Handbook For Arkansas Municipal Officials Definition
Table of contents for Arkansas. Open Government GuideAuthorJohn E. Tull IIIKristine G. BakerAmber M. DavisSarah E. DeLoachQuattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC111 Center Street, Suite 1900Little Rock, Arkansas 72201(501) 379-1700John J. WatkinsWilliam H.
Enfield Professor of LawRobert A. Leflar Law CenterUniversity of Arkansas, FayettevilleFayetteville, Arkansas 72701(479) 575-2456Richard J. PeltzAssociate Professor of LawWilliam H. Bowen School of LawUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock1201 McMath AvenueLittle Rock, Ark. 72202(501) 324-9962ForewordThe Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), Ark. §§ 25-19-101 to 25-19-109, was enacted in 1967 at the behest of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller and the state’s journalism community.
At his last press conference, Governor Rockefeller described the FOIA as his “proudest achievement” in office.Prior to the act’s passage, Arkansas law regarding access to government records and meetings was not well developed. While scattered sections of the Arkansas code provided for public inspection of certain records, there existed no comprehensive provision permitting access to documents held by state or local bodies. Nor was the common law much help, for the judicial decisions dealt principally with election records required by statute to be open to the public. Two cases, however, took a surprisingly broad view of the common law right of access to records. State, 200 Ark.
1027, 143 S.W.2d 1 (1940); Republican Party of Arkansas v. State ex rel. Hall, 240 Ark.
545, 400 S.W.2d 660 (1966).With respect to open meetings, state common law prior to enactment of the FOIA was nonexistent, but constitutional and statutory provisions afforded some access. Article V, Section 13 of the Arkansas Constitution of 1874, which remains in effect today, provides that “sessions of each house and of committees of the whole shall be open, unless when the business is such as ought to be kept secret.” The secrecy exception is obviously large enough to swallow the rule of openness, and the provision does not apply to legislative committees, state agencies, or local government bodies. The first open meetings statute, passed in 1947 and amended in 1949, did not extend beyond the state level and had various other shortcomings. A broader statute reaching such political subdivisions as cities, counties, and school districts was passed in 1953, but it contained a broad exception permitting closed meetings and penalty provisions applicable only in the event of willful violations.
How To Impeach A Mayor In Arkansas
Council roles and responsibilitiesThe council is the governing body of the municipal corporation and the custodian of its powers, both legislative and administrative.The Municipal Government Act (MGA) provides that councils can only exercise the powers of the municipal corporation in the proper form, either by bylaw or resolution.