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Extensive public testimony opposes proposal to redefine 'meeting' under state FOIA; committee vote fails
Summary
An amended proposal to define a public 'meeting' as any gathering of more than one-third of a governing body drew extended public opposition from justices of the peace, transparency experts, parents and FOIA scholars, who warned it would enable serial meetings and reduce accountability. The committee ultimately did not advance the bill.
Representative Bentley presented an amendment to House Bill 1610 intended to clarify what constitutes a public meeting under Arkansas’s open-meetings law. The amendment defined a meeting to exclude gatherings of up to one-third of a governing body so those small groups could consult without triggering FOIA notice and minute…
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