firmly support transparency and openness at every level of government. Those elected, appointed, and employed in government work for the taxpayers and must provide public information when requested, in line with Arkansas’s Freedom of Information Act,’ ” said a statement posted to the Saline County Republican Committee’s Facebook page. “Why should we settle for less transparency in the reddest state in the nation?”

Why, indeed? And, by the way: “Because Sarah commands it,” shouldn’t be an acceptable answer in a democracy.

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@Carrol-CoNews.com