Senate committee advances security-only FOIA exemption after heated questions on retroactivity

The Senate State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 10 by voice vote, advancing the measure that narrows an earlier proposal to a security-only exemption from public-records disclosure. The bill would allow redaction of security-related details about the governor, other constitutional officers and members of the General Assembly; the measure was described by its sponsor as protecting operational security.

Senator Hester, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure had been pared back to focus on security and said the change was necessary to "protect our constitutional officers and their workings with the Arkansas State Police." He added the bill "redacts" details that could harm security operations and said committee members had spent many hours refining the language.

Supporters and government witnesses said the exemption is narrowly tailored to operational details that could aid a bad actor. Allison Bragg, state inspector general, said the current version is "very narrowly tailored to the security protection of the governor and her very young family" and that failing to withhold certain operational details "in the hands of a bad actor would make it much more possible for them to fulfill a nefarious plan." Mike Hager, secretary of the Department of Public Safety and director of State Police, told senators that releasing names or specifics that "tip off operational security" would be concerning and that legal staff would help draw the lines under FOIA.

Committee members asked for and received clarifications about the bill's scope. Senator King pressed whether multi-topic communications would be redacted in whole or redacted only for the security portion; Courtney Kennedy, chief legal counsel for the governor's office, stated, "only the security-related portion would be redacted. Any other communications such as policy ... that is still available to the public." Senators also questioned why the bill's protections reach back to 2022; witnesses explained that state police began changing security procedures after the 2022 primaries when it became likely multiple protectees would be in place.

Public commenters were split. Joey McCutcheon, cofounder of the Arkansas Transparency and Government Group, urged the committee not to adopt the retroactive clause and asked that technical work be handled by the FOIA task force rather than a smaller working group, saying the retroactivity "gives that appearance" of hiding records. "We need to do our business in complete sunshine, no darkness," he said. A citizen, Jimmy Kevin, told senators the proposal remained "too broad" and said he would like to see receipts and passenger lists for taxpayer-funded travel; he repeated concerns about the retroactive date back to June 2022. Several speakers, including Scott Gray and Courtney Roldan, said they supported the narrowed, security-only approach but echoed questions about scope.

Senator Tucker said he would vote for the bill despite personal preferences for a different drafting style because the committee had made the change to security-only and because he defers to security experts: "When it comes to the safety and security of the governor and her family ... I think it's important to err on the side of their security," he said.

After brief additional discussion, Senator Hester moved to pass Senate Bill 10; Senator Dodson seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote and the chair adjourned the session. The transcript records a voice vote and does not include a roll-call tally.

Next steps: the committee advanced the bill to be considered by the full Senate; the transcript does not specify any changes adopted on the floor or a timetable for further action.