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Greenberg’s FOIA bill to be signed |
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Tuesday, 17 February 2009 |
A bill that would require a clear statement by the Legislature if it creates an exemption to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act is expected to be signed into law today, according to a spokesman in Gov. Mike Beebe’s office.
The Senate on Monday gave the final approval of the bill by Rep. Dan Greenberg, R-Little Rock. Part of Greenberg’s constituency lies in Saline County.
Greenberg says its passage will “save taxpayers money by requiring fewer resources to be spent on trials in court and legal research from the attorney general.”
The bill also will “alert both lawmakers and the public whenever FOIA rights are about to be modified and introduce more efficiency into our legal system by reducing uncertainty about the effects of the law,” he said.
Greenberg, who is serving his second term, said the current system creates “a great deal of legal uncertainty that leads to expense for taxpayers, and this bill would create a simple, easy-to-follow rule for legislative drafters.”
He noted that he found at least six Supreme Court cases that are results of ambiguity because nobody was sure, prior to litigation, whether FOIA applied. “Three of those cases resulted in the need for the attorney general to back and clarify via further litigation. This bill will eliminate further clogging of the courts that have to decide these questions,” he said.
Another other bill by Greenberg dealing with public information failed in the House on Friday.
It could have made elected officials’ criminal histories more accessible to the public. The bill would have allowed people to request the criminal history of elected officials, candidates for elected office or state agency directors. Greenberg says the information is already public, but is only available at each of Arkansas’ 75 county courthouses.
The bill would have allowed the release of an official’s guilty and no-contest pleas, as well as any pending felony or misdemeanor charges filed in the past three years. The bill, which was opposed by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, did not include traffic violations.
The House voted down the bill on a 33-56 vote, with 11 members not voting.
“There’s nothing that would be revealed by this bill the public cannot access already,” Greenberg, R-Little Rock, said. “The practical problem, as you may know, is for a person to collect this information at present, it would require someone to go to all 75 counties.”
In a letter to lawmakers, McDaniel noted that Arkansas is a closed records state, meaning that criminal history information is kept private. Convictions, as detailed in court records, can be accessed by the public, but a criminal history check — available through the Arkansas Crime Information Center — is not open to the public.
Greenberg’s measure would amend the law so “any individual, at any time and without limit, can request background checks on all elected officials, candidates for elected office and agency heads, which that individual can then distribute at will,” McDaniel’s letter said. “Such a law will convert Arkansas to an open-records state as to public officials.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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