Chairman: Settle Spat Privately, Not Through New Laws

— A spat between two Northwest Arkansas legislators over a bill regarding illegal immigrants probably is better settled privately than through new legislation, a House committee chairman said Friday.

House Bill 1602, introduced Thursday by Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, would require custodians of public records to notify legislators within 24 hours when another General Assembly member seeks public documents about them. The bill would require the holder of public records to name the legislator seeking the documents.

Rep. Clark Hall, D-Marvell, said Friday he had not read the bill but added while the concept doesn’t give him “heartburn,” he doesn’t see the need for a law addressing a matter between Harris and Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville.

“I imagine it’s a personal issue they need to settle themselves,” he said.

Hall is chairman of the 22-member House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs, where the bill was sent Thursday for consideration.

“I’d rather do away with laws than add them,” Hall said.

Harris said Friday he introduced the bill so legislators would know which colleague had obtained potentially damaging documents about them. He said lawmakers can use such information to convince a colleague to quit fighting for certain bills.

“I want to stop the intimidation factor that has happened for years at the state house,” Harris said.

Harris said he felt “violated” after learning Madison received records from the state Department of Human Services about Growing God’s Kingdom, a state-subsidized preschool Harris owns in West Fork with his wife, Marsha.

Madison confirmed she asked the agency for the number of children at the preschool who don’t have Social Security numbers. She opposes House Bill 1008, a measure Harris sponsored to deny in-state tuition to university students lacking proof of citizenship, such as a Social Security number.

Madison wouldn’t say Friday if she opposes Harris’ public-records bill. If the House approves the bill, it could land in the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs, an eight-member panel Madison heads.

“I don’t think I should take a position on a bill that might come before my committee,” she said.

However, Madison said she has been an advocate for laws granting residents access to public records and does not want to erode transparency in government.

Harris said his bill would not bar legislators or any member of the public from obtaining public records. It only would require notification from state agencies on which legislator is seeking the material, he said. It is not a first step leading to more legislation denying access to public records, Harris said.

Hall said he has been in public office at the local and state levels for 28 years and has been “slapped upside the head” by the release of public documents. However, he said he understands the need for governmental transparency. People who run for office should be aware that public records about them are open by law to any resident, he said.

“We do not have a right to privacy,” Hall said. “Rep. Harris needs to understand that. If you don’t like getting yourself slapped upside the head, don’t run for office.”

Charles Schlumberger, a Little Rock attorney representing the Arkansas Press Association, said he sees nothing in the bill that would undermine the Freedom of Information Act granting access to public documents. He noted legislators still could obtain the public documents pertaining to their colleagues.

The bill appears to be the result of “a little fight” Harris has with Madison, Schlumberger said.

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