Public comment periods would be eliminated at county commission and city council meetings for applications for new property developments if the proposed development substantially complies with previously reviewed zoning regulations or maps under a bill introduced this week.
A pair of lawmakers are seeking to expand public comment periods to require governing bodies to allow comment on items that are not on the agenda but germane to the governing body's work. The lawmakers — state Rep. Elaine Davis of Knoxville and state Sen. Adam Lowe of Calhoun — passed the first public comment requirement bill in 2023. Davis said this would allow members of the public to let the governing body know of issues that they may not be aware of.
House committees in the Tennessee legislature will have electronic roll call votes beginning this year if the recommendation from the House Select Committee on Rules is adopted. The change will get rid of controversial voice votes in which the chair decides if he or she heard more ayes or nays.
A contentious bill to close autopsy reports of minors whose cause of death is listed as a homicide ended up with a compromise: Copies cannot be released but a person can still inspect such reports in person. The bill was first introduced in the special session called by the governor in the wake of the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville in which six people were killed, including three children. The parents of at least one of the children was deeply alarmed that the autopsy report of her child could be released to the public. The bill got stuck in the Senate during the special session and was reintroduced in 2024. It passed with the amendment, a compromise sought by TCOG and news media organizations.
Lawmakers handed open government some wins and losses during the session that ended Thursday. Among the wins was a bill by state Rep. Susan Lynn to add muscle to the Sunshine Law by allowing recovery of attorney fees and reasonable costs when a citizen prevails in an open meetings lawsuit.
