Secret police possible at Arkansas Capitol, perhaps colleges

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    (AP) – The agency that protects Arkansas' state Capitol and
grounds now has the authority to operate in secret after Gov. Asa Hutchinson let
a Freedom of Information exemption become law without his signature.
    Hutchinson spokesman J. R. Davis said the governor did not sign the bill
that's intended to close loopholes some believe would let anyone access security
assignments because it is too broad. He did not elaborate.
    As the bill is written, it would prevent disclosure of any information about
the force: its size, its racial or gender makeup or any officer's salary. A
similar bill extending privacy to police forces at state-funded colleges and
universities passed the Senate on Tuesday.
    Open records advocates say the rollbacks would be the greatest ever for the
state's 50-year-old Freedom of Information Act.

   

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