Signature issue

Let’s get this party started

The attorney general of Arkansas has approved the ballot wording for an initiated act meant to strengthen the state’s FOIA rules. Now those hoping to screen the Freedom of Information Act from political meddling can begin to collect signatures. And drum up support for the upcomin’.

It’s called the Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024. And if you see a canvasser advertising as much, Long-Suffering Citizen, please do sign up.

It says a lot—and a lot of good— that such a diverse group of people have been pushing this through. Conservatives, liberals, in-between, neither. It makes an inky wretch’s heart swell with pride when We the People charged into the Capitol this last special session to stop certain members of the Ledge from gutting one of the nation’s best FOI acts. Now the people of Arkansas can enshrine FOIA protection in the state constitution.

We’re not usually fans of clogging up our constitution with more items, but this particular item is important enough. And not just for pesky journalists and even peskier bloggers. The reason The People rose up last year was because so many Arkansans use government transparency rules to their advantage. Sure, reporters were offended by the effort to change the law(s), but so were real people. And the real people showed up.

Not with pitchforks and torches. But nearly.

It took about three times for Tim Griffin to sign off on this. And a lawsuit. We’re going to give everybody the benefit of the doubt and suggest that Tim Griffin’s legal team did what it thought was legal, and the folks at Arkansas Citizens for Transparency did what they thought was best.

What’s next with the lawsuit? We are gratified to be able to answer that: We don’t know. But the transparency group will start collecting signatures for the initiated act—and a constitutional amendment—soonest.

And a constitutional amendment? Yes. To get into the weeds a bit, there’s a difference, and the transparency group felt the need for both—an amendment to guarantee a right to government transparency and make it more difficult for the Ledge to change the FOIA. Then the act to strengthen the various laws and to create a commission to assist citizens with record requests.

For all the details—there are many, and they are important—we refer you to Neal Earley’s story on the front page of this paper on Tuesday. He makes a complicated story less so. Which is the sign of a practiced hand and a good writer.

For us, suffice it to say that we encourage Long-Suffering Citizen to sign the various petitions that canvassers will present at fairs and plazas if they at all mention “government transparency” “act” or “amendment.”

Now it’s time to get tens of thousands of signatures from at least 50 counties by early July. And get this on the November ballot.

Given what we saw at the special session last year, we have no doubt this will get done.

All the better for everyone in a state where the people rule.