Legislature

11 Apr, 2023

House, Senate pass bill requiring clear agendas for local legislative body meetings

By |2023-04-11T11:21:31-05:00April 11, 2023|Categories: adequate public notice, Legislature, meeting agenda, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

The House and Senate have unanimously approved a bill that will improve the timeliness and clarity of the agendas of local legislative bodies. The bill now heads to the governor's desk and will become law once signed. The bill requires that agendas be available to the public 48 hours in advance of the meeting and that they "reasonably describe matters to be deliberated and acted upon during the meeting." Several lawmakers signed onto the bill. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government brought the bill to the legislative sponsors after a series of court opinions saying that no agenda was required by the Open Meetings Act.

15 Mar, 2023

Bill would allow governmental bodies to post meeting notices on website

By |2023-03-15T12:51:54-05:00March 15, 2023|Categories: adequate public notice, Legislature|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

A bill that allows governing bodies to post notice of their meetings on their websites passed a House committee, but not before pushback on a provision that requires the governing body to also mail or email the meeting notices to citizens who request it.

13 Mar, 2023

Electronic meetings bill fails in House committee

By |2023-03-17T07:46:05-05:00March 13, 2023|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Lawmakers killed a bill in a House committee that would have allowed members of county and city legislative bodies to attend meetings by phone or video. The bill was a revival of one that failed in 2021. Lawmakers expressed concerns that members attending a meeting while experiencing a family or medical "emergency" might not be in the mental state to conduct business.

3 Mar, 2023

Proposed public comment law passes key House Committee

By |2023-03-03T11:56:33-06:00March 3, 2023|Categories: Legislature|Tags: , , |0 Comments

The bill would require governing bodies to set aside a time for public comment at all governing body meetings except those in which there are no actionable items on the agenda and those in which the governing body is conducting a disciplinary hearing. The bill also allows a governing body to set time limits and require the person to give advance notice of their wish to speak.

20 Feb, 2023

Bill allows government to take over $1 million foreclosure ad business, removing notices from local newspapers

By |2023-02-20T16:11:43-06:00February 20, 2023|Categories: Legislature|Tags: , |0 Comments

The Secretary of State's Office would gain nearly $1 million in new annual revenue under a bill that allows it to take over the business of advertising foreclosure sales from local community newspapers where they have appeared for years.

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