Dennis Byrd, FOIArkansas project

Dennis Byrd

A draft is in the works that could put more teeth in the state's strong, but largely unenforceable, Freedom of Information Act.

Based on input from Sen. Mike Beebe, D-Searcy, and Rep. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, Attorney General Mark Pryor's office is putting together a proposed bill that potentially could end almost all public-access disputes between citizens and public officials.

Beebe and Broadway first alluded to the need for some type of intermediate enforcement option after seeing the results of last year's FOIArkansas Project. Six news organizations participated in the project; they sent 75 people out to the state's 75 counties -- all on the same day -- to test compliance with the open records portion of the FOI Act. Surveyors sought specific records at one randomly selected city office and school district in each county, at the county jail, and at county health units of the state Health Department.

Surveyors were unable to get the requested document one of three times, on average, during initial visits that day.

Legislative committees will work with the governor's office and news media representatives, among others, to refine the draft before the 2001 legislative session.

The draft has not been completed as of this writing, but is expected to have a component that will enable citizens or public officials to get an enforceable ruling by making a telephone call, or through some other means of instant communication, on whether specific documents are disclosable under the law. The same means also could be used to determine whether a particular meeting is open or closed to the public.

The FOI Act gives Arkansas citizens the basic right of access to their government. Citizens can find out such things as how city, county or state officials spend their tax money; it also provides the right to attend meetings of governmental bodies.

If a citizen is denied public access to a document or meeting now, there are two enforcement options available, neither of which does anything to remedy the situation on the spot. Citizens can file a lawsuit or lodge a complaint with the local prosecutor, who can file misdemeanor criminal charges.

Both take considerable time, so, in effect, public officials come out on top in such disputes. If the citizen eventually wins, the time usually has passed that the document was needed or the meeting was held. As the saying goes, you can't unring a bell.

Nobody wants a new law that will have the effect of adding a step to the process, so education will be a key element in making the FOI Act work without an abundance of disputes.

The attorney general's office, the Arkansas Press Association and news organizations must work together to make sure citizens and public officials understand their rights and responsibilities under the FOI Act.

A lot has been made lately of polls about where the University of Arkansas' football team, the Razorbacks, should play their home football games.

The UA System Board of Trustees will decide on Feb. 11 whether the tradition will continue of playing three home games in Little Rock, or whether one or more of those games will be moved to the on-campus stadium in Fayetteville.

It's easy to understand why students and faculty at the university would like to see all home games played at Razorback Stadium. Surveys of both groups showed support to be overwhelming.

But, there was another poll back in May that seems to have been lost in the shuffle. The poll by Flake-Wilkerson Market Insights in Little Rock was conducted scientifically by calling 408 people across the state. Granted, the poll was paid for by businessman Warren Stephens, who has been quite vocal in his opposition to moving games from War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

In the way of disclosure, Stephens runs Stephens Group Inc., which owns the company that employs me. In that same vein, Stephens never has asked me to write any particular story or take any position on any issue.

But, just as a reminder to trustees who will make an important decision regarding the future of the state's flagship university, that poll in May showed that 58 percent of Arkansans either "somewhat opposed'' or "strongly opposed'' reducing the number of games played at War Memorial Stadium.

When Gov. Mike Huckabee was re-elected in 1998 with a similar percentage of support, he called it a mandate.

The public-corruption trial of former state Sen. Nick Wilson and others appears headed to trial on Feb. 28. Despite an always busy rumor mill in the capital city, no new deals have been struck, at this writing, since Murrey Grider pleaded out and agreed to testify for the government.

As defense teams get more details of the government's case in coming weeks, that could change in a hurry.