Open Meetings Archives - Page 17 of 30 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

14 Jul, 2017

New museum director says it will start providing meeting agendas to reporters

By Deborah Fisher|2023-04-11T10:58:20-05:00July 14, 2017|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: agenda packets, agendas, Ashley Howell, Nashville Scene, Tennessee State Museum|0 Comments

The new executive director of the Tennessee State Museum said on Friday that it will start proactively providing to media members copies of meeting agendas and agenda packets after an incident on Monday in which a Nashville Scene reporter covering a museum commission meeting was prevented from seeing such materials. Tennessee State Museum Director Ashley Howell “In the future, the Tennessee State Museum will proactively provide all members of the media copies of agendas and accompanying materials for each Commission meeting in keeping with the practice of most state agencies," said executive director Ashley Howell in a statement and through a phone call. "The museum’s management values transparency, [...]

11 Jul, 2017

State museum commission restricts speech, communication with the press

By Deborah Fisher|2017-07-11T16:16:35-05:00July 11, 2017|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: First Amendment, speech restrictions, state museum board, Tennessee State Museum, Tom Smith, Victor Ashe|1 Comment

The Douglas Henry State Museum Commission adopted a new code of conduct on Monday that requires all commission members except for the chair and vice-chair to provide advance notification to the entire commission of any comments that they make to the public before making them. The policy would cover any communication with the press, or any public comments or written comments. The commission also decided it would apply to social media. "Should a Commissioner, excluding the Chair and Vice-Chair, publish any written statement, including blogs, or give any public statement regarding the Commission, Museum, Executive Director, or Museum personnel the Commissioner shall provide the Commission with an advance copy of [...]

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 [...]

9 Feb, 2017

Tennessean: GOP caucus decides to have closed-door meetings after all

By Deborah Fisher|2017-02-09T07:11:21-06:00February 9, 2017|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: House Republican caucus, legislature, State Rep. Ryan Williams, Tennessee Capitol Press Corp|0 Comments

Jake Lowary with The Tennessean reported yesterday that House Republicans have decided they will decide major issues on pending bills behind closed doors. (See: GOP caucus to have closed-door meeting to decide positions on issues.) State Rep. Ryan Williams "Caucus positions give us an opportunity to tell people where we believe the vision of the state as House Republicans should be," said House GOP Caucus Chair Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, as reported by The Tennessean. The strategy is a new one. Late last year, Williams told the Capitol Hill press corps that caucus meetings during the legislation session would be presumed open "unless it's a family discussion." The press [...]

20 Dec, 2016

House Republican caucus meetings to be open unless it’s “family discussion”, chairman says

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-20T11:45:57-06:00December 20, 2016|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: House Republican caucus, legislature, State Rep. Ryan Williams, Tennessee Capitol Press Corps|1 Comment

House Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan Williams told the Capitol Hill press corps last week that caucus meetings would be presumed to be open while the legislature is in session, according to a report in The Tennessean. However, he said, if a member wanted to have a "family discussion," the caucus would take a vote on closing the meeting. State Rep. Ryan Williams The meeting with the press corps came after the House caucus, departing from tradition, held a closed door session in early December to discuss the state budget surplus and the fires in Sevier County. The press corps asked to discuss what appeared to be a new [...]