Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen will be sponsoring the second in a series of Transparency in Government Group of Western Arkansas meetings on Tuesday, April 18, from 6-8 p.m. at the Judge Parker Conference Room at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Fort Smith.
Featured speakers include Michael Gaddy, who is a premier constitutional scholar who has studied, written and taught on the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, the founding era and transparency for over 30 years.
Gaddy and McCutchen will recap the recent activity by the Arkansas Legislature.
Bill Ray Lewis, widely recognized in Arkansas as one of the foremost experts on the Freedom of Information Act and advocate for the public’s “right to know” about the business of government, will provide information on how the FOIA can be utilized to help citizens protect their rights.
The mission of the group is to ensure maximum transparency and openness in governmental affairs involving taxpayer monies.
As an example, objectives of the group are to encourage the public to learn how to legitimately question governmental officials, encourage the public to become familiar with the respective procedures to access information from governmental agencies, and encourage timely notification and disclosure of all public meetings and open disclosure of any decisions reached during those meetings.
