Public Records Archives - Page 23 of 78 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

25 Mar, 2019

911 calls will be topic for House subcommittee this week

By Deborah Fisher|2019-04-17T13:11:38-05:00March 25, 2019|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: 911 calls, emergency communications board, Jack McElroy, State Rep. Rick Tillis|0 Comments

The House Public Service and Employees Subcommittee is scheduled to hear a proposal on Wednesday to make all "911 calls, transmissions, recordings of an emergency communications district and emergency communications board" confidential. The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Rick Tillis, R-Lewisburg. An amendment Tillis plans to offer on the bill clarifies that "transmission" includes video recordings and text messages of the emergency communications district and emergency communications boards. The subcommittee normally meets for Bill Review at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays on the fifth floor of the Cordell Hull building in Room 5F, in which stakeholders interested in bills can share their thoughts. The subcommittee meets in regular session at [...]

21 Mar, 2019

House bill to limit trade secret exception for government payments fails in subcommittee

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-25T14:46:14-05:00March 21, 2019|Categories: economic development, Legislature|Tags: economic development, Google, State Rep. David Hawk, State Rep. Harold Love, State Rep. Martin Daniel, trade secrets|1 Comment

“It is we, the Legislature, representatives of the people, who should declare what is a trade secret and what is confidential (about government transactions). Not these private entities who are receiving government benefits.” State Rep. Martin Daniel, R-Knoxville, in presenting HB 370. House Bill 370, which would have limited the ability of businesses to claim a government payment to them as confidential under the trade secret law, failed in subcommittee on Wednesday. While my organization, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, was disappointed in the vote, the issue got a fair hearing from the subcommittee and allowed us to share with lawmakers a potential problem. The bill would have changed the [...]

7 Mar, 2019

Mom fights for law to allow parents to view school bus video

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-07T18:36:17-06:00March 7, 2019|Categories: Legislature, schools|Tags: Brooke Wilkerson, FERPA, school bus video, State Rep. Rick Tillis, State Sen. Shane Reeves|3 Comments

Lawmakers will consider a bill next week to allow parents to view school bus video after reports of physical harm, harassment, intimidation or bullying involving their child. Sen. Shane Reeves, R-Murfreesboro, is sponsoring SB 182, after hearing from a Lewisburg mother who faced roadblocks in finding out what happened to her kindergartener on the bus. Brooke Wilkerson, a Lewisburg mom who faced roadblocks in trying to see school bus video after her kindergartener told of her of a "secret tickling game" with a 12-year-old that took place on the bus. Brooke Wilkerson said she was concerned when her young daughter told her about a "secret tickling game" on the [...]

7 Mar, 2019

Confidentiality of government settlements in sexual harassment claims at issue in proposed law

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-07T11:55:37-06:00March 7, 2019|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|0 Comments

A bill that would allow the identities of victims of sexual harassment and sexual criminal offenses, and possibly other identifying details, to be concealed as part of settlement agreements with the government is going back to a subcommittee for an additional amendment. State Rep. Carson Beck, D-Nashville The bill, HB 594 by state Rep. Carson Beck, D-Nashville, was referred back to the House Civil Justice Subcommittee because of a late-filed amendment. The language in the current bill says: “Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any provision of a settlement agreement entered into be a governmental entity that has the effect of prohibiting the disclosure of details or the [...]

7 Mar, 2019

House subcommittee approves bill to improve vetting of new public records exemptions

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-07T11:30:00-06:00March 7, 2019|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: caption bills, exemptions, Open Record Ad Hoc Committee, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Jason Zachary|1 Comment

A House subcommittee approved a bill on Wednesday that would change the way legislation to create new exemptions to the public records law are vetted. The bill, HB86 by state Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, will require House bills that create an exception to the Tennessee Public Records Act to be referred to the House Government Operations Committee for a positive, negative or neutral recommendation. State Rep. Jason Zachary, co-chair of the Open Records Ad Hoc Committee, said in December the task of going through 563 exemptions was too large to get done in five months. Zachary explained any such bill would then go back to the standing committee [...]