A right to know

Leaders should back FOIA clearly, often

W hy is it that people in power are often the ones who fail to value government transparency?

Do they forget that once upon a time, they too were “just” citizens concerned about how their government functions (or doesn’t) and how public officials spend the millions and millions of dollars taxpayers are obligated to hand over to them?

In Arkansas, the gold standard for open government is the state’s Freedom of Information Act, a law passed in 1967 that’s come under attack practically every session of the state Legislature since. The principle for which it stands, also reflected in the state’s motto “Regnat populus” (the people rule), ought to be unassailable. It is not.

Sadly, lobbying organizations your tax dollars help to fund, such as the Association of Arkansas Counties, the Arkansas Municipal League and the Arkansas School Boards Association, are regularly supportive of new FOIA exemptions. Efficiency of government is usually their siren song.

If the state Legislature is in session, it’s a safe bet these organizations and some elected officials will push to weaken the FOIA. Their interest is in closing more meetings to the public, redacting more information from publicly accessible records or denying access to records altogether. Proposals to ever expand public access are practically unheard of.

When their attempts to promote government secrecy fail, as Gov. Sarah Sanders’ efforts in this last legislative session largely did, rest assured they will make other runs at changing the FOIA. Those who guard the government’s capacity to operate behind a veil can always convince themselves they’re serving Arkansans by limiting the public’s ability to monitor the actions, including abuses, of government authority.

Those eager to see government operate in the dark need to be victorious only once. Defenders of the FOIA must remain vigilant always.

One might think local elected officials would grasp how critically important transparency is to their constituents, but that’s not always the case. Take the proposed resolution submitted to the Washington County Quorum Court by Justice of the Peace Evelyn Rios Stafford. Last week, Stafford told the County Services Committee the resolution was simple: It states Washington County supports the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act as it exists.

Credit eight members for at least supporting its advancement to the full Quorum Court’s Oct. 19 meeting. Three members — Kyle Lyons, Robert Dennis and David Wilson — opposed the measure. Lyons hinted as to his reasons. “We all know it’s the law,” he said after the meeting. “We have to support it.”

No, not really. Public officials have to follow the law, but they don’t have to support it. Choosing to remain silent when given an opportunity to state one’s support for the FOIA is at best indifferent to the public’s right to know; at worst, it’s antagonistic toward it.

It is no guarantee the full Quorum Court of Washington County will vote to support the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, given its history. How sad is it that any representative of the people should ever struggle to demonstrate support for the public’s right to know?