Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Friday that alterations to the Arkansas public records law would be a priority in a special session aimed at further cutting taxes and prohibiting vaccine mandates.
Mrs. Sanders, Arkansas Republican, said during a news conference in the Arkansas state capitol that changing the state’s Freedom of Information Act law, which have been largely unchanged since being first enacted in 1967, would make state government more efficient.
Changes to Arkansas’ FOIA law are part of three marquee priorities for the upcoming special session, which is slated to begin on Monday. Mrs. Sanders also pushed for further tax cuts and measures to prohibit COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Part of the proposed FOIA change would be to expand exemptions for records on Mrs. Sanders’ security and travel outside of the governor’s mansion.
The crux of the changes comes from “credible death threats” that Mrs. Sanders said she received during her time as White House press secretary for the Trump administration. She added that while campaigning for her current office, there were violent people that tracked “our movements to try to do us harm.”
“Our current FOIA laws put me and my kids at risk,” Mrs. Sanders said. “So we will update sections of the law so that the sources and methods Arkansas State Police uses to protect me and my family outside of the governor’s mansion, are not subject to disclosure.”
Another element to the FOIA rework would require that Arkansas State Police compile and release quarterly reports detailing the cost of Mrs. Sanders security expenses.
Mrs. Sanders said that the proposal would also update sunshine laws to the same “standard that the federal government uses” to keep internal deliberations in the executive branch private.
The requested changes come days after an attorney and blogger filed a lawsuit against Arkansas State Police, accusing the agency of illegally withholding records related to Mrs. Sanders travel and security.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washigtontimes.com.