State Rep. Mike Carter

5 Jun, 2020

Bill would prohibit destruction of public records that are subject to pending records request

By |2020-06-05T19:41:49-05:00June 5, 2020|Categories: Legislature, records management, requests|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The House State Government committee on Thursday approved a bill that would prevent the destruction of public records that are subject to a pending records request, paving the way for the bill to move on to a possible floor vote. State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, presents bill that would make it unlawful to destroy public records while they are subject to a pending records request. The bill, H.B. 2578, was sponsored by state Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, who explained that a problem arose in Hamilton County last year when the Times Free Press newspaper requested records, and thereafter, the records were destroyed by the custodian before they could obtain them. [...]

28 Apr, 2015

Lawmakers tweak public records law, but avoid new fees for now

By |2015-09-25T17:03:32-05:00April 28, 2015|Categories: fees, Legislature|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

Sponsors delayed action on legislation that could have made accessing public records more expensive for citizens and news media, but lawmakers in the 109th General Assembly moved ahead on other changes to the state's public records law. A new exemption was added to make performance evaluations of more state employees confidential. Another was added to make sure student academic and health information remained private. And yet another reinforced already existing exemptions to protect credit card numbers and email addresses of citizens held by government. The most far-reaching public records bill was one that never made it to committee for discussion —  a proposal to impose new fees on citizens who asked to inspect public [...]

13 Feb, 2015

Proposed Tennessee bills could close public records; a few open them up

By |2015-02-13T09:19:09-06:00February 13, 2015|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

Lawmakers of 109th General Assembly have filed a host of bills to block or hinder citizen access to public records in the hands of government. Several of the proposed Tennessee bills could close public records, while another proposes to charge fees to inspect records. The latter would set up a hurdle that could discourage citizens from pursuing records requests. The proposed fees would cover some of the time public employees spend gathering or redacting records for disclosure. Local government would determine the hours of labor involved, which leaves open the possibility that fees could be inflated to block or discourage access. While some bills affecting public records  focus on making [...]

30 Jan, 2015

Times Free Press: AG’s opinion gives Erlanger another bonus dilemma

By |2017-01-06T15:25:51-06:00January 30, 2015|Categories: Attorney General Opinions, Open Meetings|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Following is a reprint of today's Chattanooga Times Free Press story about the AG's opinion on requirements for public hospital boards under the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. The Times Free Press graciously gave TCOG permission to reprint the article: http://youtu.be/3aToD-eNx1k By Kate Belz The status of $1.7 million in bonuses paid out to Erlanger Health System's management has again been called into question, as a new opinion issued by the state's attorney general has local lawmakers calling for the money to be paid back. Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III's opinion, issued Wednesday, states that Tennessee law does not permit hospitals such as Erlanger to meet in a closed session [...]

29 Jan, 2015

AG opinion says public hospital boards can’t meet privately on compensation

By |2015-01-29T15:31:56-06:00January 29, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion yesterday that public hospital boards do not have an exemption to the Open Meetings Act that allows them to meet privately to discuss executive compensation or executive bonuses. The Chattanooga Times Free Press is following the story today, and has reported on the controversy that ensued after what appeared to be private meetings to discuss or decide to give executives $1.7 million in bonuses. The board held a public vote on the bonuses, but only after adding the item to the agenda at the last minute, after the private meetings, and without advance notice. State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltwah, asked the AG for an opinion. [...]

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