The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Friday that the open meetings law applies to political parties' primary boards, but not their executive committees when the committees are determining the "bona fides" of a potential candidate.
A judge ruled that the Tennessee Republican Party's executive committee violated open meetings law when it met and decided to remove Robby Starbuck from the ballot. Starbuck wants to run in the newly redrawn 5th Congressional District race.
A citizen's lawsuit against the city of Athens and its city manager takes aim at multiple potential violations of the open meetings and public records laws, including overcharging for copies and failing to keep minutes of meetings involving a suspension of the city manager.
The Legislature passed comprehensive legislation closing several loopholes and adding more transparency and accountability to campaign finance reporting and ethics measures Thursday. House Speaker Cameron Sexton describes the bill as bringing money flows "from the dark into the light." One provision of the bill requires nonprofits organized under IRS code 501(c)(4), (5) and (6) to report expenditures related to a candidate during election periods, causing pushback from such groups, but the bill goes much farther than this one change.
Three bills that improve open government have cleared both the House and Senate. One will improve the transparency of public meetings of hundreds of state boards and commissions. Another brings more transparency to deaths that occur in local jails and state prisons. And the third clarifies language in the public records law that sometimes causes confusion over ID requirements and the responsibility of government to search for records.
