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12/30/2024 7:38:28 AM
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Secrecy, gadflies and sausage: Winners and losers of the 2023 special session


Secrecy, gadflies and sausage: Winners and losers of the 2023 special session



UNIQUE SESSION HIGHLIGHTS: Sen. Flowers (D-Pine Bluff); the sausage, egg and cheese biscuit at the state Capitol; State Police Director Mike Hagar

It began with a simple adequate request. Crusading blog writer Matt Campbell of Blue Hog Report requested for some records, wanting to find out who's been flying on the Arkansas State Police aircraft with the guv and just how much it was costing taxpayers. Flight logs for the ASP's King Air were always open for public evaluation in the past. This time, though, state authorities stated no, declaring the safety of the governor and her family were at stake. Campbell threatened to take legal action against.

Within months, Sanders called a special session to kneecap the cherished Arkansas Freedom of Information Act that's remained in location since 1967. Her proposed changes went way beyond security-related records to protect vast swaths of state federal government workings from public view. Think of the conserved time and performance if the state no longer had to gather up the records press reporters are constantly snooping around for or let pesky people see what's happening with their money, Sanders and her minions argued.

However when the session kicked off on the inauspicious date of Sept. 11, something unusual occurred. State legislators tossed a stick in the spokes very first thing, blocking guideline changes required to race Sanders' concerns to the finish line within the three days allocated.

Little Rock progressives connected arms with conservative groups like Conduit News and Saline County Republicans, briefly dropping the knives from each others' throats to point them at legislators rather. Not a single person testified in favor of Team Government Secrecy, other than high-level government employees and one security specialist Sanders had utilized in the past.
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Sanders and her group ultimately backed off the worst of the propositions. By Sept. 14, the Republican supermajority gave the 3rd income tax cut in a year, banned COVID-19 vaccine requirements for government entities and set up a brand-new savings account to stow away all the cash Arkansas conserves by shirking our duty to kids and the bad.

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WINNERS

500 Grill

The only Capitol vending maker was chosen tidy by the end of Day 1. That's okay, since the secret cafeteria in the Capitol basement lastly achieved the social media excitement it deserves for its outstanding sausage, egg and cheese biscuit-- an absolute take at $3.32. IYKYK.

Brian ChilsonA STEAL AT $3.33: The sausage, egg and cheese biscuit at the state Capitol's 500 Grill.
Stephanie Flowers' pet
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Sen. Flowers (D-Pine Bluff) calls it like she sees it, and she saw early on that the unique session was not going her method. Flowers tapped out Monday night and wouldn't return throughout, informing colleagues she had other commitments. "I'm going house to my pet dog right now," she announced on the Senate floor.

Brian ChilsonGOOD CALL, SENATOR: Sen. Flowers (D-Pine Bluff) saw early on that the unique session was not going her way.
Blue Hog/' Lil Matty with the Rona'

The factor for the season, Blue Hog blogger Matt Campbell was all over and no place at the Capitol. The ever peevish Rep. David Ray (R-Maumelle) mocked Campbell later that week for dropping his claim over the state cops documents due to a case of COVID, tweeting "Sorry Lil Matty has the Rona. (Campbell stated he might refile.).

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LOSERS.

Arkansas State Police.

People using the FOIA to access the guv's travel expenditures are simply trying to humiliate her, State Police Director Mike Hagar stated as he testified in assistance of the strategy to hide Sanders' future and previous flights.

Blake Johnson's constituents.

Sen. Blake Johnson (R-Corning), chairman of the Senate committee hearing statement on the FOIA expense, spent much of the session telling people why they were incorrect and he was ideal to do the guv's bidding. State Capitol Police and state cannon fodders existed in extraordinary numbers, and Johnson lastly gave them something to do when he required FOIA-defending gadfly Jimmie Cavin to be revealed the door.

David Ray/the English language.

Ray, whose off-putting doublespeak endeared him to nobody, pre-gamed the special session with a televised look on "Capitol View," where he argued that all state government interactions involving problems not yet chosen-- "pre-decisional," he stated-- need to be protected from public view. Ray failed to convince with his odd word choice, and pre-decisional documents remain level playing field in the meantime.

The Arkansas Press Association.

Arkansas Press Association President and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Publisher Eliza Gaines nailed her argument for maintaining the state's transparency law. "This bill goes far beyond individual safety," she told members of a Senate committee. "The extra modifications to FOIA have absolutely nothing to do with protecting human lives and everything to do with protecting state government from examination.".

After this, however, the APA went over to the dark side and endorsed the last bill passed by the legislature. The guv can now conceal public expenses from the public with the Arkansas Press Association's true blessing..

Bart Hester.

Bullying constituents, vowing fealty to the governor over the voters, having fun with his phone instead of focusing throughout committee conferences, Arkansas's new Senate President Pro Tempore revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt that he lacks the character for a leadership position..

Toss-up.

BLUE HOG INQUIRY: Crusading blog writer Matt Campbell of Blue Hog Report requested for some records, wishing to discover who's been flying on the Arkansas State Police aircraft with the governor and how much it was costing taxpayers.
Sarah Sanders and her jet-setting pals.

Picture minting your own golden ticket for unlimited free travel on the general public dime, without any method for anyone to ever understand who you took with you or just how much it cost? Cha-ching!

At the same time, Sanders found that perhaps her power to do whatever she likes is not endless after all. The MAGA contingent who chose Sanders in November 2022 smacked her hand in September over her quote to construct a wall of secrecy around state federal government..

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CAN'T WIN FOR LOSING.

Sen. Clarke Tucker.

Sen. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock) took the field in his usual position, pitching generous free legal analysis to his dimmer associates. The lone Democrat on a key committee that week (Stephanie Flowers had actually gone house to her canine), Tucker deftly led the bipartisan people's union for FOIA toward a win, just to get tripped up by his own integrity at the end. Having stated he 'd elect a bill focused exclusively on security, Tucker said he felt bound to follow through..

With Tucker's vote, along with a single Democratic "yes" on the House side from Mark Perry of Jacksonville, Sanders had the ability to crow that her government secrecy bill had bipartisan assistance.

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Elwood Hill
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Elwood Hill

Elwood Hill is an award-winning journalist with more than 18 years' of experience in the industry. Throughout his career, John has worked on a variety of different stories and assignments including national politics, local sports, and international business news. Elwood graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and immediately began working for Breaking Now News as lead journalist.

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