Legislature Archives - Page 9 of 33 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

21 Mar, 2021

Proposed law would allow hundreds of local utility boards to avoid meeting in person

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-21T11:45:07-05:00March 21, 2021|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: electronic meetings, State Rep. Clark Boyd, utilities|0 Comments

A proposed change to the Open Meetings Act, scheduled to be heard this week in a House subcommittee, would allow hundreds of local utility boards that manage water, sewage, solid waste, natural gas and electric systems to avoid meeting in person in front of the public. HB 509 allows the utility boards that otherwise are governed by the Open Meetings Act to allow any of their members to call into a meeting or participate by "other means of communication" if a quorum is present at the location of the meeting, creating a hybrid meeting of some board members there in person and some attending by phone or other means. [...]

11 Mar, 2021

Bill to make make addresses of people arrested confidential is delayed 1 week

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-11T16:39:32-06:00March 11, 2021|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: arrest records, Glen Casada|0 Comments

A bill that would make confidential the addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers of people who are arrested was delayed one week after lawmakers questioned the sponsor, state Rep. Glen Casada, about the proposal. Casada, R-Franklin, said that Williamson County officials asked him to bring the bill because people arrested were getting "bombarded" by those who were seeking to contact them after their arrest. "My county government tells me that a lot of individuals are being contacted and they don't want to be contacted," Casada said. Casada introduced an amendment on the bill that says if the home address of the person arrested is also the place of the [...]

11 Mar, 2021

Bill to allow county commissioners to vote by phone and not in person moves forward

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-11T16:38:59-06:00March 11, 2021|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: electronic meetings, Rep. Dave Wright, State Sen. Richard Briggs, voting by phone|0 Comments

A bill that would permit county commissioners to participate remotely in a meeting and vote on matters by phone or other electronic means passed the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday despite several lawmakers on the committee raising concern and saying they would vote against it. It was unclear in the voice vote exactly how lawmakers on the 21-member committee voted — to some people present, the "no's" sounded louder than the "ayes." But after pausing in silence for more than 10 seconds after the vote, Committee Chairman John Crawford who represents Bristol and Kingsport announced, "Bill moves on!" The bill will next be heard in the House Finance, Ways [...]

4 Mar, 2021

Is Tennessee ready for the slippery slope of legislating by phone?

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-04T12:12:38-06:00March 4, 2021|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: COVID-19, electronic meetings, Rep. Dave Wright, State Sen. Richard Briggs, voting by phone|0 Comments

During the pandemic, members of local and state governing bodies have been allowed to conduct meetings electronically per executive order by Gov. Bill Lee. They have not had to hold physical meetings in a physical place. They can hold meetings on Zoom or even by telephone conference call, as long as they allow the public real-time live audio or video access and follow other rules. In some instances, this has meant that the governing body is on videoconference, and the public must show up physically at city hall to watch them through a government computer. It has not been ideal for citizens, who have lost the benefit of interaction with [...]

1 Mar, 2021

Bill would make confidential police video, contact info of those arrested and detained

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-01T13:21:56-06:00March 1, 2021|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: body cameras, crime records, Glen Casada, State Sen. Jack Johnson|0 Comments

Proposed legislation by state Rep. Glen Casada and state Sen. Jack Johnson would make confidential police video of someone arrested or detained and not subject to the public records law. The bill also would close contact information of those arrested, including the home address and phone number. HB 910 is scheduled to heard by the House Public Service Subcommittee at its Wednesday meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. The bill would add an exemption to the public records act that says: (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, personal identifying information compiled by and in the possession of municipal and county law enforcement agencies and detention facilities concerning any [...]