Public Records Archives - Page 24 of 78 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

6 Mar, 2019

Commercial Appeal: Bill would require Tennessee governments to disclose payments to companies

By Deborah Fisher|2019-03-06T09:12:57-06:00March 6, 2019|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: economic development, Google, State Rep. Martin Daniel, trade secrets, University of Tennessee|0 Comments

The Commercial Appeal recently did a story about a bill in the Legislature, supported by TCOG, that would solve the issue of business entities claiming that government documents about payments made to them are confidential because the payment they received constitutes a trade secret. It flies in the face of the Tennessee Public Records Act that states "all documents ... made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental entity" are public records. But the business are getting away with it. See below for an example with Google and the Montgomery County Industrial Development Board, and the University of [...]

18 Feb, 2019

Washington Post story details Google techniques to keep economic development deals secret

By Deborah Fisher|2019-02-18T15:49:46-06:00February 18, 2019|Categories: economic development|Tags: Clarksville, economic development, Google, Montgomery County|1 Comment

A Washington Post story last week has detailed how Google, often acting through a newly formed company with a different name, secured non-disclosure agreements with government entities around the country as it negotiated and landed economic development deals valued in the millions of dollars. The city of Clarksville and the Montgomery County Industrial Development Board are among the government entities that signed non-disclosure agreements with Google, which eventually agreed to locate a data center in the county with a target investment of $600 million and 34 direct hires. From the Washington Post story, Google reaped millions in tax breaks as it secretly expanded its real estate footprint across the U.S.: Google — which [...]

10 Feb, 2019

Nashville, Knoxville lawmakers seek to make names in traffic accident reports confidential

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T09:10:14-05:00February 10, 2019|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: State Rep. Jason Powell, State Sen. Becky Massey, traffic accident reports|2 Comments

A Nashville representative and Knoxville senator have filed bills that would make parts of traffic accident reports confidential, including the names of people involved in the accident. State Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, represents part of Davidson County. Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, and Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, have filed HB 1107 and SB 1346. The bills which would make the names of people involved in traffic accidents confidential, along with their addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, driver license numbers and insurance information. Some of this information in a law enforcement traffic accident report, such as a person's driver's license number and other personal information, is already confidential under [...]

10 Feb, 2019

Tennessee lawmaker seeks to make 911 calls confidential

By Deborah Fisher|2019-02-11T08:12:54-06:00February 10, 2019|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: 911 calls, State Rep. Rick Tillis, State Sen. Shane Reeves|0 Comments

A Tennessee lawmaker is seeking to make 911 calls confidential. Rep. Rick Tillis, R-Lewisburg, has filed HB 335 which would amend the Tennessee Public Records Act to say: State Rep. Rick Tillis, R-Lewisburg, represents Marshall and part of Franklin, Lincoln, and Marion Counties. He has filed a bill to make 911 confidential. (1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, 911 calls, transmissions, and recordings of an emergency communications district and emergency communications board under title 7, chapter 86, are confidential and may be used only for public safety purposes and as necessary for law enforcement, fire, medical, rescue, dispatching, or other emergency services. (2) A 911 call, transmission, [...]

6 Feb, 2019

Listen to TCOG on the Grand Divisions podcast with Rep. Jason Zachary

By Deborah Fisher|2019-02-06T08:52:37-06:00February 6, 2019|Categories: exemptions, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Grand Divisions podcast, Open Record Ad Hoc Committee, State Rep. Jason Zachary|0 Comments

This week, I was interviewed along with state Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, on the Grand Divisions podcast about open government legislation. We primarily talked about a bill that will require a review of all existing 560-plus exemptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act. Zachary was the co-chair of an ad hoc joint committee, appointed by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and then-House Speaker Beth Harwell, to consider the growing list of exemptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act for those that need to be eliminated, tweaked, re-examined. Follow this link to hear the podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/user/9033845/grand-divisions-tennessee-news The Grand Divisions podcast is great for anyone interested in state politics. I've been listening since last [...]