The following is a news release being distributed through the Arkansas Press Association Paid News Distribution Service.
December 4, 2023 (Little Rock, Ark.) – Today, Arkansas Citizens for Transparency submitted an initiated measure amending the Arkansas code to create the “Arkansas Government Transparency Act”; and to modernize, clarify and update the Freedom of Information Act of 1967 to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin for approval for inclusion on the 2024 ballot.
Last week, ACT submitted to the Attorney General a constitutional amendment as part of a two-part transparency package. The group says the amendment has the proposed principles and the initiated act has the proposed policies to support those principles.
“This proposed initiated act is the product of many rounds of public feedback,” said Senator Clarke Tucker, Chair of the Drafting Committee. “Arkansas’s motto is REGNAT POPULUS, which means ‘The People Rule’, so it is only right that the public had heavy influence in the final language. We appreciate everyone who took the time to participate in this populist drafting approach.”
The full text of the proposed initiated act is attached to this release as an addendum, and can also be found at this link to read or download: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LWq3oMlYVSkDyT3U312UD9VwKzKh938s
Those who wish to become involved in the Coalition may visit the group’s website at ARCitizens4Transparency.org or via Facebook.
Members of the drafting committee include Sen. Clarke Tucker, Chairman; Nate Bell; David Couch; Jennifer Waymack Standerfer; Robert Steinbuch; John E. Tull, III; and Ashley Kemp Wimberley.