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Lawmaker to take another swing at your right to know
Rep. Mary Bentley is pushing for county governments, city councils and school boards to be more like the Legislature. The Perryville Republican points to the ease with which she can get together with or call other lawmakers to talk about possible legislation or pending bills. The ability to confer with other lawmakers out of the […]
A win for keeping the public in public meetings in Arkansas
Government transparency supporters in Arkansas won a skirmish Wednesday in a long-running battle over the public’s right to know. An Arkansas House committee, on a split voice vote, rejected proposed legislation that defined a public meeting as a quorum of a city, county or school district governing body or other state boards or commissions. House […]
Gutting Arkansas’ open meetings law
I spoke too soon. Yesterday, I published a hopeful opinion piece about legislation that, if passed, would enhance the public’s right to know enshrined in Arkansas’ 56-year-old Freedom of Information Act. One of those bills, Senate Bill 382, would define what a public meeting is. As I noted in Monday’s column, the FOIA doesn’t specify […]
Sunshine breaks through? Three bills cast a ray of hope
Just in time for Sunshine Week come several bills affecting Arkansas’ landmark Freedom of Information Act. Usually, legislative proposals involving the FOIA seek to remove more records or government activity from public scrutiny, not make things more transparent. In fact, a couple such bills have been filed in the current session. But I’d like to […]
Arkansas Senate narrowly passes bill to end state affirmative action programs
State Sen. Dan Sullivan’s bill to “end state-sponsored discrimination” squeaked through the Senate on Thursday by a single vote. Senate Bill 71 now goes to the House for consideration. The bill, which passed the Senate 18-12, prohibits state and local government agencies, including schools and universities, from taking into consideration race, sex, color, ethnicity or […]
Arkansas legislator says ending ‘state-sponsored discrimination’ is aim of his bill
Legislation that criminalizes government affirmative action programs in Arkansas heads to the full Senate after a panel approved it Tuesday. Senate Bill 71 by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Jonesboro would do away with programs that encourage state agencies, public schools and colleges to hire people of color and women. The bill would make it […]
Arkansas licensing board for home inspectors will be combined with two others under bill
A state Senate panel on Tuesday approved a bill that consolidates three real estate-related professional licensing boards into one despite strident objections from members of one of the boards. Senate Bill 354 would abolish the Arkansas Abstracters’ Board, Home Inspector Registration Board and the Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board and replace them with a single […]
Paper ballot bill passes Arkansas Senate
Arkansas counties that choose to hand count votes after an election would still have to use a state-approved machine to perform a preliminary count under a bill the state Senate passed on a 21-6 vote Tuesday. Senate Bill 250 also would require counties that move to hand-marked, hand-counted ballots to bear the cost of printing […]
Arkansas public notice bill gets delayed for fiscal impact study
An Arkansas House committee delayed action Wednesday on a bill that would allow local governments to publish certain public notices online instead of in a local newspaper. Republican Rep. Frances Cavenaugh of Walnut Ridge pitched House Bill 1399 as a cost-saving measure for county and municipal governments, which are now required to publish notices of […]
Public housing work requirement bill wins Senate approval
The Arkansas Senate approved legislation Monday that would require able-bodied adults to work, volunteer or train in order to receive public housing assistance. Senators voted 28-5 to send House Bill 1196 back to the House for final consideration. The legislation would require any public housing agency in the state to require able-bodied recipients of housing […]
Sanders attacks “radical left” and “woke” culture in response to State of the Union address
LITTLE ROCK — In the GOP response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders painted a picture of a nation living in fear because Biden and Democrats “have failed you.” Her roughly 15-minute speech was long on criticism of Biden and Democrats, but short on specific […]
Former Arkansas legislator Jeremy Hutchinson sentenced to almost 4 years in federal prison
Jeremy Hutchinson, the former state senator who pleaded guilty nearly four years ago to federal bribery and tax fraud charges, was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in prison. Hutchinson, 48, pleaded guilty in June 2019 to crimes in three jurisdictions — Eastern Arkansas, Western Arkansas and Western Missouri — resulting from a sprawling federal […]