Madison Fights for FOI in State Senate

Sue Madison of Fayetteville, a state senator from the newly created District 7, is starting to look like a champion of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

In the current session of the Arkansas General Assembly, Madison, a Democrat, was the lone senator to vote against House Bill 1345, which was proposed by District 43 Rep. Jeff Wood and passed in the Senate on Feb. 25 by a landslide 34-1.

The new law allegedly “protects veterans from identity theft” by sealing military service discharge records that are kept voluntarily by veterans at county courthouses. It would also seal records of dishonorably discharged veterans who may later seek public office.

“I just thought it was moving in the wrong direction,” Madison said. “Where we are usually seeing more disclosure, this bill is providing less disclosure. We all love veterans … My father was in World War II and was a career Army officer. It’s not a lack of respect for veterans, but what’s at a courthouse should be public record.”

State Rep. Jay Bradford of Pine Bluff was the lone member out of 100 in the House of Representatives to vote against the bill.

Madison also filed Senate Bill 168, which would make it a misdemeanor offense for anyone to “knowingly or purposely” violate the state’s FOI law. Previously, the law referred only to people who “negligently” violate the law as if that’s the only way it could be violated.

That bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs and is on an inactive list while Madison continues to research it from a legal standpoint.