LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A new bill dealing with Arkansas's Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, was filed at the Capitol during this legislative special session on Tuesday evening.
This is not the first bill like this to be filed. In fact, it's not the first one filed today.
Many Democrats and Republicans were frustrated with the original bill's restrictions on government transparency, including who joins the governor on taxpayer-funded trips.
But supporters said the legislation is for the safety of the governor and those around her.
But with a tight deadline for a special session, lawmakers spent hours on Tuesday writing drafts and holding hours of public comment.
The bill follows a request from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who shared a statement with us.
"I've asked the Senate and House to file a bill limited to security — the most critical and important aspect of FOIA reform," Sanders said. "Nobody said changing the status quo would be easy, but this is a great starting place for making our government safer and more effective."
Also on Tuesday, Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, the sponsor of the bill, discussed the new bill with 20 other Republicans, but it doesn't come without skepticism from other lawmakers about the scope of it and the rushed process.
"Senate Bill 10 focuses on protecting the security details of our governor and her small children," Hester said. "We believe the other sections of this policy that we've been debating over the last few days should continue to be debated because it's very important."
Meanwhile, fellow Sen. Bryan King, R- Green Forest, shared his frustration with the process for FOIA legislation.
"This last minute, making changes, scheduling meetings, canceling meetings, is not the way to run a process," King said. "In many government areas, we need more transparency, not less... I just want two things down here: a fair word, fair fight."
As reported earlier, State Rep. Julie Mayberry, R-Grant County, also filed a different FOIA bill Tuesday, which is tightly focused on security needs.
Lawmakers go back into session Wednesday morning, at which point Hester expects to recess and go into state agencies committees where there will be public comment.
Tuesday's public comment on FOIA lasted roughly five hours. Hester said in a press conference that he expects the special session to extend through Thursday.
The Arkansas Broadcasters Association shared a statement on the matter.
"The Arkansas Broadcasters Association supports SB10 [Hester] and HB1012 to amend the state's Freedom of Information Act to protect sensitive security information that could jeopardize the safety of our governor, her family, other elected officials, and those around them. We appreciate the governor and General Assembly's efforts to work together to address this important issue."