Governor Sanders Drives FOIA Changes, Legislature OKs Bills in Special Session

After as many as five different FOIA bills were offered over three long days of the Legislature’s Special Session, things at the State Capitol are quiet now, after Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders finalized the week by signing various bills into law.

Although the Governor had said at her presser announcing the Special Session on Friday, September 8, that tax cuts would be the major issue at the Special Session, tax cuts were seldom mentioned as FOIA issues took center stage.

While wrangling with constituents over over-reaching provisions in those first FOIA bills, the Legislature also pretty quickly managed to pass all seven major items on the September 9 call Sanders issued.

On Thursday morning, the Senate voted down a motion to extend the Session to consider a repeal of the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2024 (the cryptomining bill) and quickly voted to adjourn, thus closing down the First Extraordinary Session of the 94th General Assembly.

Legislation passed includes:

• Tax Cuts, Call Item 1 (HB1001, HB1007)
  SB8, now Act 6, sponsored * by Senator Jonathan Dismang (R, Beebe) and Rep. Les D. Eaves (R, Searcy), lowers the state’s top individual income tax rate from 4.7% to 4.4% and the top corporate income tax rate from 5.1% to 4.8% beginning January 1, 2024.

  The Associated Press says “the individual income tax cut will cost the state an estimated $150 million per year while the corporate tax cut will cost the state roughly $35 million;” while the fiscal impact statement from the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration (DF&A) says the total cost is $248.5M this fiscal year and $184.5M in FY 2025.

  The legislation includes a single tax credit of up to $150 for people making less than $89,600 a year. Married couples that file jointly could receive up to $300.

  In this year’s General Session the Legislature has already passed a $124 million tax cut that reduced the individual rate from 4.9% to 4.7% and the corporate rate from 5.3% to 5.1%.

  This year’s two tax cuts — lowering individual and corporate rates a total .5% each — come after three back-to-back years of state revenue surpluses of more than $1 billion.

 

• Reserve Funds, Call Item 2 (HB1004)
  SB1 / now Act 11, sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R, Texarkana) and Rep. Lane Jean (R, Magnolia), puts $710 million of our $1.2 FY2023 surplus into the state’s Reserve Fund.

 

• Anti-COVID Vaccination Mandates, Call Item 3 (HB1002)
  SB3 / now Act 4, sponsored by Sen. Joshua Bryant (R, Rogers) and Rep. Howard M. Beaty (R, Crossett) with an emergency clause, says the state, a state agency or entity, a political subdivision of the state, or a state or local official can request permission to mandate the COVID vaccine if the mandate is necessary for federal funding.

  “This means Arkansas and its political subdivisions may seek approval to impose COVID mandates anytime the Biden administration offers federal money for imposing COVID mandates or threatens to withhold federal money unless a COVID mandates are imposed,” says Conduit News.

  You may remember Act 977 of 2021, which was only in effect until “FDA approves a COVID-19 vaccine” (apparently through August, 2023). SB3 is patterned after that legislation, and both old and new bills give the Legislative Council the authority to allow entities to implement a mandate if federal money is involved.

 

• FOIA Changes, Call Item 4
  SB10, now Act 7, sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Bart Hester (R, Cave Springs) and Rep. David Ray (R, Maumelle), exempts records related to security plans/services for the Governor, lawmakers, and constitutional officers plus requires Arkansas State Police to file a quarterly report providing an overview of related expenses. The bill is retroactive to June 1, 2022.

  During the week at least five or six of the 20+ filed bills were revised versions of the initial FOI bill (HB1003), which was vehemently opposed by critics across the political spectrum. The final FOIA legislation stripped original language language that

  • exempted records of “deliberative process of state agencies, boards, and
    commissions”
  • codified attorney-client privilege to effectively create a “copy my attorney” exemption, and
  • allowed attorney fees to be paid only if a citizen proved the government operated in bad faith when withholding records that should be available

   

  As the last and final FOIA bill — SB10 — was filed late Tuesday night, Senate Pro Tem Hester reported that AG Tim Griffin was asked to review the bill (and what eventually was stripped out) as part of the “modernization” recommendations his FOIA Task Force is writing.

  Hester asked Griffin’s Task Force to deliver that information for April’s (Fiscal) Session of the Legislature. However, Griffin said as late as Monday, September 11 that “… my FOIA advisory group continues to work, and we won’t conclude our review until at least late 2024.”

  When asked about the narrowed successful FOI bill, the Governor Sanders said,

  I think you always go as big as you can and look for those changes you know will make governing more effective, more efficient. The job is to work with our guys in the Legislature. We don’t get to dictate the rules of the game all by ourselves from the executive branch, we are very happy what came of it.”

  The Governor would not rule out an attempt to include the deleted language in a future FOIA bill.

 

• Locking School Doors, Call Item 5 (HB1005)
  SB4, now Act 3, sponsored by Sen. Jane English (R, No. Little Rock) and Rep. Brian S. Evans (R, Cabot) with an emergency clause, requires public schools to lock exterior doors during the school day.

 

• Education Freedom Account, Call Item 6 (HB1008)
  SB5, now Act 5, sponsored by Senator Breanne Davis (R, Russellville) and Rep. Sonia Eubanks Barker (R, Smackover), provides additional funds/eligibility for students with disabilities in the Education Freedom Account under the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program (LEARNS Act adjustments)

 

• Felony Sentencing Date Clarification, Call Item 7 (HB1006)
  SB6, now Act 2, sponsored by Senator Ben Gilmore (R, Crossett) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R, Paragould), is a cleanup bill for felony sentencing legislation from the the General Session (Arkansas Code § 16-90-120(e)(1)(A)) that clarifies the January 1, 2024 effective date.

The biennial Fiscal Session of the Arkansas Legislature is set to begin April 10, 2024.

* We list the primary Senate and primary House sponsor in this post; there may be other co-sponsors.