exemptions Archives - Page 7 of 12 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

27 Jun, 2017

Judge rules Fall Creek Falls privatization records should be released

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:21:01-05:00June 27, 2017|Categories: exemptions, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Bill Young, Fall Creek Falls, Janet Kleinfelter, John Williams, Katherine Dix, Nashville Scene, privatization, public records lawsuit, request for proposals|0 Comments

In a win for government transparency, Davidson County Chancellor Bill Young ruled today that government records requested by the Nashville Scene regarding the privatization of Fall Creek Falls State Park should be released and are not covered by an exemption in the Tennessee Public Records Act. Davidson County Chancellor Bill Young Under the exemption, proposals for professional services and related records are open for public inspection only after the state has finished evaluating the proposals. However, in this case, no proposals were received by the state’s May 1 deadline from businesses who wanted to operate the state park. The state argued that this meant any government records related [...]

17 Mar, 2017

McNally, Harwell seek review of Tennessee open records exemptions

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-17T12:39:23-05:00March 17, 2017|Categories: exemptions, Legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: Adam Yeomans, Beth Harwell, exemptions, State Sen. Randy McNally, sunset provision|2 Comments

The speakers of the House and Senate have asked the Office of Open Records Counsel for a "thorough and comprehensive review" of the various exemptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act, reports Joel Ebert in a story in The Tennessean. Letter from McNally and Harwell asking for a thorough review of the exemptions to the Public Records Act. "We ask that a detailed list of current exemptions in the Tennessee Code Annotated be compiled as soon as possible," says the letter from State Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and State Rep. Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, to Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth. "In the interest of transparent and open government, [...]

17 Mar, 2017

Lawmaker faces opposition in trying to open up state lottery records

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-17T14:58:51-05:00March 17, 2017|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: lottery records|0 Comments

State Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, is facing stiff opposition in his effort to open up state lottery records. State Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, doesn't buy the lottery's arguments that retailers will leave the system if sales were made public. According to a story in the Bristol Herald Courier, the Tennessee Lottery says it would lose $19.5 million in revenue if it had to reveal lottery sales by retailer, information that is public in other state lotteries, including in two states bordering Tennessee. The reasoning? The risk of robberies to stores will increase if sales were revealed, and other retailers would know how much they are making through such sales. [...]

5 Mar, 2017

Lawmakers question redaction of vendor names

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-05T16:44:23-06:00March 5, 2017|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: public records exemption, State Rep. Bill Sanderson, State Sen. Ken Yager, vendor confidentiality, vendor names|0 Comments

Proposed legislation clarifying a 2016 law that made identities of certain government vendors confidential passed out of a Senate committee and House subcommittee this week after questions from lawmakers. An amendment was added in the House that would allow access to the identities by state lawmakers. The lawmakers carrying the bill for the Haslam administration said the statute needed to be clarified because the intent was only to keep confidential names of vendors who provide IT security. The earlier language caused some to be concerned the exemption was too broad, state Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, told a Senate committee on Tuesday. State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, and [...]

15 Feb, 2017

Interested in open government? Bills to watch in 2017 in Tennessee

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-17T15:00:31-05:00February 15, 2017|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: charter schools, economic development records, financial disclosures, government contracts, legislation, legislature, lottery records, outsourcing, police body cameras, requests by email, vendors, voting records|0 Comments

Lawmakers have filed dozens of bill this year that could affect a citizen’s ability to get information about their local and state government. While it’s still early, here is a list of bills to watch. Economic development records HB 947 / SB 1179 - State Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin / State Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald - Makes confidential county and municipal records related to economic development. Part of this bill would make confidential any county or city economic development contracts, agreements and related records until after a contract is entered into. The other part of the bill allows a county or municipality to keep any documents confidential after a contract [...]