Open Meetings Archives - Page 12 of 30 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

15 Jun, 2020

TCOG survey documents state’s experience with electronic meetings

By Deborah Fisher|2020-06-15T08:47:06-05:00June 15, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: audibility of public meeting, COVID-19, electronic meetings, open meetings|0 Comments

News reporters, citizens and some government officials provided assessments on governing body meetings held electronically as part of TCOG's informal statewide survey. This screenshot is of a meeting of the Hamilton County Board of Education. An informal survey by Tennessee Coalition for Open Government on governing body meetings held in April and May has for the first time documented the state’s widespread experience with electronic meetings under the Open Meetings Act. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor on March 20 temporarily suspended part of the Open Meetings Act to allow governing bodies to meet and conduct business by electronic means rather than being required to gather a quorum [...]

6 May, 2020

Gov. Lee extends order allowing governing bodies to meet electronically through June 30

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:09:12-05:00May 6, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: COVID-19, electronic meetings, executive order, Gov. Bill Lee, open meetings|0 Comments

Gov. Bill Lee extended provisions in Executive Order No. 16 allowing members of governing bodies to meet electronically through June 30. The order previously was scheduled to expire on May 18. The new order makes no changes in the earlier provisions other than extending the date. Under Executive Order No. 16, a governing body subject to the Open Meetings Act in Tennessee may "meet and conduct its essential business by electronic means, rather than being required to gather a quorum of members physically present at the same location, if the governing body determines that meeting electronically is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Tennesseans in light of [...]

29 Apr, 2020

TCOG joins open meetings lawsuit against Registry of Election Finance board over email vote

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:11:31-05:00April 29, 2020|Categories: open meetings lawsuits, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: attorney-client privilege, Bill Young, email vote, Registry of Election Finance, Tennessee Attorney General, Tom Lawless|1 Comment

In an effort to uphold the Open Meetings Act, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government today joined news media organizations, journalists and press associations in filing an open meetings lawsuit against the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. See lawsuit here. (Read: Media groups sue campaign finance board over email vote, contend violation of open meetings law - By Joel Ebert, The Tennessean, Tennessee media groups, watchdog sue over vote by email - By Travis Loller, AP, Reporters Committee group files lawsuit over Towns decision - By Sam Stockard, The Daily Memphian.) On the evening of April 1, the election finance board took an email vote in secret to reduce by [...]

29 Apr, 2020

Electronic meetings survey: We need your observations!

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:12:54-05:00April 29, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: COVID-19, electronic meetings|0 Comments

Knoxville City Council using Zoom on March 24, 2020. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government is collecting information on how governing bodies have conducted meetings during COVID-19, including electronic meetings. What went well? What didn't? And how can things be improved? Governor Bill Lee on March 20 issued Executive Order No. 16, temporarily suspending the requirement that members of a governing body gather a quorum of members physically present at the same location to conduct business. It allowed governing bodies to instead meet by electronic means in light of the COVID-19 outbreak so long as they provided live access, or a clear audio or video recording afterward. The order expires on [...]

10 Apr, 2020

Campaign finance board’s secret email votes could set dangerous precedent

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:18:35-05:00April 10, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Bill Young, email vote, Registry of Election Finance|1 Comment

It's been more than a week since the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance Board voted secretly by email to reduce the civil penalties against a Memphis state representative by more than $44,000 in a last-minute decision to try to clear him to file for re-election. The vote appears to violate the Open Meetings law, which says: "All votes of any such governmental body shall be by public vote or public ballot or public roll call. No secret votes, or secret ballots, or secret roll calls shall be allowed." [T.C.A. 8-44-104(b)] State Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis, had accumulated $65,000 in civil penalties for failing to file campaign finance disclosures over several [...]