Legislature Archives - Page 22 of 34 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

21 Mar, 2017

Senate committee approves bill requiring more financial disclosure by lawmakers

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-02T12:19:27-06:00March 21, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: financial disclosure, lawmaker travel, State Rep. Gerald McCormick, State Sen. Doug Overbey|0 Comments

The Senate State and Local Government Committee recommended for passage legislation that would require members of the General Assembly to disclose when they receive trips paid by a person with an interest in public policy. State Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, and state Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, came about after stories reported by The Tennessean of a Gulf Shores fishing trip hosted by a school voucher advocate, a trip to Europe for lawmakers to learn about “radical Islam,” and trips to tour a North Carolina school, also funded by a voucher proponent. Overbey told the committee that his bill does not [...]

21 Mar, 2017

Bill to bring transparency to TBI investigations of police shootings advances

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-22T07:53:04-05:00March 21, 2017|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: body camera, district attorneys, police shootings, State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, State Rep. Lee Harris, TBI|0 Comments

A bill that would make public the investigative record of TBI investigations of police shootings after the case is over advanced in a House subcommittee today. The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted to move the bill to the full committee. State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, is sponsoring the bill, H.B. 277, in the House, and state Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis, is the sponsor in the Senate. (S.B. 1039) State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis Currently, some district attorneys in the state say they cannot release the investigative record in a police shooting case, even after the case is over, because of an exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act [...]

21 Mar, 2017

Email bill passes the House 96-0

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-21T06:30:08-05:00March 21, 2017|Categories: Legislature, requests|Tags: bad players, requests by email, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. Darren Jernigan|0 Comments

A bill that would make clear that public records requesters can make their requests via email passed the House 96-0 last night. See video from presentation of the bill on the House floor. State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville, presents H.B. 58, with State Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Nashville, by her side. Jernigan helped author an amendment. The email bill was sponsored by state Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville. It was amended in committee with input from state Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Nashville. The amendment reduces a government entity's requirements for a period of time to fulfill public records requests from people who have a pattern of not coming to view records they [...]

20 Mar, 2017

Even elected officials have trouble prying loose government information

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-27T16:21:38-05:00March 20, 2017|Categories: economic development, Legislature|Tags: outsourcing, proactive disclosure|0 Comments

Tucked in a Nashville Scene article about Nashville councilman John Cooper is an anecdote that is not altogether unusual -- an elected official hitting a roadblock in getting what he thinks should be basic public government information. At-large Nashville Councilman John Cooper Cooper is the chairman of Metro Council's Budget and Finance Committee and the article by Steven Hale describes him as "a vocal opponent of the type of incentive deals that have been a staple of Metro's economic development strategy for years." Cooper tells The Scene that "I'm kind of in a thing with Rolling Mill Hill, trying to get just basic information about the transaction." Having a [...]

20 Mar, 2017

Ethics bills would require lawmaker disclosure of gifts, including for travel

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-20T11:03:17-05:00March 20, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: financial disclosures, lawmaker travel, State Rep. Bud Hulsey, State Rep. Gerald McCormick, State Sen. Doug Overbey, State Sen. Richard Briggs|1 Comment

Two different sets of ethics legislation on House and Senate calendars this week would require more disclosure of gifts, including for travel, received by lawmakers from people with an interest in influencing public policy. Both sets of bills would increase transparency. Currently, anyone who is not a lobbyist or an employer of a lobbyist can give any amount of money or gift to a lawmaker and the lawmaker does not need to report that gift to the Tennessee Ethics Commission. The issue of such unreported gifts came to light last year after Dave Boucher and Joel Ebert of The Tennessean reported about a Gulf Shores fishing trip hosted by a [...]