By STEVE BRAWNER
How can a Democrat get something done in Arkansas at the state level? Find a niche issue, gain the respect of people across the political spectrum, and work with stakeholders to craft a good bill that doesn’t try to do too much.
That’s what Sen. Clark Tucker, D-Little Rock, did with Senate Bill 227.
The bill clarifies aspects of the state’s Freedom of Information Act, first passed in 1967 and amended many times. Known as “FOIA” or “FOI,” it requires governing bodies including school boards, city councils and quorum courts to conduct official business in public. It also gives Arkansans access to government documents. It’s a favorite of journalists and open government advocates.
Some of its terms have been a little unclear. For example, the law requires those bodies to discuss public business in an open public meeting, but it doesn’t really define “meeting.”
Tucker’s bill remedies that by defining a public meeting as the formal gathering of a governing body, in person or remotely. It defines other relevant terms such as “deliberation,” which is when two or more members of a governing body exchange information about a subject on which the governing body might take action. That kind of thing must be done in a public meeting. It defines informal meetings as those where at least two members gather outside of a public meeting. It’s long been established that these are OK, as long as the members don’t deliberate about official business.
Meanwhile, the bill states that public meetings would not be required when governing bodies discuss settlements in a court-ordered alternative dispute resolution process such as mediation.
It also would allow governing bodies to enter executive session – where members meet privately in the middle of a public meeting – to discuss a response to a cybersecurity attack. That kind of thing shouldn’t be discussed in public where the bad guys can watch and might learn how much the governing body is willing to pay. In 2022, hackers attacked the Little Rock School District’s computer network with ransomware and then increased their demands after the school board talked about it in a public meeting.
The bill also states that a circuit court can invalidate a governing body’s actions if they are the direct or indirect result of a violation.
Tucker’s bill passed the Senate 34-1 Monday after previously passing the House, 87-5. An earlier version passed the Senate, 30-2. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office has said she will sign it.
Passing the legislation is impressive considering Tucker, an attorney, is one of only six Democrats in the 35-member Senate. The percentage of Democrats in the House is similar.
Credit also belongs to Senate and House Republicans for passing a bill sponsored by a Democrat. That kind of thing doesn’t happen in the U.S. Congress, where both parties reject virtually every bill offered by the other side.
Tucker passed the bill after becoming a leader in a broad coalition that opposed Gov. Sanders’ attempts to change the Freedom of Information Act in a special session in 2023. That group spanned the political spectrum. After successfully pressuring the Legislature to limit changes to the law, the coalition tried unsuccessfully to pass a constitutional amendment.
He told a House committee he crafted the bill after working with a Freedom of Information Act working group created by Attorney General Tim Griffin, as reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He said he worked with the Arkansas Press Association, government transparency advocates and others.
There will be limits to what Tucker can accomplish, no matter how well he does his job. He’s still a Democrat in a Legislature that is about 80% Republican.
The point is that – at the state level, at least in Arkansas and at least currently – a member of a minority party can get something done if they follow his formula: Find a niche issue, gain the respect of people across the political spectrum, and work with stakeholders to craft a good bill that doesn’t try to do too much.
Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 18 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.