LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A potential future version of Arkansas's FOIA law was left in a Senate Committee on Tuesday afternoon, with its future left waiting until Wednesday.
The Senate State Agencies Committee, which convened at 11:00 a.m., met for over five hours on Tuesday.
During that time, Senator Bart Hester, (R-Cave Springs), the sponsor of Senate Bill 9, the FOIA bill, defended the potential changes. Hester, a Republican, was questioned by Democratic members of the committee, like Senator Clarke Tucker, (D-Little Rock).
Tucker heavily focused his questions on attorney fees, a key line in Hester's bill. That would also be a major point of contention for members of the public who stayed to comment.
Also questioning Hester were members of his own party, like Senator Bryan King, (R-Green Forrest). King spoke with us ahead of that committee meeting and questioned whether or not the bill was right for Arkansas.
"Well, that's just the way it is. This bill should've been filed a month ago, we're just wasting taxpayer money, let's be honest," King said. "This bill should've been filed a month ago and people given time to debate and stuff. This is, and I hate to say it, a banana republic, and unfortunately, it almost seems like, going back retroactively, trying to go back to these agency directors and their security, it's like, what're you wanting to hide?"
As of Tuesday evening, that bill is still in the Senate State Agencies Committee. The meeting adjourned with no vote.
Hester said he plans to try and extract the bill out of committee. Doing so would require a vote by the full Senate.
"I don't expect to rework the bill right now," Hester said, moments after the State Agencies Committee ended. "As soon as we're done, I'm gonna go meet back up with the Republican caucus, We're gonna see what we move forward with. We're holding session open right now, so we'll meet for five or 10 minutes, then go out on the floor and see what they've decided to do."
The Senate has adjourned until 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
However, this isn't the only FOIA bill that's been filed. State Representative Julie Mayberry, R-Grant County, has filed a bill of her own. House Bill 1011 focuses solely on the safety and security of the Governor, whereas Hester's bill includes the other topics of attorney fees.
To read Hester's bill, (Senate Bill 9), click here, and to read Mayberry's bill (House Bill 1011), click here.