Brenda Blagg and Dennis A. Byrd, FOIArkansas Project

LITTLE ROCK — Although a majority of public officials were responsive to requests for public documents in a statewide survey, Attorney General Mark Pryor says officials should aspire to do better.

The FOIArkansas Project, underwritten by five newspapers and a news bureau, was a test of the open records portion of the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

“One hundred percent is the acceptable rate of compliance,” Pryor said in an interview after the Aug. 23 survey. “I think that’s what the law says.”

Seventy-five participants -- mostly newspaper reporters -- went as citizens to Arkansas’ 75 counties to request specific public documents at four offices.

Cities, school districts, county jails and county health units of the state Department of Health were surveyed. Compliance ranged from 50 percent at the health units to 86 percent at city offices. Surveyors faced difficulty most often at jails, but officials provided access to the records 61 percent of the time. At school districts, the compliance rate was 72 percent.

“It sounds like they’ve got some work to do,” Gov. Mike Huckabee said. “It clearly shows that we have some education and training to do in terms of the health units.”

After learning of the results, Dr. Fay Boozman, director of the Department of Health, announced in a Sept. 13 memo a freedom of information education and training program for all employees.

Huckabee said he is the first governor to conduct a regular seminar on the FOI for all appointees. He started it two years ago and holds the half-day session twice a year.

The governor agreed with Pryor that nothing short of compliance is acceptable.

“Number one, it’s the law; number two, it’s the right thing,’’ Huckabee said.

Speaking specifically about the request to see restaurant inspection reports, the governor said, “That information is certainly public information and should be available, not just to a reporter, but to any citizen who wishes to see it. The law’s pretty clear on that.”

Pryor said his office strives to meet the 100 percent threshhold on FOI requests.

“That’s what we always shoot for and encourage people to do is comply with the law 100 percent of the time in every way that’s asked.”

Dennis A. Byrd is bureau chief for Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is dbyrd@arkansasnews.com. His telephone number is (501) 374-0699.