Beebe calls halt to Game and Fish FOI move

— Gov. Mike Beebe says the Game and Fish Commission needs to halt a move to write its own more restrictive version of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Beebe said Friday he'd support ending state funding for the commission if it does not comply with established state law on providing information to the public.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported that a Game and Fish committee had advanced a measure that would allow the agency to block release of information considered embarrassing to personnel. The agency also wants 10 days to answer FOI requests.

Committee chairman Emon Mahoney told the paper the commission is an independent agency that can create its own rules.

Beebe says he's willing to "start the easy way" to bring the commission back into line.

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