C. Business and industry relations.

Meetings to discuss attracting new business to the community are not exempt from the FOIA. Ark. Op. Att’y Gen. Nos. 2000-260 (meetings of nonprofit economic development corporation that receives county sales tax revenue to support its activities). Similarly, the governing boards of various state entities established to foster industrial development would be required to meet in public on such matters. Ark. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 77-145 (FOIA does not exempt meetings of Arkansas Economic Development Commission to “discuss specific confidential prospects”). By statute, however, meetings of “the review committee of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission established for the purpose of giving preliminary review” to applications under the Industrial Revenue Bond Law “shall not be open to the public.” Ark. Code Ann. § 15-4-606(b)(2)(B). This statute also extends confidentiality to meetings of the commission’s staff; as noted previously, however, staff meetings are not subject to the FOIA.