A trio of bills offering new secrecy provisions for the State Capitol Police, some attorney-client relationships and Arkansas Community Correction sailed through a Senate panel Thursday.
The proposals -- approved by the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee in a series of voice votes without dissent -- are among at least 10 bills removing coverage of records under the 1967 Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. The bills have prompted transparency concerns raised by the Arkansas Press Association.
However, sponsors of the three bills -- Senate Bills 131 and 373 and House Bill 1469 -- said the exemptions they propose are needed to prevent abusive requests from newspapers, attorneys and would-be criminals.
The chairman of the committee, Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, is also the sponsor of SB131, which would exempt records related to the State Capitol Police. He said criminals could request security plans to plot an attack, and that new threats since the public disclosure law was passed a half century ago have led to the need for more exemptions.
Stubblefield also sponsors a bill that would exempt security records at public schools. He said that legislation is in the process of being amended.
"It's sad sometimes we have to be reactionary to things that happen before we take action," Stubblefield said.
Newspapers also have taken advantage of the records law, Stubblefield said, pointing to a December 1998 issue of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The paper ran a story on the front page and a graphic inside describing an escape route for then-Gov. Mike Huckabee that was devised through an old dumbwaiter shaft.
The Arkansas Press Association, which represents the Democrat-Gazette and newspapers across the state, is not concerned with a strict exemption for security plans, Executive Director Tom Larimer said.
Instead, the group is concerned with the overall language of the bill, which he said would create a "secret police."
Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, the Senate sponsor of HB1469, said that was not the case.
"Sometimes the press just don't use common sense," Rice said.
HB1469 would prevent the disclosure of an "Emergency Preparedness Manual" by Arkansas Community Correction, which runs the state's parole and probation system. Such a document does not yet exist, according to a department spokesman.
The Department of Correction, which manages state prisons, has such a manual and it has already been exempted from the disclosure. Dina Tyler, the spokesman for Community Correction, said the department wishes to create its own manual but wants to keep it secret to avoid information about security features at its facilities from falling into the hands of offenders or their families.
"It just makes sense and is good correctional practice," Rice said.
The third piece of legislation approved by the committee, SB373, prevents the disclosure of records of "attorney-client communication or attorney work product." Its sponsor, Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said attorneys had been using the law to request notes from rival attorneys working for public offices.
The Press Association is against all three bills, but leans closer to neutral on SB373, Larimer said. He only spoke against SB131 in committee.
Afterward, he said the current legislative session has filed an unprecedented number of bills to strip away provisions of the Freedom of Information law.
"It seems like it's open season on the FOI," Larimer said, referring to the law.
Stubblefield told reporters that he was surprised to hear of the number of Freedom of Information-related bills that have been filed in addition to his.
In addition to 10 new exemptions proposed by legislation, a bill by Rep. Bob Johnson, D-Jacksonville, would allow public agencies to avoid the three-day deadline to supply records if the request is "unduly burdensome."
He's also filed a bill that would allow local agencies to publish responses to requests online.
Asked if frequent criticism of the press by President Donald Trump was having an effect on attempts to change the records law, Stubblefield said, "It plays into this."
"Every time you turn on the TV, there's an argument between the administration and the press," Stubblefield said.
He added that he thought public transparency is important and that his legislation was aimed at security, not newspapers.
A Section on 02/24/2017