The proposed bill mandates that all city councils and county quorum courts in Arkansas must record their public meetings in video format. Specifically, it amends Arkansas Code 25-19-106(d) to require that all officially scheduled, special, and called open public meetings be recorded as video recordings, which must be posted on the respective city council or county quorum court's website within 24 hours of the meeting. If a council or court does not have a website, they are required to post the video on a maintained social media account within the same timeframe.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that while all public meetings must be recorded, there are exceptions for executive sessions and volunteer fire departments. The existing requirement for public meetings to be recorded in a manner that captures sound remains, but the new language specifies the necessity of video recordings for city councils and county quorum courts, enhancing transparency and accessibility for the public.

Statutes affected:
Old version HB1879 V2 - 4-3-2025 11:06 AM: 25-19-106(d)
Old version HB1879 Original - 3-20-2025 02:56 PM: 25-19-106(d)
HB 1879: 25-19-106(d)