Arkansas Governor Tried to Keep More Records Private. The Pushback Was Swift.
When Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to restrict what could be released under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, even some of her own supporters resisted.
The New york times | By Rick Rojas | sept. 14, 2023
State Agencies underway at around 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12 during which Senator Hester used the same misleading, red herring talking pts as Gov. Sara Huckabee Sanders did during her Friday (Sept. 8) news conference to attempt to justify this attack on our AR Freedom of Information Act.
When Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders summoned Arkansas lawmakers to Little Rock for a special legislative session this week to cut taxes and ban the state from mandating Covid-19 vaccinations, she added one more request: Overhaul the state’s longstanding Freedom of Information Act.
The law, as it stood, endangered her family, Ms. Sanders said, because it did not go far enough in shielding information about her security. She called for blocking the disclosure of such information, and also for other changes, urging lawmakers to limit the release of records related to policymaking and discussions of legal strategy.
“They don’t care about transparency,” Ms. Sanders, a Republican who took office in January, said in a news conference last week, referring to people she saw as taking advantage of the law, which gives any resident of the state the right to have access to government records. “They want to waste taxpayer dollars, slow down our bold conservative agenda and, frankly, put my family’s lives at stake.”
But the pushback was swift, swelling beyond organizations representing news organizations and government transparency advocates to include conservatives and some of the governor’s own supporters.
“This is not about ‘security’ in any sense of the word,” the Pulaski County Republican Committee posted on its Facebook page. The Arkansas branch of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group, denounced what it called an attempt to erode a “cornerstone of democracy,” even as it praised the governor for calling a special session to push tax cuts.
In a moment when the country’s politics have become highly polarized, supporters of the legislation, perhaps unwittingly, seemed to run into a rare slice of common ground: distrust of the motives of government officials, and resistance to a plan that would allow them to operate with less scrutiny.
Lawmakers approved a stripped-down version of the legislation on Thursday, restricting the release only of records related to the protection of the governor and other senior state officials, including security procedures, emergency plans and surveillance footage.
“The power of the people was on display,” Joey McCutchen, a lawyer and a founder of the Arkansas Transparency in Government Group, told lawmakers during a hearing Wednesday on the revised version. “People from all walks of life — left, right, Democrat, Republican, poor, rich, across the spectrum — came together to talk about the importance of our right to know.”
While highlighting the boundaries of the new governor’s influence, the commotion at the State Capitol this week was also something more novel: a display of bipartisan agreement, and of lawmakers responding to the concerns of their constituents.
Scott Gray, a member of the Saline County Republican Committee, thanked legislators on Wednesday “for listening to the people and for whittling this down to a security-only bill.”
He added, “I’ve never had Democrats support anything I’ve said until this week.”
Ms. Sanders signed the bill on Thursday, calling it a “first step” in evaluating and updating the Freedom of Information Act. “We now have a bipartisan piece of legislation,” she said in a news conference, adding that it had brought “frankly, a lot of unlikely allies to the table.”
The governor’s push came after a blogger in Arkansas sought information about how much it cost taxpayers to protect Ms. Sanders and her family, particularly during a trip to Europe for a trade mission over the summer.
In the news conference last week, she described dangers to herself and her family that she attributed to a fractured political climate and her visibility as a political figure — she was the White House press secretary for nearly two years under President Donald J. Trump before seeking office. A 74-year-old man in Russellville, Ark., had said he wanted to shoot her, she said. And just last month, an Oklahoma man pleaded guilty to making threats against Ms. Sanders and other Republican leaders.
The original proposal would have ended the release of an array of records related to how government policies and decisions are reached. It would also have blocked the release of certain documents prepared by lawyers representing state agencies or officials, according to the bill.
Eliza Hussman Gaines, publisher of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the state’s largest newspaper, told lawmakers on Tuesday that the proposal had “nothing to do with protecting human lives and everything to do with protecting state government from public scrutiny.”
The provision about records related to policymaking deliberations was replaced with one limiting the release of communications among the governor, her staff and the leaders of cabinet-level departments. State Senator Bart Hester, a Republican sponsor of the legislation, described the revised version as “drastically different” from the original bill.
Still, opponents said the legislation would water down a Freedom of Information Act that elected officials from both parties have long held up as a point of pride, describing the 1967 law as one of the stronger state “sunshine laws” protecting government transparency.
But officials have contended that elements of the law were ripe for reconsideration, as it had not kept pace with the rapid evolution of technology.
“The last time F.O.I.A. was modernized, the iPhone hadn’t been invented yet,” the state attorney general, Tim Griffin, a Republican, said in June in a statement announcing that a bipartisan group would explore recommendations for updating the law.
New technologies, Mr. Griffin said, have allowed “public entities to create and retain more records than ever before, making responding to F.O.I.A. requests more complex and increasing the amount of F.O.I.A. requests being lodged.”
Other states have taken steps to tighten their public information laws. In Florida, which has historically had some of the strongest requirements for transparency, lawmakers voted in May to shield the travel records of Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top officials from public view. In New Jersey, a recent proposal called for new restrictions on people who lodge record requests most frequently, and on which documents can be released, among other measures.
Bill Kopsky, the executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, warned that a watered-down Freedom of Information Act would allow fraud and abuses of power to fester.
“Arkansas can only remain the land where people rule,” he said in a statement, “when we can see what our government is doing.”
Arkansas tax cut proposal met with opposition, people say money should be spent elsewhere
KATV | Sept. 12, 2023
Kymera Seals with Arkansas Public Policy Panel say surplus tax money should be spent on the children of Arkansas.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas legislature has reconvened for a special session to discuss the Freedom of Information Act and tax cuts.
While FOIA has been the bulk of the conversation thus far, some are speaking out against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ proposed tax cuts.
The proposal would cut personal income tax rates to 4.4% and corporate income taxes to 4.8%. It also includes offering a one-time tax relief for taxpayers making less than $90,000 a year.
The governor’s office said this is a promise that will hopefully be fulfilled, saying in a statement, “Arkansans will see more on their paycheck and the state will remain competitive in attracting business.”…
…Others like Kymera Seals with Arkansas Public Policy Panel say the money should be spent on the children of Arkansas.
“We have families who are struggling, we have kids that have been kicked off Medicaid, we need more workers in the foster care system,” Seals said.
The effort to roll back state government transparency is an attack on your rights
Arkansas Times OP-ED | SEPT. 11, 2023
BILL KOPSKY: With other advocates on the steps of the Arkansas Capitol earlier this year.
Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, is one of our most powerful tools for holding the government and large corporations accountable for fraud, abuse and illegal activities. I know this because our organization, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, has used the FOIA for just that purpose to hold Democratic, Republican and non-partisan government officials accountable for decades.
Decades ago, the FOIA helped us uncover evidence that companies, with the state’s knowledge, were violating their pollution control permits and causing nearby children to get sick. The FOIA helped us discover that the state’s own inspectors were documenting illegal activity at one plant. We’ve also pressured the state into taking enforcement action against other polluting corporations and forced them to clean up their acts.
We used the FOIA to uncover examples of officials misspending tax dollars that were supposed to help low-income children — and we made sure the money got to those kids. We used the FOIA to uncover examples of some county clerks not recording voter registration information correctly and not preparing adequately for upcoming elections. We used it to expose racially discriminatory practices at some charter schools and force them to apologize and make corrections to their practices.
The list of ways the FOIA makes our government better, more transparent and more accountable is endless. But now Gov. Sarah Sanders and some legislators are trying to pass a bill that would undermine the FOIA and make it much harder for citizens to get information about what public officials are up to.
Many consider the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the other organization I work for, the Arkansas Citizens First Congress, to be liberal-leaning. But many of the abuses we have exposed through the years have helped Arkansans who are completely non-political. Similarly, there are conservative-leaning organizations that also play a government watchdog role, and they too use the FOIA as a tool for protecting the rights of citizens and holding the powerful accountable.
BILL KOPSKY: Improve schools
Invest in proven strategies
Arkansas democrat-gazette Op-Ed | aug. 24, 2023
One thing we can all agree on is that we want our children to succeed. We need all children to have an opportunity to succeed to build the strong communities we want.
Despite our common values, most Arkansans know that we can do better for our kids. Our schools are stuck near the bottom of national rankings. There are a lot of opinions on how to help our students learn better, and a lot of political and ideological noise around what schools should do.
The good news is there is astonishing consensus around reforms we know will improve outcomes for every child in Arkansas. Backed by a multitude of peer-reviewed studies and case examples, the path to improving our schools is remarkably clear:
High-quality early childhood education
Extra help for low-income children
After-school and summer programs
Improving special education
Improving teacher quality
Strengthening student/parent/educator and community collaboration
High-quality curriculum and standards
Education advocates join forces to fight school privatization components of Arkansas LEARNS bill
Arkansas Times | Feb. 27, 2023
A team of education advocates joined forces Monday to push back against a message from Gov. Sarah Sanders and her minions that if you’re not for their omnibus education bill, you’re for the status quo.
Leaders from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, the Arkansas Education Association, the Public Policy Panel, Citizens First Congress and Disability Rights Arkansas said they want to improve education opportunities, but that Arkansas LEARNS will do the opposite. The push to privatize education will further limit prospects for students without the cash, transportation and other resources to leave an increasingly underfunded public education system.
“The big point I want to highlight is that this bill is being sold as a public education bill. It has not very much to do with public education other than dismantling a lot of it,” Arkansas Public Policy Panel Executive Director Bill Kopsky said. “We think what this really is, is a school privatization bill. We should just call it that.”
Pressed for time and under siege by government officials who’ve taken to social media to mock their efforts to push back, the group is getting loud about their concerns while they can. The 144-page Senate Bill 294 filed one week ago goes up for its second and likely last public hearing tomorrow in the House Education Committee at 9 a.m. The Senate signed off on the bill last week even as amendments were still being made, and the House is expected to keep up the frantic pace, despite widespread calls from Arkansans who understandably expect more than a day or two to digest a massive legal document that will fundamentally alter the state’s education system.
OrgS rally at Arkansas State Capitol to advocate for rights
KATV | Feb. 23, 2023
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — More than 30 organizations showed up to the Arkansas State Capitol on Thursday to call attention to legislation they deemed to threaten the freedom and rights of people.
Kymara Seals, policy director at Arkansas Public Policy Panel, led the rally and said that 'democracy is being threatened.'
"Public education is under attack, human rights are under attack, human rights, decisions women make about their bodies is under attack, black history being taught in schools is under attack," Seals said. "They're trying to end affirmative action but there's still discrimination, racism, sexism in Arkansas."
Arkansas lawmakers continue attacking the will of the people
Arkansas Times Op-Ed | Feb. 20, 2023
So much for the will of the people.
At the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Citizens First Congress, we believe every Arkansan has a right to have a say about the laws and issues that matter to them. We trust voters. But some politicians are attacking voters’ rights through SB260 and HB1419.
In 2019, the Arkansas Legislature referred Issue 3 to the 2020 ballot. It would have curtailed citizens’ rights to place measures on the ballot in nearly identical ways to SB260 and HB1419. Arkansas voters soundly rejected it with nearly 56% of voters saying no.
Arkansas lawmakers didn’t care and, in 2021, they referred Issue 2 to the 2022 ballot to again attack citizens’ rights to pass ballot measures. Arkansas voters liked it even less and rejected it with nearly 60% of the vote.
Rally held at State Capitol against Gov. Sanders' 'Arkansas LEARNS' education plan
KATV | Feb. 15, 2023
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Opposition is mounting against Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' proposed omnibus education policy, 'Arkansas LEARNS,' which she unveiled last Wednesday.
A rally against the education plan was held this Wednesday on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol.
"Despite the beliefs of some of our Arkansas legislators, the schools that need the most support have not been funded in an equitable matter," said Special Sanders with New Generation of Leaders.
Several education- and policy-focused organizations banded together to protest against the proposed legislation this afternoon--their primary point of contention: a planned increase in public funds for a school choice program.
Advocates push back against governor’s voucher plan
Arkansas Times | Feb. 15, 2023
Arkansas education advocates gathered at the state Capitol today to rally in opposition to Gov. Sarah Sanders’ school voucher plan that’s part of the still-not-released omnibus education package.
Educational malpractice
Arkansas Times Op-Ed | Feb. 9, 2023
Gov. Sarah Sanders and many legislative leaders tell us that Arkansas schools are sick and not performing as well as they ought to. I agree. We have many amazing schools and educators, but we have a lot of room for improvement, especially for our most vulnerable kids.
The good news is that there are proven things we can do to make the patient — our kids’ education — healthy and help our students learn. But what the governor and some legislative leaders have proposed is a complete misdiagnosis of the problem, and their recommendations will cause greater gaps in learning.
Proposed state senate bill would eliminate affirmative action in Arkansas
KNWA / FOX24 | Feb. 3, 2023
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A bill moving through the Arkansas senate would end affirmative action in the state if it becomes law.
Proposed Senate Bill 71 would strike out large portions of the Arkansas code referring to the hiring and retaining minorities. The word “minority” would also be struck from teacher, administrator and university student retention programs.
The same elimination of language would take place for state hiring or procurement programs that had been structured to increase minority participation. The legislation would also change the name of the Department of Education’s Equity Assistance Center, to the Equality Assistance Center and eliminate its affirmative action role.
Republican State Senator Dan Sullivan, who sponsored the bill, said it would put people on equal footing.
“It’s going to take the government out of the job of picking winners and losers,” Sullivan said.
While the Racial Equity Coordinator for Arkansas Public Policy Panel Osyrus Bolly said programs that promote diversity ensure we have an inclusive society.
“I thought that this was just another bill that was being filed to discourage diversity, equity and inclusion,” Bolly said.
VOTE 2022: A BREAKDOWN OF ISSUE 2 IN ARKANSAS
KAIT8 | OCT. 17, 2022
With election season just around the corner, Region 8 News will begin to explain what issues you could see on the ballot.
One of those issues Arkansans will see in the November election will be Issue 2.
A vote for Issue 2 means support for increasing the percentage of votes required to pass constitutional amendments and citizen-proposed state laws from a majority to 60%.
Read more here.
PROTECT AR RIGHTS LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL AD CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISSUE 2
KATV | OCT. 11, 2022
Protect AR Right announced Tuesday that it will launch a digital ad campaign focusing on defeating issue 2 this November.
Titled "Life On the Playground," the ad is about politicians changing the rules to get their way, according to a news release.
"It's a lesson straight out of 4th grade," the ad explains. "Someone can't win fairly, so they try to change the rules to get their way. These days, too many politicians are like that. When we make decisions through ballot initiatives that politicians don't like, some act like sore losers and try to rewrite the initiative rules, undermining the principle of one person, one vote — ending majority rule, letting just 41 percent overrule the will of the people. Protect the will of the people. Vote against Issue 2."
STATE LAWMAKERS THINK YOU’RE DUMB ENOUGH TO VOTE FOR ISSUE 2
ARKANSAS TIMES | OCT. 11, 2022
Arkansas voters are too dumb to be trusted with making laws, so let’s move the goalposts to make it harder for them to even try. Such is the thinking behind a ballot measure Republican Rep. David Ray of Maumelle and his fellow Koch brother stans are trying to trick you into voting for this November.
Backers of Issue 2 hope Arkansans will voluntarily hand over a chunk of the power they now have to amend the state constitution. If passed, Issue 2 will require a 60% supermajority to get constitutional amendments across the finish line, rather than the current simple majority requirement. The measure originated in the Arkansas General Assembly, which has the power to refer up to three constitutional amendments to the ballot for each general election.
Sides disagree on Issue 2: Needed reform, or attack on democracy?
TALK BUSINESS | SEPT. 25, 2022
Groups are forming on both sides of Issue 2, a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder to amend the Arkansas Constitution and for voters to pass an initiated act.
The proposed amendment would increase the majority needed to pass amendments from the current simple majority to 60%. The 60% threshold would apply to amendments initiated by citizens as well as those referred to voters by legislators.
Issue 2 also would increase the required threshold for passage of initiated acts from a simple majority to 60%. An initiated act is a law placed on the ballot by citizens after a signature gathering process that then is passed by voters.
Read more: https://talkbusiness.net/2022/09/sides-disagree-on-issue-2-needed-reform-or-attack-on-democracy/
Activists move against increase of vote threshold in Arkansas, saying it stifles power
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE | SEPT. 23, 2022
Activists are beginning a campaign against a ballot question that would increase the percentage threshold needed for Arkansas voters to approve an amendment to the state's constitution.
The proposed amendment, known as Issue 2, would increase the threshold to pass constitutional amendments and ballot initiatives from a simple majority to 60%. The increased threshold would apply to amendments and initiatives proposed both by voters through petitions and by the state Legislature.
Protect AR Rights, a newly formed group opposed to the referendum, criticized Issue 2 during a news conference Thursday.
"We are opposed to any power being taken from the people, any power being restricted, any power hampered, any power in any way diminished," said Kwami Abdul-Bey, elections coordinator for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.
Read more here.
Group forms to defeat measure that would weaken Arkansans’ votes
ARKANSAS TIMES | SEPT. 12, 2022
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel is stepping up to fight a constitutional amendment that would make it harder for citizens to pass constitutional amendments by requiring the measures to secure at least 60% of the vote.
The Public Policy Panel formed the committee Friday, pledging to educate voters about the amendment, which was referred to the ballot after overwhelming votes by the state legislature earlier this year.
Read more here.
WINTHROP ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES HEAL NARRATIVE LAB
Arkansas Money & Politics | Sept. 7, 2022
The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation announced on Aug. 31, that it would be starting the HEAL Narrative Lab, a $1.08 million capacity-building investment aimed toward helping six nonprofit organizations shift the public conversation to how everyday Arkansans can thrive in the state. The HEAL acronym stands for Humanize, Elevate, Advocate and Learn.
Scheduled the launch in this fall of 2022, the HEAL Narrative Lab will assist participating organizations with crafting effective messages and narratives related to their respective missions. The pilot campaign, “Here to Thrive,” will center on the lives and perspectives of everyday Arkansans, and will be guided by a group of strategic communications experts specializing in the practice of narrative change.
The six organizations that have been selected to take part in the inaugural HEAL Narrative Lab are: Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Arkansas Soul, Oxford American, RootED Northwest Arkansas and Venceremos.
“We are excited about this opportunity to bring together six mission-aligned nonprofits for participation in the HEAL Narrative Lab, an initiative whose goal is to shift perceptions, behavior, and policy to reflect a more equitable Arkansas,” said WRF Senior Equity Officer Reverend Shantell Hinton Hill. “To accomplish this, WRF will provide grantees with the support necessary to strengthen their capacity to drive messaging around what it means to thrive in Arkansas.”
Each partner organization will receive an investment of at least $100,000 over two years, a lab partner with whom to provide insight and collaboration on narrative work, as well as research and communications support from designated WRF partners. These partners will employ Arkansas-specific data and research to help advance the vision of Arkansas as an equitable place where all Arkansans have the chance to thrive and prosper.
For more information about WRF, visit its website.
Arkansans share views on constitutional amendment and ballot reform initiative
KATV NEWS
AUG. 31, 2022
Election Day is less than three months away, and one of the proposals on the ballot is Issue 2 or Constitutional Amendment and Ballot Initiative Reform Amendment. If the proposal passes, it will require a 60 percent majority for constitutional amendments and citizen-proposed state laws.
Kymara Seals, policy director for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, said Issue 2 is not good for everyday voters.
"It would create a barrier because it just makes it harder with a higher threshold to have access to the ballot," Seals said.
According to Seals, the current threshold is 50 percent, and one vote will be pushed to 60 percent if the proposal is passed. She said voter led initiatives in recent years have proven their voices matter.
Read more: https://bit.ly/3wNR4nH
Judge to dismiss challenge to Arkansas legislative maps unless DOJ joins case
THE HILL
FEB. 17, 2022
A federal judge said he will dismiss a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’s new legislative maps unless the Department of Justice joins the case as a plaintiff, The Associated Press reported.
In a ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky, who was appointed to the bench by former President Trump, said he had "concluded that this case may be brought only by the Attorney General of the United States" and gave the department five days to join as a plaintiff before he dismisses it.
Rudofsky also said in his 42-page ruling that there is “a strong merits case that at least some of the challenged districts” in the lawsuit violate the Voting Rights Act, according to the AP.
The lawsuit, filed by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Arkansas State Conference NAACP, challenged the state's new House districts and sought a preliminary injunction to block them, the wire service reported.
Judge to toss Arkansas redistricting case unless DOJ joins
The ruling comes days before candidates can begin filing for legislative and state offices in Arkansas.
Politico
Feb. 17, 2022
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal judge said Thursday he’s dismissing a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ new state House districts as diluting the influence of Black voters, unless the Justice Department joins the case as a plaintiff.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky said there’s “a strong merits case that at least some of the challenged districts” in the lawsuit by two groups violate the federal Voting Rights Act. But, in a 42-page decision, Rudofsky said he can’t rule on the merits of the case and gave the Justice Department five days to join as a plaintiff before he dismisses it.
A Trump judge’s new decision would undo more than 50 years of voting rights law
Trump Judge Lee Rudofsky’s decision could completely neutralize the Voting Rights Act when the GOP controls the White House.
Vox
Feb. 17, 2022
A Trump-appointed judge handed down a decision on Thursday that, if embraced by the Supreme Court, would render crucial safeguards against racial discrimination in elections virtually unenforceable — particularly during Republican administrations.
To be clear, this is a decision by a federal trial judge, which means that it must survive contact with an appeals court and the Supreme Court before its narrow approach to voting rights becomes the law of the land. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 Republican majority is typically hostile to voting rights suits, so there is a very real risk that they will agree with this trial judge.
The case is Arkansas State Conference NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment, and the plaintiffs claim that Arkansas’s statehouse maps are racially gerrymandered in violation of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), the landmark civil rights law that probably did more than any other statute to end Jim Crow. Among other things, the plaintiffs note that the maps contain only 11 (out of 100) majority-Black districts, even though Black voters make up more than 16 percent of the state’s population.
But Lee Rudofsky, the Trump judge assigned this case, barely engages with the substance of this racial gerrymandering claim. Instead, Rudofsky concludes that such a claim “may be brought only by the Attorney General of the United States” and not by private plaintiffs.
Testimony concludes in Arkansas redistricting hearing; closing arguments up next
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Feb. 8, 2022
Testimony in the lawsuit contesting Arkansas' newly drawn state House district maps wrapped up Monday in federal court.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed a lawsuit against the Arkansas Board of Apportionment, made up of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston, arguing the new legislative districts created after the 2020 census dilute the influence of Black voters.
Plaintiffs and the defense rested their case Monday, and the trial will proceed to closing arguments scheduled for today.
The case has continued under a fast-approaching deadline as candidates can begin filing to run Feb. 22. So with winter weather delaying the hearing last week, testimony continued Saturday and again for 11 hours Monday.
Much of the preliminary injunction hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky was direct and cross-examination of former state representative Andy Davis.
Rutledge hired Davis, a Republican who represented Little Rock, to help redraw the maps after the decennial census.
Attorneys from the Attorney General's office, who are representing the Arkansas Board of Apportionment, called Davis to the stand to testify about the complexities of drawing 100 legislative districts that qualify with federal and state law and meet state goals on compactness.
Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/feb/08/testimony-concludes-in-arkansas-redistricting/
Witness talks of polarized voting; state divisions both party, racial, she says in redistricting suit
Arkansas democrat gazette
feb. 3, 2022
Voting in Arkansas is not only polarized along party lines but has long been polarized along racial lines, according to one expert who testified Wednesday in federal court in the lawsuit over the state's new legislative boundaries.
That was the conclusion of Lisa Handley, a redistricting expert brought in by plaintiffs in the case that was filed by ACLU lawyers on behalf of the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.
Handley also testified that racial polarization in the voting booth in Arkansas matches the polarization in some other jurisdictions "but none are more polarized" than in Arkansas.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit against the Arkansas Board of Apportionment, comprised of the state's three top constitutional officers: Republicans Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston.
The board is tasked with the once-a-decade redrawing of legislative boundaries in Arkansas after the decennial census.
The lawsuit is challenging the board's new districts for the state House of Representatives, claiming that the new map dilutes the influence of Black voters.
This week's preliminary injunction hearing is to determine whether the map should be struck down before the May primary election -- the first election to employ the newly drawn districts.
Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/feb/03/witness-talks-of-polarized-voting/
US Judge to Hear Arguments in Arkansas Redistricting Case
US News and World REport
Feb. 1, 2022
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday over a lawsuit challenging Arkansas' new state House maps.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky will hear arguments Tuesday from Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and from the state over the redistricting lawsuit.
The groups have asked the judge to block the new state House maps, saying they dilute the strength of Black voters in Arkansas.
Rudofsky last month rejected a request from the groups that he recuse himself from hearing the lawsuit. The groups had cited Rudofksy's ties to the state's Republican governor and attorney general.
The new House boundaries were drawn last year by the state Board of Apportionment, which is comprised of Governor Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston. All three are Republicans.
Federal judge hears arguments over request for top Arkansas officials to testify in redistricting suit
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Jan. 28, 2022
A ruling on a motion to quash subpoenas requiring Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston -- who make up the state Board of Apportionment -- to testify at an upcoming preliminary injunction hearing in a lawsuit regarding redistricting is currently up in the air as litigants in the case prepare to go to court on Tuesday.
The ACLU of Arkansas filed suit on Dec. 29 on behalf of the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, challenging the new state House district boundaries approved by the Board of Apportionment, a three-member board tasked with setting new legislative maps based on information from the U.S. census every 10 years. Also filed was a motion for a preliminary injunction and request for expedited briefing and consideration.
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/jan/28/federal-judge-hears-arguments-over-request-for/
Possible covid infection delays Arkansas redistricting lawsuit
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
JAN. 25, 2022
A preliminary injunction hearing regarding the new state House redistricting map that was scheduled to begin Thursday in federal court has been pushed back at least a week -- if not longer -- after the presiding judge exhibited covid-19 symptoms following exposure to the virus.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky issued an order Sunday delaying the hearing for a preliminary injunction on the new House map until "the first part of the first week of February" after, he said, he began to exhibit "symptoms consistent with Covid-19" earlier in the day.
That order comes on the heels of a motion Friday by the defendants in the case -- Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston -- to have the state's three Board of Apportionment members' subpoenas quashed, saying that their testimony would be irrelevant to the case and that all relevant facts can be attested to by subordinates.
At issue is a claim by opponents of the new state House redistricting map approved by the Board of Apportionment -- Hutchinson, Rutledge and Thurston -- that it dilutes Black voter representation through the drawing of 11 of 100 House districts into minority-majority districts. Those 11 districts are one less than the 12 districts designated 10 years ago and are five less than what opponents say are required to achieve parity for Black voters in the state.
According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the latest decennial count of people in the U.S. showed that Black residents of Arkansas comprise 16.5% of the state's overall population and 15.5% of the state's voting age population.
The ACLU of Arkansas filed suit on Dec. 29 on behalf of the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, challenging the new House district boundaries. Also filed was a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the new map from going into effect until the case is decided and a request for expedited briefing and consideration because of the candidate filing period that begins Feb. 22 and concludes March 1.
Almost immediately, the case hit a snag when the plaintiffs filed a motion Dec. 31 asking that Rudofsky recuse from the case based upon his former employment by Rutledge in the attorney general's office and his political support of Rutledge and Hutchinson based upon two campaign contributions he made when both were running for reelection. On Jan. 5, Rudofsky entered an order denying the motion.
Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com//news/2022/jan/25/possible-covid-infection-delays-arkansas/
Board gives final approval to new district maps for the Arkansas Legislature
ARCAN/ARKANSAS PBS
NOV. 29, 2021
During a hearing that lasted less than a half-hour, members of the Arkansas Board of Apportionment gave final approval Monday to new district maps for the state House of Representatives and Senate. But Gov. Asa Hutchinson, one of the board's three members, acknowledged the maps could face legal challenges.
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas Citizen’s First Congress on Friday released a 45-page analysis suggesting the maps were illegally gerrymandered with boundaries unnecessarily dividing cities to “marginalize the ability of racial and ethnic groups to influence” election outcomes. The American Civil Liberties Union also last week sent a third letter to the board arguing the maps violate the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The Board of Apportionment is made up of the governor, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston, all Republicans. The districts are redrawn every 10 years after U.S. Census counts are complete.
“There’s probably not a perfect process for redistricting, but through the guidance of the courts, federal law, the Constitution, I believe in Arkansas, we managed it as well as any state could,” Hutchinson said after two unanimous votes approving maps for each chamber of the legislature. “Nothing’s perfect, but I think our system has worked well this time. I think it obviously can be reviewed by the courts.”
Final approval of the maps came after a 30-day public comment period that followed the board’s previous meeting on Oct. 29. Hutchinson on Monday listed several changes that had been made to the maps based on comments that were received.
He said the board’s staff redrew House district boundaries to make the city of Mountain Home whole, made changes to districts around Jonesboro, Fort Smith and Hermitage, and adjusted House District 9 in Springdale so that it is now a majority Latino voting age district.
On the Senate map, Hutchinson said changes were made to keep Hot Springs Village whole, removed boundaries that would have split Stone and Searcy counties, modified a district in Fort Smith and kept the number of districts with minorities making up the majority of voters at four.
“I see those are responding more broadly to some needs and it really illustrates how important this 30-day comment period has been,” Hutchinson said. “I know that all of the concerns expressed have not been able to be adjusted, and again, there are broader reasons in terms of the entire map that constrained our action in that regard.”
No immediate lawsuits were announced after Monday’s meeting, but the Democratic Party of Arkansas Chair Grant Tennille suggested legal action will be forthcoming. He said in a press release that the new maps will decrease majority-minority districts 17.6%.
“They cracked minority populations along the Delta, diluting Black votes and weakening Black incumbents along the Mississippi River and in South Arkansas — while also packing minority populations elsewhere," Tennille said. "These newly drawn maps are illegal. The people who drew them know it, and they know they’ll be headed to court.”
Rutledge said at the end of the meeting that the maps will withstand any challenges.
“I am confident as the state’s lawyer that when we look at these maps that these maps meet all of the requirements of federal law," Rutledge said. "They are fair, equal and are in the best interest of the citizens of Arkansas.”
Hutchinson also expressed confidence in the legitimacy of the process.
“We did all that we could to follow the Constitution and the public comments and to do it in a way that provides for equal representation, and that is the goal that we all have,” Hutchinson said. “I’m pleased with the process. I know there will be a debate and review of this as we go into the future, but [I’m] grateful to the people of the State of Arkansas for allowing us this opportunity to shape equal representation for our state for the next decade.”
In a joint statement Monday afternoon, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas Citizen’s First Congress said, "We will continue to review the impact of the sudden changes in the maps, but overall our previous assessment remains valid: Communities across Arkansas are unnecessarily split to serve a political outcome. The Board failed to sufficiently inform and engage the public. And the Board ignored most of the rules spelled out in law on how the maps should be drawn."
New Arkansas legislative districts to be voted on Monday, amid complaints of how lines split minorities, cities and counties
Concerns raised over some areas
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
NOV. 28, 2021
A state panel is set to vote Monday on finalizing new districts for the Arkansas House and Senate, amid concerns about minority representation and municipal splits in the proposed maps.
The Arkansas Board of Apportionment -- which consists of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state -- redraws the state's legislative district maps based on U.S. census data every 10 years.
All three positions are now held by Republicans, the same party that holds a majority of the Arkansas House and Senate seats. The board hired former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Betty Dickey as redistricting coordinator.
The Natural State's population grew to 3,011,524 over the past decade, making the ideal population for a state Senate district 86,044 and a House district 30,115.
The new maps factor in population growth in Northwest Arkansas and Central Arkansas by adding seats to those regions while geographically expanding districts in the southern and eastern parts of the state.
When the proposed maps were first unveiled at the board's Oct. 29 meeting, board officials said the new maps increased the number of majority-minority districts in the House from 11 to 13, adding a predominantly Hispanic district in Northwest Arkansas and a majority-Black district in eastern Pulaski County.
2 Arkansas nonprofits ask board to redraw proposed legislative maps; vote set for Monday
Legislative zones are called flawed
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Nov. 27, 2021
Two nonprofit community-based justice organizations announced Friday they have asked the Arkansas Board of Apportionment to completely redraw the proposed legislative maps due to claims of gerrymandering.
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Arkansas Citizens First Congress released a report Friday stating they found serious deficiencies with the Board of Apportionment's legislative redistricting proposal, which is to be voted on Monday.
"They divide communities unnecessarily to serve political ends and marginalize the ability of racial and ethnic groups to influence the outcome of elections," the report states.
Bill Kopsky, executive director for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the proposed maps violate the criteria they told the public they were meant to follow.
"The only guideline it didn't seemingly completely violate was protecting the incumbent and even there they were picking and choosing which incumbents to protect," he said. "The maps are so flawed they need to be thrown out and started again."
Kopsky said the most disturbing part was the Board of Apportionment's promise to the state, made when gathering public input, that the maps weren't going to harm minority communities.
"Time and time again, they have sliced up these communities," he said. "Arkansas has a lot of racial justice concerns already and these maps are going to lead to our politics being more divisive and with minority communities not being able to respond."
Ahead of apportionment meeting, Arkansas Public Policy Panel report finds “serious deficiencies” in proposed legislative maps
KnwA FOX 24
Nov. 26, 2021
Ahead of the November 29 Board of Apportionment meeting called by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel (APPP) has released a comprehensive report detailing “serious deficiencies” in the proposed Arkansas legislative maps.
According to a press release from the APPP, their analysis, made along with the Arkansas Citizens First Congress (ACFC), states that “the Board’s proposal violates state and federal law by ignoring almost all of the eight criteria for redistricting by engaging in partisan and racial gerrymandering.”
The report continues by stating that the redrawn districts would “divide communities unnecessarily to serve political ends and marginalize the ability of racial and ethnic groups to influence the outcome of elections.”
New analysis: A detailed takedown of proposed legislative redistricting as partisan and racially discriminatory
ARKANSAS TIMES
Nov. 26, 2021
A comprehensive analysis by grassroots political groups of the proposed legislative redistricting, set for final approval Monday, finds it politically and racially gerrymandered and in violation of legal guidelines.
The report to be filed with the board of apportionment is by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas Citizens First Congress. It says counties and cities are unnecessarily split for political ends and the boundaries marginalize minority racial and ethnic groups in the process. It illustrates with detailed analysis of the 35 Senate and 100 House Districts.
A group of lawmakers didn't wait for the governor to call an October special session to pick back up their hot-button, "grandstand-to-their-base" bills. The extended session that began late last month is supposed to--by law--conclude "unfinished business." That means passing bills with new congressional district maps.
Instead, a few state senators on the extreme right ignored their mandate, science, and public health. As they did during the spring legislative session, they've been pushing yet more policies that would take Arkansas backward.
These senators have filed a slew of bills that would interfere with private businesses setting their own covid-vaccination policies and would weaken government agencies' public health response on vaccine mandates. In doing so, the senators are pressing forward on a culture war that the majority of Arkansans do not want, and under the guise of defending one's "freedom" to endanger others by refusing masks and covid vaccination.
How much better for every Arkansan if the state Legislature focused its energies on bills that would grow our state. Some dedicated, hardworking, exhausted legislators filed bills last spring to do just that. Too many of those bills were ignored. Some lawmakers have insisted that the General Assembly focus on its redistricting mandate. But not enough voices are coming together. Not yet.
Instead, there's ongoing talk of a Texas copycat abortion ban bill. If a special session is called, more bills are expected that would make it harder for ordinary Arkansans to vote. The governor has proposed a giant tax cut for the wealthy.
Tax-cutting is an old stand-by in the moderate conservative's playbook. The failure of tax cuts as public policy is that the few dollars cut from our individual tax bills could collectively do so much more than we can buy for ourselves.
Like with the anti-vaccination bills, this is more along the theme of looking out for our own selves, rather than looking out for the bigger community. We can't apply our meager tax cuts toward better schools or updated job training or high-speed Internet cables into rural communities.
Those kinds of collective endeavors are only possible with public dollars and good governmental leadership.
Between anti-vaccination bills and tax-cut proposals, it sounds like the governor and many lawmakers are content to accept the status quo of leaving Arkansas in the bottom of national rankings in covid recovery, national education, and health-care coverage.
No Arkansan should be content with this lack of concern for addressing the real issues that impact our state.
Our burning questions for our elected officials are: What do any of their anti-vax/tax-cut/voter-suppression policies do to help Arkansas end the pandemic? What do any of them do to save lives and help our overwhelmed hospitals, educators, and health-care workers? How do they educate and train Arkansas to be better equipped to solve the problems our state faces?
What should our lawmakers be spending their time and our money on? Budgets that expand quality early child care so all Arkansas children are well-prepared for school; high-quality education proposals to produce the skilled workers that employers want; infrastructure plans to build and repair roads and bridges that our businesses need to transport products and services; and plans to expand rural broadband access so our rural regions can grow too.
The choice: Pass bills that perpetuate division, or pass bills that grow all of Arkansas.
Everyday Arkansans shouldn't fear getting sick because certain lawmakers have weakened our public health response and access to health care. Instead of tax cuts for the wealthy and political grandstanding bills, let's invest in affordable health care, infrastructure, child care and public schools.
Urge your lawmakers to stop with the laws that take our state backward, and focus instead on legislation that moves Arkansas forward.
Kymara Seals is the policy director for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, which advances social and economic justice through respect for human dignity, diversity, empowerment and an inclusive, fair and transparent political process. Kristin Stuart serves on Indivisible Little Rock and Central Arkansas's Leadership Team, which registers, educates, and mobilizes voters, and works to hold elected officials accountable to those voters.
AR Makes Policy Changes to Get Rental Assistance to Residents More Quickly
Arkansas Public News Service
Sept. 16, 2021
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas has made some changes to its state rent relief program to make it easier to distribute assistance to residents.
The modifications, announced last week by the Department of Human Services, came after several organizations in the state sent a letter to Gov. Asa Hutchinson and other officials, raising concerns about the application process and requesting requirements to be loosened.
The state will now prioritize applicants who received eviction notices and has increased staff to process cases faster.
Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, which signed the letter, said the move by the state is a start, but more needs to be done, especially as the Delta variant continues to surge in the state.
"We're really near the peak of our infection rate during the whole pandemic," Kopsky observed. "And it's still getting worse. This is no time to be having people being booted out of their homes and onto the street, making the public health situation even worse."
Renter advocates press for assistance during pandemic
Arkansas Times
SEPT. 8, 2021
Arkansans for Stronger Communities, the group I mentioned earlier in the lawsuit aiming to end the criminal eviction statute, is calling on Arkansas officials to provide more help to renters pressed by the pandemic.
It is joined by Americans for Prosperity, Arkansas Community Organizations, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Arkansas Renters United, Catholic Charities of Arkansas, Central Arkansas Reentry Coalition, Citizens First Congress, Disability Rights Arkansas, and Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care.
Coalition of Arkansas groups speak out on misinformation spread by state lawmakers
Aug. 5, 2021
A coalition of Arkansas groups gathered at the Capitol Rotunda Thursday to speak out on what they say is COVID-19 misinformation being spread by state lawmakers.
It was lead by Arkansas Citizens First Congress, with voices from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Indivisible, Arkansas NAACP, and Arkansas Public Policy Panel. The topics centered around what legislators have said recently regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines, and safety measures like masks.
The groups felt those in power positions have turned the pandemic into a patrician issue, and that they're trying to score political points by spreading false information. They said the lawmakers are making policies that are costing lives in Arkansas. They want the legislature to start focusing on facts and science, and not their own agendas.
Read more:
Arkansas session rolls out array of vote laws
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
May 9, 2021
Arkansas enacted more than 20 laws on elections and voting during the 2021 legislative session, including measures on absentee voting, election complaints and other changes.
While some bills weren't controversial or had bipartisan support, many Republican-backed bills have been decried by civil-rights groups as efforts to limit people's access to the ballot. Proponents of those laws say they're about ensuring election integrity.
"We clearly see this as voter suppression, chipping away at access to the ballot, and the modern-day poll tax," Kymara Seals, policy director at the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, said in an interview Friday.
Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/may/09/session-rolls-out-array-of-vote-laws/
Arkansas voucher program for students with disabilities draws ire of parents, advocates
Facing South
April 29, 2021
The Arkansas state legislature's first foray into education vouchers was in 2015, when it created the state-funded Succeed Scholarship for children with disabilities. Launched the following year, the program currently gives parents nearly $7,000 per year to help send an eligible child to a private school. Not a single legislator voted against the bill, a rare achievement for school choice legislation in a state where public schools have historically gotten bipartisan support.
In the program's first year, it funded just 23 students. Today, it's assisting 479 students and costing the state $3.3 million a year, according to the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). Eligibility has been expanded to include some children in the foster care system. The scholarships are administered by ADE and the Reform Alliance, a nonprofit group funded in part by the Walton Family Foundation, a lead backer of school choice reforms in Arkansas.
Voting rights advocates defeat zombie bill that got killed four times but kept coming back
April 27, 2021
Voting rights advocates poured into the Capitol this morning to rally and chant in protest of a zombie voter suppression bill that keeps getting killed but then comes back to life.
Senate Bill 485 shortens the window for early voting, and eliminates voting on the Monday before Election Day altogether. And it’s only one of the attacks on voting rights that lawmakers are pushing through this legislative session.
Arkansas Senate passes law opponents say is 'not a real hate crime bill'
THV11
April 8, 2021
A scaled-back, more vague version of a previous hate crime bill passed through the Arkansas Senate Thursday after a week of contention within the state legislature.
Arkansas Senate Bill 622 requires a criminal defendant to serve at least 80% of their sentence if they were proven to have selected a victim because of their race, group, religious beliefs, characteristics or class.
Earlier this week, the Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee voted down the original hate crimes bill (Senate Bill 3, or SB3) which instead included an increased sentence if someone proved to commit a crime against someone due to the victim's "race, color, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, homelessness, gender identity, sexual orientation, sex, disability, or service in United States Armed Forces."
"Senate Bill 622 is not a real hate crimes bill. It is a substitute for what a real hate crimes bill could do," said Kymara Seals with Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Citizens First Congress.
More reasons to oppose the school voucher bill
Arkansas Times
March 23, 2021
The bill to more than double the size of the school voucher program was defeated on its first run in the Senate, but the big money (Walton Family Foundation and others) behind this bill haven’t given up bringing legislators over to pass the bill.
And so the opposition from education groups continues as well.
The Southern Education Foundation in Atlanta has joined with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; the Arkansas Education Association; Arkansas Policy Panel, Arkansas Citizens First Congress; Disability Rights Arkansas; Education Law Center; Public Funds Public Schools; and the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund in a letter urging the legislature to continue to oppose voucher expansion by some 600 students, with a 25 percent annual growth rate built-in.
Read more: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/03/23/more-reasons-to-oppose-the-school-voucher-bill
House panel rejects bill on 1619 Project
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Feb. 10, 2021
A bill that sought to ban the teaching of a curriculum based on a New York Times project on slavery failed in a legislative committee on Tuesday.
House Bill 1231, by Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, would prohibit the use of public school funds to teach The 1619 Project curriculum in kindergarten-through-12 schools, a set of materials based on an initiative from the New York Times Magazine that began in 2019. The project is a set of essays and reporting based on the thesis that the United States' foundational date is the year the first enslaved Africans were transported to the colonies.
The bill had opposition from Arkansas residents and lawmakers who felt it aimed to erase a painful part of the nation's history, as well as from education groups including the state Department of Education and the Arkansas State Teachers Association, who said deciding what curriculum materials should be used is best left to specialists and local school boards.
"We are a great nation built upon the backs of free labor called slavery, so this needs to be taught, and the way I see it, my interpretation is that our history is not being taught in public schools, it's being mentioned," Kymara Seals, policy director for the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, said.
Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/feb/10/house-panel-rejects-bill-on-1619-project/
'Real justice can't wait:' Dozens rally against 'stand your ground' bill in Arkansas
KATV
Feb. 1, 2021
Dozens of state and religious leaders, as well as activists from across Arkansas, rallied at the Capitol Sunday to express concerns against the proposed "stand your ground" legislation.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bob Ballinger, R-Ozark, ends the duty to retreat when using physical or deadly force. SB 24 sailed through the senate on a 27-7 vote, but not before a heated debate that came down to race, your rights to defend yourself, and some arguing the current law is fine as is.
State Senate hopeful urged to drop out; ex-classmates cite KKK outfit
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Oct. 30, 2020
Former classmates of state Senate candidate Charles Beckham III bought a full-page ad in the Magnolia Banner-News on Wednesday opposing his candidacy as they continued to speak out over an incident in high school in which Beckham dressed in Ku Klux Klan regalia.
Also Wednesday, a number of local and statewide advocacy groups spoke out against Beckham and asked him to drop out of his race against state Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia.
The groups that urged Beckham to drop out include the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Arkansas Citizens First Congress, Arkansas United, the Arkansas NAACP, Concerned Citizens groups in Prescott and Waldo, and the Magnolia Community Awareness Council.
Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/oct/30/senate-hopeful-urged-to-drop-out/
Education groups call for scrapping Arkansas’s school voucher program
Arkansas Times
Sept. 3, 2020
Groups interested in education equity (shown above) have written legislative leaders about shortcomings in the accountability report on the Arkansas Succeed Scholarship Program, a state-funded school voucher program for children with learning disabilities and children in foster care. They say the program should be abolished.
What does school look like in a failed state? And how do we make it work for everyone?
Arkansas Times
July 28, 2020
“We need imaginative and equitable solutions to make sure the physical and emotional needs of all students are met and reduce the strain on families while we ride out the pandemic. We need to create a strong recovery plan, and the funding to back it, to help kids catch up when this is over.”
Business interests monopolize Arkansas' Economic Recovery Task Force
Facing South
July 23, 2020
The makeup of the advisory council is completely, completely skewed towards giant corporate folks," said Bill Kopsky, the executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, a nonprofit that organizes with grassroots communities across the state. "What the governor has done is surrounded himself only with those people, and so there is no debate. They're all in their own ideological echo chamber, and it's led to disastrous policy.
Advocates seek to raise awareness of redistricting process and challenges
Texarkana Gazette
Aug. 22, 2020
A pair of advocacy groups wants Arkansans to understand the legislative redistricting that will follow this year's U.S. Census, as well as the potential pitfalls of the process.
Sister organizations Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Arkansas Citizens First Congress this week published a report they hope will raise public awareness of how Arkansas' state and federal political districts come to be, including through various forms of gerrymandering.
The groups support instituting a nonpartisan commission to make redistricting decisions, Policy Director Kymara Seals said during a news conference Wednesday.
But there’s no evidence the state is taking the necessary steps to ensure school is safe, said Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, a grassroots group that advocates for social and economic justice. Requiring school districts to reopen, but leaving them to figure out how to do that safely, is a dereliction of duty by state leaders, he said.
“At the end of the day, an adequate and equitable education is in our [state] constitution,” Kopsky said. “It is the state’s responsibility. It’s not the local school districts’ job; it’s the state’s job. For the state to issue this delegating authority down to local districts that don’t have the resources to meet the needs and don’t have the expertise in public health to meet the needs, it’s an abdication of [the state’s] legal, and I would argue, moral responsibility.”
The Public Policy Panel has called for Arkansas to delay the start of school this year until every district can meet the recommendations from the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics and the state can ensure that every student has access to “a quality virtual learning opportunity.”
“School is essential,” Kopsky said. “You pay a heavy cost in not having school. The fact that we can’t have school in a safe way is devastating. It falls squarely at the feet of the governor and the federal government.”
Advocates call Trump census policy unconstitutional political ploy
July 23, 2020
Bill Kopsky, the executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, said if immigrant participation in the 2020 census wanes, it could "catastrophically impact Arkansans for years to come," putting all residents at a disadvantage.
If an inaccurate count is reported, it would have educational, political and economic consequences, he continued.
"The municipalities of Arkansas already are dealing with funding gaps," Kopsky said.
He encouraged all immigrants to still participate in the census and assured them filling out forms by mail or online would not expose them or endanger their status. It's federally unlawful for the government to share or transfer any information collected during the census, he said.
State groups say Arkansas isn't ready for school yet
Jonesboro Sun
July 21, 2020
While local school districts are confident in their preparedness for the new school year, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Citizens First Congress released a joint statement Tuesday urging Arkansas to further delay the start of school this fall.
The statement insists that to open schools safely there should be declining numbers of positive COVID-19 cases in the state, a state positivity rate below 5 percent, large-scale test capacity, adequate air ventilation in schools and buses, mandatory masks, and that students keep 5 to 6 feet apart in classrooms, buses, playground and cafeterias.
‘Somebody is out here doing something’: Portraits of protest in Arkansas
Arkansas Times
June 19, 2020
Since George Floyd’s murder on May 25, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Little Rock’s Racial & Cultural Diversity Commission and other groups concerned with social justice have called for specific police reforms, including “community oversight with teeth.” Peaceful demonstrators have stopped traffic on major thoroughfares, shut down Walmart stores and faced arrest.
Brian K. Mitchell, assistant professor of history at UA Little Rock, believes we are witnessing “the second modern civil rights movement.” A scholar who studies race and ethnicity, African American history and urban history, Mitchell is struck by what he is seeing now. “There’s a hopeful feeling that something more lasting will happen in this movement.”
Read more at the Arkansas Times website.
A guide to emergency help during the coronavirus crisis
arkansas times
april 16, 2020
Legal Aid will join with the Arkansas Public Policy Panel for a community education session at 6 p.m. today where these topics will be discussed. It’s open to all and there are two ways to watch: … Read More Here
Report takes pokes at I-30 plan; firm says wider corridor will add to congestion
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
April 13, 2016
The report cited 10 examples around the nation of freeway widenings that didn't ease congestion as forecast. The most notable example was the Katy Freeway in Houston, which at 26 lanes is the widest in the world, yet is the eighth-most congested freeway in Texas.
"Urban freeway congestion cannot be solved through expansion because induced travel always follows roadway expansion," the report said. "The larger roads just fill up with traffic again." Read more...
AR Board of Education votes to review Little Rock Charter Schools Proposal
KAtv 4 NEWS
MARCH 10, 2016
Bill Kopsky has two kids in the district. He says he is relieved that a hearing has been set.
" I was kind of taken aback from some of the comments that compared schools to cars. shopping centers, to hardware stores. my child is not a car, my child is not a store, my child is not a widget or screwdriver. public schools were written into our founding fathers’ documents and into the state constitution because they are not a commodity"... Watch Video Here
State Board of Ed. to decide on review of charter schools expansion
KATV
MARCH 9, 2016
"This is re-segregation of the public schools and that's going to be wrong today, it's going to be wrong five years from now, it's going to be wrong 50 years from now," said Bill Kopsky, Arkansas Public Policy Panel's Executive Director... Watch Video Here
Arkansas Education Board Votes To Remove Two School Districts From State Control
Times Record (Online Edition)
March 11, 2016
Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, said, “When you look at the facts, when you do a review, you will find that these proposals will lead to further segregation of Little Rock schools. The student body of these two charter schools is vastly different from the public school community in greater Little Rock”... Read More Here
Contentious Little Rock Charter Expansion On State Ed Board Agenda
kuar
March 9, 2016
eStem Public Charter School and LISA Academy plan to expand their campuses by a combined 3,000 students. That has drawn opposition from some who see the potential expansion as harming efforts to improve academic achievement in the Little Rock School District... Read More Here
Charter expansions get 2nd look
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
March 11, 2016
"You assumed responsibility for this district when you disbanded our School Board," Kopsky said about the January 2015 state takeover of the district because six schools were labeled as academically distressed. "You are now the Little Rock residents' representatives on school policy. There is no one else accountable to us except you"... Read More Here
Arkansas Citizens' Climate Lobby Gaining Steam
KUAF - Ozarks At Large
August 24, 2015
Fayetteville Citizen's Climate Lobby and Arkansas Public Policy Panel hosted a fiesta last week to introduce a carbon fee and dividend initiative that, if adopted advocates say, will ease greenhouse gas emissions, the leading cause of climate change... Listen to the Full Story Here
Must Address Racial Inequities
Editorial - ARKANSAS TIMES
JUNE 25, 2015
We mourn for the families of the dead at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. As we grieve it's time to rekindle a conversation about race in America and press for the changes that the Emanuel congregation championed for centuries — changes that also made it a target... Read More Here
Report Focuses on Mental Health Treatment, Reform in State Lockups
KARK 4 News
June 18, 2015
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel presented a report to the Behavioral Health Treatment Access Legislative Task Force which suggests diverting people or potential inmates with a mental illness into crisis centers... Watch Video Here
Report: Mental Health Prison Reform Can Save Arkansas $140 Million
KNWA News
June 18, 2015
WASHINGTON COUNTY, AR-- Proposed prison reform could save the state of Arkansas up to $140 million a year. The Arkansas Public Policy Panel discussed their report findings with state legislators at the Capitol Thursday... Watch the Video Here
Report: Treat Mentally Ill, Don’t Imprison Them
Talk Business & Politics
June 19, 2015
Diverting offenders with mental illness into treatment instead of incarcerating them could save Arkansas $140 million a year, according to a rough estimate in a new report issued Thursday by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel... Read More Here
Report: Incarcerating Mentally Ill People 20 Times More Costly than Treatment
Arkansasnews.com
June 18, 2015
The cost to prosecute and incarcerate a mentally ill prisoner over a year’s time is about 20 times higher than the cost to provide the same person with crisis treatment and counseling... Read More Here
Arkansas Public Policy Panel Advocates Mental Health Centers For Inmates
KUAR
June 18, 2015
“People with mental illness are not receiving the proper treatment that would allow them to return to their families” ... Read More Here
More Evidence that Treatment Saves Taxpayers Money
Treatment Advocacy Center
June 23, 2015
A study released earlier this week has confirmed what the Treatment Advocacy Center and common sense have been saying for years: It costs more to incarcerate someone with serious mental illness than it does to provide treatment and counseling... Read More Here
EDITORIAL: Treat, don't jail, the mentally ill
Arkansas Times
August 20, 2015
Arkansas has an opportunity to address our incarceration crisis, save the state money and make our communities safer by helping people with mental health problems... Read More Here
Editorial: Treating Mental Health Patients Cheaper, Better Than Incarcerating Them
Times Record (Online Edition)
June 21, 2015
The study, commissioned by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, concluded that the cost to prosecute and incarcerate a mentally ill prisoner over the course of one year is 20 times higher than the cost to provide the same person with crisis treatment and counseling... Read More Here
editorial: An Arkansas legislative session full of misplaced priorities
Arkansas Times
April 16, 2015
Communities like Gould, where I am chief of police, need help from lawmakers. But lawmakers delivered very little of what Gould needs: namely jobs, opportunity and meaningful education improvements... Read More Here
Nine Groups Announce Opposition to School Privatization Bill
Arkansas Times
March 16, 2015
A coalition of education advocates announced today their firm opposition to HB1733, which would allow the state to privatize public school districts declared in academic distress... Read More Here
Groups Rally Against School Privatization
KARK 4 News
March 16, 2015
LITTLE ROCK, AR — Groups representing education professionals met Monday to voice concerns about legislation allowing some school districts to be privatized... Watch Video Here
Education Advocates Oppose School Privatization Bill
THV11
March 16, 2015
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Education advocates from across the state of Arkansas are uniting in opposition to a school privatization bill... Watch Video Here
House Member Pulls Nonprofit School District Proposal
THV11- March 17, 2015
LITTLE ROCK, AR (AP) - A proposal to allow private nonprofits to take control of failing Arkansas school districts endorsed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson has been pulled by its sponsor.
School Privatization Bill Pulled for this Session
Arkansas Times
March 17, 2015
The rally in opposition to the bill at the Capitol tonight turned into a victory party. Cheers erupted when the news was announced to a crowd of about 400... Read More Here
Ark. Reverend Warns Controversial Bill Could Discriminate Against Christians
NBC News
April 1, 2015
Rev. Stephen Copley says Wednesday that he opposes House Bill 1228 as currently written and that the controversial piece of legislation could eventually leave Christians vulnerable to discrimination... Watch Video Here
Learning from Arkansas: Social Progress in an Age of Polarization
Nonprofit Quarterly
April 27, 2012
What does a small, southern state have to teach the rest of the nation about how to make progress during challenging times on big social issues like education, health care, tax and budget priorities, the environment and more? The surprising answer is—plenty... Read More Here
Report: Achievement gaps remain despite progress in education
ArkansasNews.com
Feb. 19, 2015
LITTLE ROCK — Despite progress in education in Arkansas, achievement gaps remain, according to a report released Thursday.
“While the state has made slight progress on closing the achievement gap to date, we are at a turning point,” said Jerri Derlikowski, education policy director at Arkansas Advocates, which released the report, “Education in the Post Lake View Era.” ... Read More Here
School District Separation Bill Fails House Committee
Arkansas Online
Feb. 10, 2015
... Gloria Majors with the Arkansas Public Policy Panel spoke against the bill and said she echoed Walker's position.
"I graduated form an integrated school where we got hand-me-down curriculum and substandard in other things like band instruments," Majors said. "From what this bill looks like to me, it looks like it's headed towards another segregation." ... Read More Here
PC&E Grants Another Hog Farm Moratorium
Talk Business & Politics
April 24, 2015
The Pollution Control and Ecology Commission voted Friday to enact a 180-day moratorium on granting permits for new medium and large swine operations in the Buffalo National River Watershed – the third temporary ban enacted by the commission... Read More Here
State Issues New Hog Farm Moratorium
The Baxter Bulletin
April 24, 2015
The Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Ozark Society have pressed for a rule-making change that would prevent other medium or large hog farms and confined animal operations from setting up shop near the Buffalo... Read More Here
Moratorium on Hog Farm Permits Renewed
Arkansasnews.com
April 24, 2015
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission voted Friday to approve a third 180-day moratorium on issuing hog farm permits in the Buffalo River watershed... Read More Here
Policy Groups Putting Arkansas First
Sync
June 24, 2014
The APPP and CFC have worked diligently to create policies that, if adopted, will make our state better and stronger for future generations. These groups give a voice to those who are often overlooked and locked out of the legislative process, and they remain committed to standing in between our most vulnerable citizens and regressive policies... Read More Here
Change from the ground up thanks to Arkansas Public Policy Panel
Arkansas Times
June 6, 2013
In the town of Gould just two years ago, most who surveyed the scene would conclude that the government was broken. Years of mismanagement in the town of 1,300, about 30 miles southeast of Pine Bluff, had led to a city bankruptcy and crippling IRS debt. Two of the City Council members were holding office illegally, and many citizens had lost faith in the democratic process. Irregularities at the ballot box included candidates and candidate family members literally looking over voters' ballots at the polls... Read More Here
Grassroots Organizing Powered 2012 Campaigns
Equal voice News
November 25, 2012
In the small town of Gould, Ark., a city council that angered much of the community by banning citizen groups from meeting was replaced with new council members on Election Day. But change in the deeply divided community came at the expense of threats, a burned house and false arrests... Read More Here