Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposes carve-out of Arkansas public...

LITTLE ROCK, edwinvusnh.post-blogs.com Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday proposed shielding a broad range of records about her administration, amazon.com travel and fast-score-dementia11986.blog2learn.com security from public release as she called for a special legislative session next week focusing on additional tax cuts.

The Republican governor dementiacertification01008.ampedpages.com proposed the new exemptions to the state's Freedom of Information Act as the Arkansas State Police is being sued by an attorney and https://simonuqjar.thezenweb.com/ blogger who's accused the agency of illegally withholding records about Sanders' travel and dementiatrainingcourses81233.onesmablog.com security.

FOIA experts said the changes would severely weaken the 1967 law - signed by the state's first Republican governor aboutmp3.info since Reconstruction - that protects the public's access to government meetings and records.

Sanders, amazon.com who took office in January, iteroni.com portrayed the changes as a way to modernize the law and dementia-carer-support45320.pages10.com make government more efficient.

"Arkansas has some of the most transparent FOIA laws in the country, and these reforms will do nothing to change that," Sanders at a news conference at the state Capitol. "But some are weaponizing FOIA and taking advantage of our laws to hamper state government, and enrich themselves."

The proposed changes would prevent the state from releasing records "revealing the deliberative process of state agencies, boards, or commissions," including recommendations, https://best-brain-boosting-suppl37245.blogzet.com memos and dementiacarersupport45431.collectblogs.com advisory opinions. Sanders said the language mirrors an exemption used at the federal level.

Robert Steinbuch, a law professor www.music4sync.com at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's William H. Bowen School of Law and bestbrainsupplementsforst07036.educationalimpactblog.com an expert on the state FOIA, fast-score-dementia03333.alltdesign.com said the move would "effectively remove transparency from state government operations."

"I´m a conservative and conservatives claim to have fidelity to limited government," Steinbuch said. "The only way to have limited government is through transparency and this will eliminate transparency for a host of decisions made by executive agencies."

The proposal would also exempt records "that reflect the planning or provision of security services provided" to Sanders, as well as other constitutional officers and members of the Legislature. The proposal would instead require state police to release a quarterly report to the Legislature with the aggregate expenses for https://fernandotoxce.link4blogs.com/43948074/dwelling-aids-assistance-the-elderly-stay-in-their-very-own-households the governor's security detail. If enacted, s3.us-west-004.backblazeb2.com the security exemptions would be retroactive and elliottdfeby.blogolize.com go back to records from January 2022.

Sanders cited her experiences facing threats going back to her time as press secretary for https://reiddgjkk.amoblog.com/dwelling-aids-assist-the-aged-remain-in-their-own-residences-43418547 former President Donald Trump and more recent ones, invidious.fdn.org including an Oklahoma man who pleaded guilty last month to threatening to kill her and troyghfdx.blogkoo.com other Republican politicians.

"Our current FOIA laws put me and my kids at risk, so we will update sections of the law so that the sources and methods Arkansas State Police uses to protect me and my family outside the governor's mansion are not subject to disclosure," she said.

The proposal follows a law enacted in Florida to block the release of travel records of Gov. Ron DeSantis, https://whatissundowners16160.uzblog.net/residing-aids-help-the-aged-remain-in-their-own-individual-homes-36032429 who is now seeking the GOP presidential nomination. Arkansas legislative leaders said they expect the changes to have majority support in both chambers of the majority-Republican Legislature.

Other parts of the measure would create an attorney-client privilege exemption under FOIA. It would also change the standard for https://dementia-assessment95059.blogdon.net/dwelling-aids-help-the-aged-remain-in-their-own-personal-homes-37898771 courts awarding attorneys' fees to plaintiffs in FOIA lawsuits, amazon.com which critics said would deter citizens from filing lawsuits to seek records being withheld.

John Tull, an attorney and counsel for www.mp4indirdur.mobi the Arkansas Press Association, said the proposal, https://dementiatrainingcourses22209.mpeblog.com/44652174/residing-aids-enable-the-elderly-stay-in-their-own-residences if enacted, "puts a big hole in our FOIA."

Other efforts to scale back the state's transparency law were defeated in the legislative session earlier this year following concerns they would weaken the public´s access to public records and meetings.

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