Press Releases

Question: Is the custodian’s decision to release the requested records consistent with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)?

Brief Response: In my opinion, the custodian’s decision to release the records as redacted is partially consistent with the FOIA. The responsive records are properly classified as personnel records, and the custodian has correctly determined that they are “generally subject to disclosure with some portions redacted.” However, some information that is subject to disclosure has been improperly redacted, and several additional pieces of information must be redacted from the records before they may be released.

Question 1: If no emergency has been declared by the Governor, are council members allowed to attend city council meetings electronically and vote on matters?

Brief response: Possibly. The canons of construction point different ways, so I cannot definitively opine on how a court may rule. Moreover, the General Assembly recently passed Act 505 of 2025, which amends portions of A.C.A. § 25-19-106, without an emergency clause. Once in effect, the Act will substantively change both the facts presented and the analysis contained in this opinion.

Question 2: Can a city pass an ordinance to allow a council member to attend meetings [electronically]?

Brief response: Yes. Cities have the authority to enact ordinances that authorize their public bodies to hold public meetings electronically and that dictate how often a council member can utilize remote attendance.

Question 3: If the answer to question 2 is yes, is there a limit to how many times yearly the council member can utilize remote attendance?

Brief response: No. Cities have the authority to enact ordinances that dictate how often a council member can utilize remote attendance.

Request for review and certification of the popular name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment with the popular name, “An Amendment to Amend the Initiative and Referendum Process.”

Brief Response: Because the text of your proposed amendment is misleading, I am prevented from substituting and certifying a more suitable ballot title that is not misleading. Consequently, my statutory duty under A.C.A. § 7-9-107(e) is to reject your proposed popular name and ballot title, stating my “reasons therefor,” and to “instruct … [you] to redesign your proposed measure and the ballot title … in a manner that would not be misleading.”