Nance v. Williams

George Rose Smith, Justice.

We have had two statutes asserting and protecting the public’s right to information about the transaction of public business and the conduct of public affairs. In this suit for a declaratory judgment the principal question is whether the later, statute, the Freedom of Information Act, repealed the earlier one by implication. Act 93 of 1967, Ark. Stat. Ann. §§ 12-2801 et seq. (Repl. 1968); Act 343 of 1953, Ark. Stat. Ann. §§ 6-604 and 6-605 (Repl, 1976). We agree with the trial judge’s conclusion that there was an implied repeal.

In March, 1977, the electors of the…