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AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S Public Records


exceeds $25, then the custodian may require payment before ful- filling the request. Arkansas FOIA touts one of the strictest response time lim- its in the nation. It states that the public records must be made available to a citizen “immediately.” However, if the records are in “active use or storage,” the custodian has up to three working days to make the records available for inspection. Tis three-day allowance has been construed broadly and is generally accepted as the time limit for most requests. Te majority of other states ei- ther have no specified time limit to respond, allow for a response time of 10 days or more, or alternatively, have an optional time extension that can be activated if a request is one that requires extensive time, personnel, or resources to complete. However, Arkansas’s three-day time limit is without exceptions,


even if a request would place an undue burden on the custodian. It is not unusual for a county elected official and one or more em- ployees to spend three working days, sometimes working over- time, to fulfill extensive public record requests, all while trying to maintain the functions of the office at the same time. Likewise, the custodian has no discretion to deny the request if he or she


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does not agree with the motive or reason behind the request. And if the records pertain to the performance or lack of performance of a public employee, they must be disclosed. One issue currently being litigated is whether a custodian can


reject a request on the grounds that the request is not “suffi- ciently specific to enable the custodian to locate the records with reasonable effort” as is required under ACA § 25-19-105(a)(2) (C). While a Washington County Circuit Court ruled in Hollis v. Fayetteville School District that the subject request, consisting of thousands of e-mails surrounding a teacher’s termination, was not “sufficiently specific,” the lower court was overruled on ap- peal based on jurisdictional issues, and the merits will likely be further litigated. In conclusion, when seemingly endless FOIA public record re- quests continue to pour in, disrupting the work day, sometimes even monopolizing valuable employees and resources, it would “serve” a public servant well to recognize and accept the spirit with which this 50-year-old act was passed and still maintains to- day — that transparency into the processes of a taxpayer-funded government is “vital in a democratic society.”


COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2016


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