Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Visitor recording ban dropped by senators
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Senate Efficiency Committee on Wednesday decided to ditch the Senate’s three-day-old policy barring visitors to the Senate’s galleries from using cellular devices for live-streaming or video recording as it revised its policies for the Senate’s galleries.
Committee Chairman Sen. Bart Hester, R- Cave Springs, said the Senate staff developed the new policies posted Monday for the Senate’s galleries after committee members discussed the need for safety protocols during a recent meeting. The Senate Efficiency Committee didn’t review or approve the policies before they were posted, he noted.
Senate Democratic leader Keith Ingram of West Memphis said the Senate doesn’t “come out looking real good” when it prohibits parents sitting in the Senate gallery from using cellular devices to videotape their child being honored on the Senate floor as a member of a high school championship team.
Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said “in this day and time people are going to livestream,” and it’s not transparent for the Senate to ban visitors to the Senate galleries from using their cellular devices for live-streaming or video recording the Senate’s proceedings.
“It’s a public event and the public ought to be able to record it, good or bad,” said Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale.
Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, said it’s improper for the Senate to stifle transparency.
“This is not a time we need to be hiding people’s business,” he said.
But Committee Vice Chairwoman Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, said the Senate already live-streams its proceedings and the Senate is not trying not to be transparent or hide from
the public with the policies for the Senate’s galleries. She said the aim of the Senate’s policies is to maintain proper decorum in the Senate’s galleries and pointed to recent outbursts from visitors to the Senate galleries over the past year that briefly interrupted proceedings. She said senators have looked at what other states are doing to maintain proper decorum.
Under the revised policies for the Senate’s galleries, visitors to the galleries are to be seated unless otherwise authorized by staff, and credentialed members of the press using electronic devices are to use the West Gallery.
“Cellular devices should be silenced,” in the Senate’s galleries, and proper decorum and behavior is required from all visitors under revised policies. Signs of any kind or any size are not permitted in the Senate’s galleries, and noise-making or amplification devices are not permitted either.
Only drinks with closedlids are permitted in the Senate’s galleries, but food isn’t permitted under the revised policies for the galleries.
“Individuals who are not in compliance will be asked to leave the Senate Galleries,” according to the policies.
In other business, the Senate Efficiency Committee voted to approve a media credentialing policy under which the Senate issues credentials only to media organizations and not individuals.
Under the policy, media organizations will be issued two media passes per session for the Arkansas Senate to accommodate both a reporter and a photographer. The policy states that the media passes must be worn at all times in the Senate galleries, on the Senate chamber floor or in the Senate office hallways, and the passes must be shown if requested by a senator, the Senate’s sergeant at arms, a state Capitol police officer or Senate staff.
“Photographers shall set-up in the West Gallery along the glass, following instructions of the Senate Sergeant at Arms,” under the media credentialing policy. Credentialed press may stand along the first row of seats in the Senate West Gallery.
“Credentialed media may be granted access to the Senate Chamber floor per Senate Rule 21.06,” under the policy. There are seats for two reporters on the Senate floor.