Legislature Archives - Page 23 of 37 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

10 Oct, 2017

State museum board rescinds controversial “code of conduct” policy

By Deborah Fisher|2017-10-10T09:44:54-05:00October 10, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: free press, free speech, state museum board, State Sen. Mike Bell, Tennessee State Museum, Tom Smith|0 Comments

The Douglas Henry State Museum Commission has rescinded a controversial code of conduct policy that had required board members to notify the commission before they talked to the media and threatened ouster of board members who didn't follow the rules. State Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville The code of conduct policy came under fierce criticism by lawmakers at a Joint Government Operations Committee meeting in August. Several were appalled at the restrictive speech policy and one said it appeared to be an attempt to silence museum board member and former Knoxville mayor Victor Ashe. The code of conduct policy prohibited board members from saying anything that would "disparage" the [...]

5 Oct, 2017

Ohio senator files anti-SLAPP bill similar to legislation that was pulled last year in Tennessee

By Deborah Fisher|2017-10-05T11:12:52-05:00October 5, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: Ohio bill, public participation, SLAPP suits|0 Comments

A coalition of citizen, media and advocacy groups in Ohio are putting their support behind a so-called anti-SLAPP bill introduced in their state yesterday. The bill is similar to one introduced in Tennessee, but taken off notice during the 2017 legislative session without discussion in committee or subcommittee. The Ohio bill is modeled after Texas law, as was Tennessee's. Many people are not familiar with a SLAPP lawsuit. SLAPP stands for "strategic lawsuit against public participation" and is a moniker coined in the 1980s. Here's an entry describing SLAPP suits from The First Amendment Encyclopedia at MTSU and an excerpt: A SLAPP suit, or strategic lawsuit against public participation, is a [...]

20 Sep, 2017

State agencies urged by committee chair to allow photos of public records

By Deborah Fisher|2017-09-21T08:24:06-05:00September 20, 2017|Categories: Legislature, Public Records|Tags: legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel, photos of public records, State Rep. Jeremy Faison, State Sen. Mike Bell|2 Comments

(Updated 9-21-17 with quotes from the meeting, and more background on the development of the Model Public Records policy that allows government entities to ban photography.) Three state agencies were instructed to re-examine their public records policies that prohibit citizens from taking photos of public records during a meeting of the Joint Government Operations Committee meeting today. State Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville State Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, the Senate chairman of the committee, asked the Comptroller's Office, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to review their policies to allow citizens to use technology, like their cell phone, to take photos of public records. [...]

15 Aug, 2017

Tennessee Journal: Museum retreats from new code of ethics in face of legislator attacks

By Deborah Fisher|2017-08-15T15:40:54-05:00August 15, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: state museum board, Tennessee State Museum|0 Comments

The Tennessee Journal did a good writeup on what happened at the Joint Operations Committee Hearing, in which the state museum commission's new code of conduct policy was under scrutiny. From Tom Humphrey with The Tennessee Journal: The chairman of the Tennessee State Museum’s governing board pledged that the panel would reconsider its controversial “code of ethics” in the face of round of strong criticism from state legislators at a hearing Tuesday. “Do you want to take the legislature on?” asked Senate Government Operations Committee Chairman Mike Bell, R-Riceville, addressing Thomas Smith, chairman of the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission at the outset of a hearing. An hour and a [...]

15 May, 2017

New laws passed in 2017 affect access to public records

By Deborah Fisher|2022-01-10T10:22:19-06:00May 15, 2017|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings, Public Records, requests|Tags: addresses, audibility of public meeting, Bill Haslam, body cameras, bus safety complaints, crime victims, economic development records, electronic meetings, health care exams, lawmaker travel, police, requests by email, state parks, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. Darren Jernigan, State Sen. Doug Overbey, State Sen. Ken Yager, State Sen. Lee Harris, tax credits, TBI, TCOG news, Tennessee State Museum, vendors|0 Comments

TCOG Legislative Report 2017 Following is a summary of new laws affecting access to government information. They include 7 new exceptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act, 2 existing exemptions partially rolled back, 1 new law improving access to records in general, 1 new law creating criminal penalties for releasing certain confidential information, and 3 new laws improving government records for better accountability. 1 - Requiring acceptance of public records requests through email State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville, brought this legislation after an expensive legal dispute in her home county of Sumner County where the school district refused to accept public records requests by [...]