LIVE BLOG: Arkansas wakes up to winter wonderland
Arkansas
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposes carve-out of Arkansas public records law during tax cut session
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday proposed shielding a broad range of records about her administration, travel and security from public release as she called for a special legislative session next week focusing on additional tax cuts.
The Republican governor proposed the new exemptions to the state’s Freedom of Information Act as the Arkansas State Police is being sued by an attorney and blogger who’s accused the agency of illegally withholding records about Sanders’ travel and security.
FOIA experts said the changes would severely weaken the 1967 law — signed by the state’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction — that protects the public’s access to government meetings and records.
Sanders, who took office in January, portrayed the changes as a way to modernize the law and make government more efficient.
“Arkansas has some of the most transparent FOIA laws in the country, and these reforms will do nothing to change that,” Sanders at a news conference at the state Capitol. “But some are weaponizing FOIA and taking advantage of our laws to hamper state government, and enrich themselves.”
The proposed changes would prevent the state from releasing records “revealing the deliberative process of state agencies, boards, or commissions,” including recommendations, memos and advisory opinions. Sanders said the language mirrors an exemption used at the federal level.
Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law and an expert on the state FOIA, said the move would “effectively remove transparency from state government operations.”
“I’m a conservative and conservatives claim to have fidelity to limited government,” Steinbuch said. “The only way to have limited government is through transparency and this will eliminate transparency for a host of decisions made by executive agencies.”
The proposal would also exempt records “that reflect the planning or provision of security services provided” to Sanders, as well as other constitutional officers and members of the Legislature. The proposal would instead require state police to release a quarterly report to the Legislature with the aggregate expenses for the governor’s security detail. If enacted, the security exemptions would be retroactive and go back to records from January 2022.
Sanders cited her experiences facing threats going back to her time as press secretary for former President Donald Trump and more recent ones, including an Oklahoma man who pleaded guilty last month to threatening to kill her and other Republican politicians.
“Our current FOIA laws put me and my kids at risk, 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 the governor’s mansion are not subject to disclosure,” she said.
The proposal follows a law enacted in Florida to block the release of travel records of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is now seeking the GOP presidential nomination. Arkansas legislative leaders said they expect the changes to have majority support in both chambers of the majority-Republican Legislature.
Other parts of the measure would create an attorney-client privilege exemption under FOIA. It would also change the standard for courts awarding attorneys’ fees to plaintiffs in FOIA lawsuits, which critics said would deter citizens from filing lawsuits to seek records being withheld.
John Tull, an attorney and counsel for the Arkansas Press Association, said the proposal, if enacted, “puts a big hole in our FOIA.”
Other efforts to scale back the state’s transparency law were defeated in the legislative session earlier this year following concerns they would weaken the public’s access to public records and meetings. Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, formed a working group in June to look at possible changes to the law to take up in the 2025 regular legislative session.
Democratic Sen. Clarke Tucker, who was named to that group, said there may be a fair argument that the security exemptions are time-sensitive but didn’t see the need to push now for other exemptions in a special session.
“All of the other proposed changes to FOIA, which are huge, I don’t see the argument that those are time-sensitive and can’t wait until January 2025,” Tucker said
The legislative session that begins on Monday will also focus on Sanders’ call to cut the state’s top individual income tax rate from 4.7% to 4.4%, a reduction that’s estimated to cost the state $150 million a year. Sanders is proposing cutting the state’s top corporate income tax rate from 5.1% to 4.8%, estimated to cost $35 million.
Sanders also called for a one-time nonrefundable tax credit to taxpayers making less than $90,000 a year of up to $150 per individual taxpayer and up to $300 for married spouses filing jointly. The credit will cost the state about $156 million.
The tax cut proposals come after the state ended the fiscal year with a $1.1 billion surplus, its second-largest ever. Sander proposed setting aside $710 million in surplus funds for a reserve fund “to keep responsibly phasing out the income tax entirely.”
Arkansas
DoorDash activates severe weather protocol, suspending service in parts of Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Due to the ongoing winter storm sweeping through the Natural State, DoorDash has activated its Severe Weather Protocol and temporarily suspended operations in Little Rock and various parts of the Natural State.
According to a release Friday night, the precautionary measure comes as the winter storms deliver hazardous conditions across the city, including heavy snowfall and strong winds.
Cities with suspended operations include Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Cabot, Searcy, Malvern, Lonoke, Heber Springs, Star City, Clinton, Rison and Sheridan.
“With heavy snowfall and low visibility, the snowstorm is a serious threat to our community, and we’ve taken decisive action by activating our Severe Weather Protocol,” DoorDash spokesperson Julian Crowley said. “We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of Dashers, merchants and consumers, and will resume operations as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
Officials said they will continue to monitor conditions on the ground and will communicate additional changes to their operations as needed.
Arkansas
Knowing the Florida Gators Opponent: Arkansas Razorbacks
Gainesville, Fla. – The Florida Gators men’s basketball team’s next destination is Fayetteville, Ark., as they’ll take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2) on Saturday for their third SEC matchup of the season.
Florida is currently sitting at 14-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They opened their SEC slate with a nail-biting loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, losing 106-100 in Lexington.
However, the Gators were able to avenge this loss with one of the most dominant wins in men’s basketball history on Tuesday over No. 1 Tennessee. They trounced the Volunteers 73-43 in the O’Dome, marking the Gators’ first regular-season win over an AP No. 1-ranked team in program history and the biggest win over a No. 1-ranked team in the NCAA since 1968.
But enough about what Florida has done this season, let’s shift the focus to their opponents, the Razorbacks, and see who they are.
Arkansas’ season started out nice with a win over Lipscomb. However, it wouldn’t be the same for them in their second game of the season against then-ranked No. 8 Baylor, as they found themselves on the losing end of a tightly contested battle.
Then, following a good stretch for the team in red, they were tasked with the current No. 13 in the AP Poll, Illinois, and things wouldn’t go so well for new Razorbacks head coach John Calipari. His team was outclassed in this game 90-77, which ended their winning streak at four.
Arkansas did make amends with their fans a few games later, though. While participating in the Jimmy V Classic, they matched up with then-ranked No. 14 Michigan, who they narrowed past 89-87.
This win over the Wolverines helped maintain a three-game win streak that would eventually turn into a six-game streak. However, since SEC play started for the Razorbacks, they are 0-2 with losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss, who are currently ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll.
These pair of losses put Arkansas at just a 1-4 record against teams on their schedule to have been ranked or that are currently ranked.
While it was a complete roster overhaul for Calipari and the Razorbacks this offseason that was fueled by the transfer portal, their biggest grab has been from the high school ranks.
They added highly ranked players like Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo all from the portal, but it’s former five-star guard Boogie Fland who’s been arguably the best player for the Razorbacks this season.
Fland is averaging 15.5 points, 5.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game through 15 games this season. He is also connecting on 35.7 percent of his threes, which shows he’s more than just an inside scorer. Additionally, his 5.9 assists rank 24th among his competitors.
But in these first two SEC games, Fland is just 10-for-35 from the field and 3-for-17 from deep.
If the Gators can’t keep him in check like he’s been over these last two, then it might be a long afternoon for the visitors on Saturday.
Despite bringing in tons of talent that should’ve resulted in a great offense, Arkansas has been anything but that.
They currently rank inside the bottom five teams in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 79.4 points per game. They do have two players scoring at least 15.0 points per game, but that’s pretty much it. Outside of Thiero (16.9) and Fland, they only have one other player in double figures (DJ Wagner, 10.5).
Moreover, if this becomes a free-throw-dominated affair, the Gators shouldn’t be too worried about the Razorbacks’ performance at the line. They are shooting 71.1 percent from the charity stripe, which is good for 12th in the league.
And, lastly, they have little to no presence on the glass. They are the worst team in the SEC in offensive rebounding, and they are 13th out of 16 teams in overall rebounding. These are two areas where the Gators dominate, and if things play out like they have been this season, then the visitors should outmuscle their counterparts.
This game will be televised on Saturday at 4 pm on ESPN.
Arkansas
Viewer pictures: The Natural State transforms into a winter wonderland
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A winter storm rolled into Arkansas Thursday and brought with it snow to the majority of western and central Arkansas.
Many from around the Natural State sent in pictures of their area covered in snow.
GALLERY: Furry friends enjoying snow in the Natural State
Though Arkansas is already full of natural beauty, there’s something about the state covered in snow that makes it even more of a winter wonderland.
Several kids from around the state got out and took advantage of the day off of school by throwing snowballs, digging up the snow, sledding and of course making snow angels.
Share your Arkansas Winter Wonderland pics
Many who got out in the snow had enough accumulated to make snow men.
Share your snow day pictures at KARK.com/winter-pics.
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