Press Releases

Question 1: If no emergency has been declared by the Governor, are council members allowed to attend city council meetings electronically and vote on matters?

Brief response: Possibly. The canons of construction point different ways, so I cannot definitively opine on how a court may rule. Moreover, the General Assembly recently passed Act 505 of 2025, which amends portions of A.C.A. § 25-19-106, without an emergency clause. Once in effect, the Act will substantively change both the facts presented and the analysis contained in this opinion.

Question 2: Can a city pass an ordinance to allow a council member to attend meetings [electronically]?

Brief response: Yes. Cities have the authority to enact ordinances that authorize their public bodies to hold public meetings electronically and that dictate how often a council member can utilize remote attendance.

Question 3: If the answer to question 2 is yes, is there a limit to how many times yearly the council member can utilize remote attendance?

Brief response: No. Cities have the authority to enact ordinances that dictate how often a council member can utilize remote attendance.

Request for review and certification of the popular name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment with the popular name, “An Amendment to Amend the Initiative and Referendum Process.”

Brief Response: Because the text of your proposed amendment is misleading, I am prevented from substituting and certifying a more suitable ballot title that is not misleading. Consequently, my statutory duty under A.C.A. § 7-9-107(e) is to reject your proposed popular name and ballot title, stating my “reasons therefor,” and to “instruct … [you] to redesign your proposed measure and the ballot title … in a manner that would not be misleading.”

Question: Is the custodian’s decision to release the requested records consistent with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)?

Brief Response: It is the statutory duty of this Office under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B) to state whether a custodian’s decision to release “personnel or evaluation records” is consistent with the FOIA. The City of Little Rock’s custodian of records has determined that the records should be released with certain redactions. For reasons discussed in this opinion, the custodian’s decision to release these documents is partially consistent with the FOIA. Some additional information from personnel records is exempt from disclosure, and the employee performance review records should be withheld. I also note that I cannot determine whether the custodian’s decision to redact certain information is consistent with the FOIA because I was not provided with unredacted copies of the documents. As to your specific objections, references’ contact information should be disclosed under the FOIA and the requester’s intent and motives are generally irrelevant when determining whether public records must be disclosed.