FOIA Transparency Petition Drive in Final Stretch

The FOIA Petition Drive in the Final Stretch…

The Freedom to Petition Our Government!

Readers, we are in striking distance of the required numbers needed for our FOIA/transparency petitions. There are only a couple of weeks left to gather signatures, so please keep going! The petitions must be turned in by July 5, 2024.

Every signature counts as we are approaching the close of this opportunity to keep transparency in government strong and not watered down.

The ballot measures on government transparency are a non-partisan issue. So, whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or Libertarian; liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between, everyone needs to help keep our Arkansas Freedom of Information Act protected and strong here in our beautiful state.  

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was a law that provided the public the right to request access information from:

• agencies

• county government

• municipal government

• state government

• public schools

…BUT sadly, we saw part of our FOIA partially dismantled in the 2023 legislative session, and we knew we had to protect it with a ballot measure before the next 2025 legislative session starts up again. We also knew more of our FOIA would face being weakened once again by those opposing the “power of transparency” if we didn’t take action and do something, thus this state petition drive.

*Here is the wording for the Act: AN INITIATED MEASURE AMENDING THE ARKANSAS CODE TO CREATE THE “ARKANSAS GOVERNMENT DISCLOSURE ACT”

*and here is the wording for the Amendment: “THE ARKANSAS GOVERNMENT DISCLOSURE AMENDMENT OF 2024″.

These two ballot measures will strengthen our access to public meetings and records, if and when we can get them on the November 2024 ballot and enough people vote in support!

Some of our state legislators pretend to support the FOIA… but they won’t sign the petitions. Who are they protecting? It’s certainly NOT us, the people who voted them into office.

These FOIA ballot measures help hold government officials accountable… which they may not like. Don’t let the politicians remove power from the people! Without the FOIA, the people lose control. The way to have transparency in government is through the FOIA!

Let there be light!

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It’s imperative to understand that meetings and government documents must not be blocked off from us.

Again, we were in total shock at the MANY pieces of foul legislation that were filed in 2023 session by underhanded lawmakers trying to block public access to open meetings and desperately needed documents in the Arkansas FOIA process!

Our voices will be silenced, should we be denied access to open meetings and documents because we cannot get the information we need from the government, dear readers — because we won’t know what’s going on in government and what to object to.

We need transparency in government. Moreover, this goes hand-in-hand with free speech.

Truth and freedom go together. 

Our freedoms must be fought for… in every generation. 

Do YOU want to retain the right to transparency for your school district and be able to do a freedom of information request in a timely manner? What about with state agencies and county, municipal, and state governments? Maybe there’s information you need there, too. A good example is that taxpayers have the right to know where and how much of our money is being spent.

*News organizations are fighting to keep Arkansas’ Sunshine Laws intact. They don’t want to see it dismantled, either. As journalists and reporters, they want to keep transparency in government. The Press should retain undue limits on news-gathering so they can publish their important stories that keep us informed.   Freedom of Press is part of our First Amendment, and this means our government answers to the people.

*Attorneys are also fighting to keep our Arkansas Sunshine Law in good shape for their clientele. They know that without proper and timely access to documents, it would make it harder to fight for their clients.

*We, the people, are fighting to keep our Arkansas Sunshine Law whole, and that’s why we are gathering signatures – because we know that transparency in government keeps our rights and freedoms protected.

We have the right to know what goes on in government, and we want a self-governing system of government. That’s why we are circulating this statewide petition for Arkansans to sign and then submit it to the Secretary of State to be placed on the ballot this November.

“This is all or nothing,” says Joey McCutchen. ”We’re reclaiming our rights. If we win, we’re going to have the strongest FOIA in the country. If we lose in November, we will end up having the weakest FOIA in the country. They will come after FOIA, and it will be weakened and not recognized.”

We are in the final stretch of this FOIA petition drive!!

Let’s keep going strong and gathering signatures!!

See the list of PETITION HUBS below — These are locations all around the state where you can SIGN the petition, DROP OFF already signed and notarized petitions which you have gathered, and also PICK UP some blank petitions to help gather more needed signatures for the Act and for the Amendment to be placed on the Nov. 2024 ballot:

          McCutchen Napurano — The Law Firm
          1622 N B Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901

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Here is contact information you may need:

Joey McCutchen
479-806-4878

Secure Arkansas is also here for you, too:
info@securetherepublic.com

In closing, thank you for helping gather signatures.
No amount is too small.

It can all add up to one tremendous victory for Arkansans, for now and as a legacy for our future generations!!

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