It should be a little easier beginning Tuesday, when more state government information becomes available on the Internet. All state boards, agencies and departments face a midnight deadline to comply with a 2001 law that requires some public records to be placed online. Most larger departments will meet the deadline, officials say. For others, it's going to take cash and time. Smaller departments expect to take longer to get there.
When they do, the public's access to information will be heightened, although more still needs to be done, advocates of open records say.
In Middle Of Pack
"This is a way for people to get the information in a self-serve manner instead of making a phone call. They can access the Web site 24 hours a day," said Farrell Wilson, special project coordinator in the public affairs office of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
Traffic counts, construction bids and right-of-way policies are just some of the information that will be available on the department's Web site.
The law, Act 1653 of 2001, requires five categories of information to be posted on the Web:
- Contact information.
- A list of what records are maintained by the department.
- Rules of procedure and policy.
- Records that have gone through an administrative adjudication.
- Public records that are frequently requested.
The law is good both for the public and for state officials, who will have to field fewer requests for information once it is available online, Peltz said.
It is a good law, Peltz said. But it's not a revolution in access to public records.
The law -- and the records it makes available -- will go unnoticed by most Arkansans, the professor said.
It will become noticed when it is adopted locally.
"I want it to come to the local level, to school districts, so I can look at what principals make. We're not quite there yet," Peltz said.
In Northwest Arkansas, municipal Web sites vary from those in Fayetteville and Springdale, where people can download city budgets and other financial reports, to those in Bentonville and Rogers, which have Web sites listing contact information, council agendas and minutes.
Meeting Deadline
Not sure what the new legislation meant, the highway department formed a task force in March to interpret and comply with the Internet law, which was passed almost two years earlier. The highway department keeps a lot of records -- a lot of public records -- and a great deal of work is going to be needed to put it all online, task force members surmised.
State agencies have been posting certain records online, although the act applies only to records created after Tuesday.
The state departments of environmental quality, health and education all report they will meet tonight's midnight deadline.
But it will be years before the Arkansas State Police fully complies with the law, according to Bill Sadler, a departmental spokesman. The problem is money.
Troopers currently fill out accident reports by hand. Last year, there were more than 17,000 accidents on Arkansas highways. Logging that information into the computer would take away from the department's primary duties.
The answer, Sadler said, is putting computers into cars. Troopers could upload the reports straight from their cars to the headquarters, then to the Internet. Sadler does not know when his agency will comply with the law. It will take years and millions of dollars, he estimated.
The Department of Environmental Quality is on pace.
"We're on track. Most of it is in place," said Doug Szenher, public and media affairs manager for the department.
Nearly every report ADEQ makes is a public document. As a result, the department has been busy. Permits for landfills, lake and stream water quality, mining and disposing of hazardous waste can all be found on the site at www.adeq.state.ar.us.
Gary Underwood, deputy executive chief information officer, said the staff at the Information Network of Arkansas, which operates the state Web site, is helping smaller departments comply with the law by providing technical assistance.
"It will be a learning process," Underwood said. "The agencies will see that they need to be on there."
The Arkansas Insurance Department will list state-certified agents on its Web site. Listing these records isn't entirely new. What is new, is that they'll be updating them on the Web daily, according to James Winningham, chief information officer for the department.
"It will mean a little more of a process change," Winningham said. "New insurance agent licenses will be on tomorrow."
Agency officials had plans to do something similar before the law was passed. Its passage forced them to do it faster.
The law doesn't affect matters immune from freedom of information laws, such as personnel files, procedures and internal policies.
As a result, Catherine Henshaw, director of the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System, said most of the records her agency maintains on people's medical and retirement plans will not be affected.
The Arkansas Geological Commission already tries to post its reports online, although the department has been given no information about the public records law.
"We have not had anyone tell us what to do, or give us money to do anything with. We struggle to do anything," said John David McFarland, chief geologist and the second-in-command at the commission.
The commission spends years fine-tuning detailed topographic maps of the state. Mineral and hydrological research is also performed by the agency. Maps and reports are listed on the commission's Web site at www.state.ar.us/agc/agc.htm. The site gives information on how to purchase the material.
More Convenience, Efficiency
Health department employees field calls on public swimming pool regulations, birth and death certificates and alcohol testing. They'll be able to focus on other duties after Tuesday, officials hope.
"We get asked that a lot," said Ann Wright, health department spokeswoman, about birth and death certificates. For example, the certificates are only valid if printed in black ink. That bit of information and 24 pages of more regulations and guidelines regarding birth and death certificates can be found at the department's Web site at www.healthyarkansas.com.
"Electronic data is great," Wright said. "It saves everyone time and money."
It also enhances the public's access to information.
Quelle: The Morning News
