House passes bill clarifying Arkansas public meetings law
The Arkansas House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that would clarify state public meetings law by specifying what members of city councils, quorum courts or school boards can discuss outside of a public meeting.
Senate Bill 227, sponsored by Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, and Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris, would also allow a court to nullify any decisions made by a public body if it was in violation of open meetings laws, would add a cybersecurity breach as a reason to meet in executive session, and would regulate remote meeting attendance.
Under current state law, the number of people needed for a meeting to qualify as public is not defined, but has generally been interpreted to mean a meeting where at least two members of a governing body meet. Tucker's bill would make that more explicit.
The legislation passed with 87 out of the 99 members present voting for the bill; five voted against it and five voted present. Two lawmakers abstained and Rep. Stephen Magie, D-Conway, was absent.
The bill, which already passed the Senate once, was amended to add co-sponsors after it was sent to the House, so it will be returned to the Senate for another vote.
While the measure passed with broad margins in the House, Rep. Jim Wooten, R-Beebe, stood to urge colleagues to vote it down.
'We're starting down a slippery slope when we start fooling around with the Freedom of Information Act as it relates to the public knowledge and transparency in government,' Wooten warned.
Wooten expressed concerns that the language of the bill would allow board members to discuss their positions on public business, and then pressure other members behind the scenes. A separate bill, SB 376, would define a public meeting as one where more than two members of a government entity met. That bill is awaiting a hearing in the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, and has been opposed by government transparency advocates.
Eubanks said that provisions included in the bill would prohibit that kind of behavior while providing needed clarity to local officials alongside transparency.
'I spent 10 years on a school board, and I can assure you I did not know what the rules were, and I don't think anybody else did either,' Eubanks said. 'I think this is important, and it's going to allow school board associations, counties, Municipal League to have clear understanding of what is allowed so that they can give the proper training to the members of those boards.'
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act of 1967 gives Arkansans the right to obtain government records, such as emails. However, vague definitions of what exactly constituted a public meeting has led to litigation as local government bodies ran afoul of sunshine provisions.
Tucker's bill has garnered support from state FOIA advocates, including the Arkansas Press Association. The association's president, Andrew Bagley, called Tucker's bill 'a very good piece of legislation' during a committee meeting March 12.
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Chicago Tribune
3 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
ICE arrests increase across Chicago under Trump, many with no convictions, data shows
With the Trump administration pushing far more aggressive immigration enforcement across the country and in Chicago, a Tribune analysis of newly released data shows a significant increase in the number of immigrants detained in the Chicago area — particularly those with no known criminal background. The findings come from a Tribune analysis of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data obtained and shared by the research group Deportation Data Project. The analysis shows that, as President Donald Trump's administration has pushed enforcement in sanctuary cities such as Chicago, ICE saw notable spikes in the number of people initially detained at two ICE processing centers in the area. The figures peaked at 88 bookings on an early June day that, at the time, drew attention for clashes between Chicago community members and federal immigration agents. Of the 88 booked that day, the latest analysis found, three-fourths had no criminal record logged by ICE. The surge in detentions — including immigrants with no known criminal record — mirrors broader trends across the country. The second Trump administration has increasingly focused on boosting the number of people arrested who lack legal status to be in the country, even if the efforts ensnared more people who didn't fit the traditional ICE focus on tracking down and deporting those who committed serious crimes. The analysis suggests that the efforts locally have done both — with ICE agents under the second Trump administration detaining double the rate of those convicted of violent felonies and sex crimes, while detaining nine times as many immigrants with no known criminal past. Local ICE officials have not released such detailed data on their enforcement efforts. When told about the Tribune's analysis and asked about its findings, a spokesman for ICE's local office did not immediately respond. The data used by the Tribune in its analysis was obtained by the law school of the University of California at Los Angeles, as part of a December 2024 lawsuit it filed to force ICE to release the data under the Freedom of Information Act. Court records show that ICE produced the raw data in batches this summer, and the law school shared the data with the Deportation Data Project, which posted the latest batch online Tuesday to share with reporters and researchers. (ICE refused earlier this year to directly provide the Tribune with similar raw data the newspaper had requested under the open records law.) The raw data has limitations. It does not identify detained people by name — unlike traditional jail logs or prison rosters, which by law typically must identify the people being held behind bars. And while the data lists details of each detention and some biographical information on who was detained, it does not list the cities, or even the counties, where people were arrested. 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And 15 people with no criminal background were removed. More broadly, of those booked into Chicago-area facilities, the data shows that nearly half of those removed during the second Trump administration had a criminal conviction, while about a third of those removed had no known criminal background. And while Trump, as a candidate, railed against the recent arrival of Venezuelan immigrants, and particularly claims of a violent Venezuelan street gang overrunning the country, the vast majority of Chicago-area removals under his second administration were of immigrants born in Mexico — 302 — compared with 136 born in Venezuela. And of the smaller group with violent felony or sex convictions, nearly all were born in Mexico. But the majority of people removed since inauguration day who had no criminal background were born in Venezuela, albeit with a significant number born in Mexico, too. Of those with no criminal record, the youngest removed was a boy born in 2021. The data doesn't specify if he was traveling with relatives but shows that the boy entered and exited the country with a married Venezuelan woman in her 30s and three other children — all of whom also had no known criminal record. All five entered the country in July 2023, were ordered to be deported in March 2024, and were detained somewhere in Illinois on June 11 and then sent to Venezuela five days later. The oldest was a married man born in Mexico in 1957, putting him in his late 60s. ICE records show he had been ordered to leave the country in 2009 and was arrested roughly 16 years later — on April 11 — by ICE. He was then shipped between three different facilities over five days — from Broadview to two jails in central Indiana before he was deported out of Texas. Little else is known about the man.
The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
Epstein saga hangs over Congress's sprint to summer recess
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Democrats warned that passage of that package would tarnish the appropriations process, setting the stage for a high-stakes stretch to Sept. 30. Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said clearing the legislation — known as a rescissions bill — 'would be an affront to the bipartisan appropriations process.' 'That's why a number of Senate Republicans know it is absurd for them to expect Democrats to act as business as usual and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government, while they concurrently plot to pass a purely partisan rescissions bill to defund those same programs negotiated on a bipartisan basis behind the scenes,' he wrote in a letter to colleagues, later adding: 'This is beyond a bait and switch — it is a bait and poison-to-kill.' The current dynamics are making the possibility of a continuing resolution in September more-and-more likely. Senate to vote on nominees as Trump calls for canceling recess The Senate this week is slated to continue churning through Trump's nominees, as the president puts pressure on the upper chamber to confirm more of his picks — and urges Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to cancel recess for that reason. The focus on nominations comes after the Senate spent considerable floor time on the 'big, beautiful bill' and legislation to lock in cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which monopolized recent weeks. The Senate will vote on Joshua M. Divine's nomination to be U.S. district judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, Cristian M. 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It remains unclear if Thune will heed the president's advice and cancel recess. While Republicans want to continue confirming Trump's nominees, they are also eager to head home for the month to sell the 'big, beautiful bill' to constituents, which they see as vital as the midterm elections inch closer. House GOP to select new Homeland Security Committee chair House Republicans will vote on a new chairman for the Homeland Security Committee this week, after Green officially resigned from Congress. Republican Reps. Michael Guest (Miss.), Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.), Carlos Gimenez (Fla.) and Clay Higgins (La.) are all vying for the leadership position. The Republican Steering Committee — a group of Republican leaders and regional representatives — is scheduled to meet Monday and recommend a candidate for the job, who will likely be rubber-stamped by the conference later in the week. The four candidates each bring different qualities to the table. Guest, currently serving as chairman of the House Ethics Committee, is a former prosecutor who has held stints as vice chair and a subcommittee chair on the Homeland Security panel. The Mississippi Republican has also underscored that he was an impeachment manager when the House penalized then-Homland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Garbarino has pointed to his New York roots, arguing that the panel should turn back to its focus on counterterrorism, which was the focal point after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Gimenez, a former mayor and firefighter, has said that his background dealing with emergency planning in Florida, a state prone to hurricanes, has uniquely prepared him for the role. He has also said there should be 'nuance' in some of Trump's immigration policies. And Higgins, a former police officer, is the most senior of the candidates running, giving him a leg up in an environment where seniority is taken into consideration. A number of Louisiana Republicans, however, are already in leadership — Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), for example — which could work against him. Johnson said the candidates have created 'quite a horse race.'
The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
New York establishment Democrats mull over Mamdani charm offensive
New York Democrats cool to their party's Big Apple mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani are weighing their options as the 33-year-old progressive makes his own pitch to centrists that they should back him. The Democratic establishment has been looking for alternatives, but none really satisfy. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week announced an independent run after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, but a number of Democrats who spoke to The Hill have doubts he can win. Some also haven't forgotten past Cuomo controversies. Incumbent Eric Adams is also running as an independent, but he has had a scandal-tarred career and his tilting toward MAGA and Trump World hasn't won him too many friends in the Democratic establishment. Political observers say there aren't enough moderates to go around for one — let alone two candidates — and if the establishment wants to prevail, either Adams or Cuomo should exit the race. 'You can't have multiple alternatives,' said Grant Reeher, the director of Syracuse University's Campbell Public Affairs Institute. 'I just don't see any way that Mamdani doesn't win unless one of these folks drops out.' 'If I was a Democratic strategist for the whole party in New York City, and I commanded authority, I would put Adams and Cuomo in a room, and I would say, 'You guys are going to flip a coin,'' he added. A HarrisX poll out earlier this month — before Cuomo announced his independent bid — showed Adams trailing with 13 percent of the vote and Mamdani leading with 26 percent, followed by Cuomo at 23 percent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at 22 percent. In a three-way race without Adams, the same poll revealed Cuomo would lead the field by 2 percentage points in front of Mamdani. Mamdani appears to recognize the potential danger to his candidacy if voters opposed to him rally around one independent choice. The left-wing candidate this past week sought to make inroads with business leaders and establishment Democrats, including during a trip to Washington where he met Democrats at an event with liberal star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). On Friday, he met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in New York. Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Jeffries called the face-to-face 'constructive, candid and community-centered.' The spokesperson said Jeffries and Mamdani also discussed a 'variety of other important issues including public safety, rising antisemitism, gentrification' and the importance of 'taking back the House in 2026.' Mamdani also recently earned the endorsement of Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.), another rising Democratic star. Some of Mamdani's efforts appeared to be helping him. 'He's already had those conversations, been in those meetings, and it doesn't seem that there is a wholesale public rebuke of him,' said Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, who served as executive director of the New York State Democratic Party. Smikle said that signals 'that a lot of those constituencies and voters are willing to hear more and are likely going to find a way to work with him.' Mamdani has impressed some Democrats who say the party needs fresh blood. 'He is campaigning like he isn't 94 years old,' said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale, who hails from New York. 'He is out hitting the streets and events and talking to tons of people. He is doing press interviews and podcasts and he is young and natively comfortable online for doing his own videos and social media.' By meeting with establishment operatives and backers, Mamdani has been chipping away at a part of the electorate that strategists say is critical to both Cuomo and Adams. The two independents are, 'for a number of moderate voters, the business community, the real estate community, a firewall against more progressive politics,' Smilke said. Some observers in the race differ over who is the stronger challenger to Mamdani. New-York based Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, who worked for Cuomo as a special adviser in 2014, holds the view it is Adams. 'Cuomo has lost once; he probably will lose again,' she said. 'The only one who really has a path when it comes down to Cuomo, Sliwa, and Adams is Adams,' Del Percio added. 'If he's willing to reinvent himself a bit in light of people being scared of Mamdani — it's almost Cuomo's argument, except I think that there's more that Adams can do now.' 'If you tell [Adams] now, 'You may actually be able to win,' he'll twist himself into a pretzel to do it,' Del Percio added. 'If you told him he had to be disciplined, and this is how you do it, and he has a real campaign, I think he could do it.' Other voices who think Cuomo could win more support point to Adams's unpopular tenure as mayor. While Adams was charged with corruption charges last year, a judge permanently dismissed them in April. The dismissal came weeks after the Trump administration asked prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams. Reeher said Adams has been tarnished with financial corruption and incompetency. 'Nobody's really making the argument that Andrew Cuomo is incompetent and doesn't know what he's doing,' he said. Cuomo faces his own hurdles. The former governor's time in Albany came to an end with 13 women accusing of him sexual assault and accusations that the state purposefully under-reported COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. And his political opponents, particularly Mamdani, have not let him or the New York City electorate forget it. Some criticized Cuomo for reentering the race last week with an ad filmed on the Upper East Side, a sign to political observers that he has learned nothing about appealing to the issue that New Yorkers care most about — and the issue Mamdani won on in the Democratic primary — affordability. But there is still great worry about Mamdani in the party, strategists acknowledge. 'He can't be the future of the party,' one strategist said. 'He's only going to be fodder for Republicans.' Reeher agreed, saying 'If I put myself in the place of a Republican strategist, I'm wanting [Mamdani] to win.' 'I can imagine the advertisement would be … a list of some of the most extreme things that he has stood for … and I would say, 'This is what Democrats do when they're left to their own devices,'' he said.
