House and Senate committees are scheduled to hear details of a bill that is aimed at reducing solicitation of victims in traffic accidents by closing information that is now open in traffic accident reports.
State Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, represents part of Davidson County.
State Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, and state Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, have filed bills that would create a new exception to the Tennessee Public Records Act and make identifying information about the participants in a traffic accident confidential.
Their bill now says that the names, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, driver’s license numbers and insurance information on a police accident report would be confidential.
But an amendment to the legislation is expected to be introduced that would make only some of that information confidential and allow release by law enforcement to the news media who often report on accidents when someone was seriously injured or died or when an accident blocked a major roadway.
The Senate version is on the calendar for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday before the Senate State and Local Committee. The House version will be heard by the Safety & Funding Subcommittee at noon on Tuesday.
