Arkansas Freedom of Information Act

From Sunshine Review

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

State sunshine
State laws
How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act was established in 1967 in Arkansas. It is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies.

The Arkansas Open Meetings Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

Statues 25-19-101 through 25-19-109 define these transparency laws.

Arkansas's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Arkansas #8 in the nation with an overall percentage of 58.40%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Arkansas 72 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "C", and a ranking of 7 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Arkansas's law as the 4th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "B-".[3]

Public Records

The legislative intent of the Freedom of Information Act reads as follows: "It is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that the electors shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in making public policy. Toward this end, this chapter is adopted, making it possible for them or their representatives to learn and to report fully the activities of their public officials."[4]

Open Meetings

Public meetings are defined as: "all meetings, formal or informal, special or regular, of the governing bodies of all municipalities, counties, townships, and school districts and all boards, bureaus, commissions, or organizations of the State of Arkansas, except grand juries, supported wholly or in part by public funds or expending public funds, shall be public meetings."[5]

Who May Request Arkansas Records?

Only citizens of Arkansas may request public records, with the exception of incarcerated felons and the representatives of felons. All "public records shall be open to inspection and copying by any citizen of the State of Arkansas". [6]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Legislative intent 25-19-102
  5. ↑ Open public meetings 25-19-106
  6. ↑ Arkansas Code Annotated, search for 25-19-105
Retrieved from "http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Arkansas_Freedom_of_Information_Act"