Legislature Archives - Page 21 of 37 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

1 May, 2018

TCOG’s 2018 Legislative Report
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TCOG’s 2018 Legislative Report

crime records, exemptions, Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

TCOG’s 2018 Legislative Report

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-20T17:23:53-06:00May 1, 2018|Categories: crime records, exemptions, Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: addresses, Advisory Committee on Open Government, artifact sites, autopsy reports, Ballad Health, Bill Haslam, civil rights crimes, college president selection, legislature, proprietary records, public records policies, radioactive waste, State Rep. Bill Sanderson, State Rep. Eddie Smith, State Rep. Harry Brooks, State Rep. Johnnie Turner, State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, State Sen. Joey Hensley, State Sen. Mike Bell, State Sen. Rusty Crowe, TBI, trade secrets, University of Tennessee|1 Comment

Following is TCOG's 2018 legislative report on changes related to public records and open meetings. The 110th General Assembly of Tennessee adjourned April 25. 1 - Selection of state college presidents (HB 2000 / SB 2586) A requirement in the law to reveal the names and applications of candidates for president at state colleges, including University of Tennessee, was changed to allow search committees to make public “up to three” finalists instead of requiring disclosure of “no less than three.” The effect is that college search committees now have the option of recommending to a governing board as few as one person as finalist for president. Only the finalist or [...]

19 Apr, 2018

Column: Lawmakers give Advisory Committee on Open Government opportunity for new life

By Deborah Fisher|2018-04-19T11:42:47-05:00April 19, 2018|Categories: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: ACOG, Office of Open Records Counsel, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Sen. Mike Bell, State Sen. Randy McNally|4 Comments

A decade ago, in the spring of 2008, the Legislature created the Advisory Committee on Open Government to provide guidance to the newly created Office of Open Records Counsel. The Legislature also gave the committee the ability to review and provide written comments on proposed legislation related to open records and open meetings laws. But for most of the past 10 years, the group has barely met. Aside from its initial whirlwind participation in setting a “reasonable fee schedule” for copies of public records, committee discussions have been so infrequent as to cause some who have attended to wonder whether even those were worth the time. The open government committee [...]

19 Apr, 2018

Bill to allow more meetings of Advisory Committee on Open Government wins approval

By Deborah Fisher|2018-04-19T10:58:08-05:00April 19, 2018|Categories: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Legislature|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Office of Open Records Counsel, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Sen. Mike Bell|0 Comments

The Advisory Committee on Open Government will be allowed to meet more frequently and at the call of co-chairs under legislation that has won approval from both the Senate and the House. Previously, the committee met only at the request of the Office of Open Records Counsel. State Rep. Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville, and Chair of House State Government Committee ACOG is a 14-member committee established by the Legislature in 2008 as part of open government reform. Its 14 members, equally representing government and citizen groups, are appointed by the Comptroller’s office. It also has three ex-officio members. The committee's purpose and duties include advising the Office of Open Records Counsel [...]

17 Apr, 2018

Bill to allow more confidentiality for college president candidates awaits governor’s signature

By Deborah Fisher|2018-04-17T11:46:33-05:00April 17, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: Bill Haslam, college president selection, exemptions, higher education, State Rep. Harry Brooks, University of Tennessee|1 Comment

Legislation that would allow more confidentiality for college president candidates has passed the House and Senate and is now on the governor's desk for signature. The bill, which includes an automatic repeal in three years, expands an exemption in state law that already allows names and applications of college presidents to be confidential except for "no less than three" finalists selected by a search committee. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam The change allows a search committee to select "up to three" instead. The effect is that college search committees now have the option of recommending to a governing board as few as one person as finalist for president. Only [...]

7 Mar, 2018

Senator drops bill to close autopsy records

By Deborah Fisher|2018-03-09T10:47:32-06:00March 7, 2018|Categories: Legislature|Tags: autopsy reports, county medical examiners, Knox County Medical Examiner, State Rep. Eddie Smith, State Sen. Joey Hensley|1 Comment

State Sen. Joey Hensley, a county medical examiner himself, put a stop on Wednesday to the effort to close autopsy records, noting that the state's autopsy law already provided privacy of medical records of the deceased that are unrelated to the cause of the death. Hensley, a physician and the county medical examiner for Lewis County, decided not to present a bill that would have closed autopsy reports, sending it to the general subcommittee of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. State Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald Hensley, in explaining his action on Wednesday, said the bill was brought to him by the House sponsor (Rep. Eddie Smith, R-Knoxville) [...]