Public Records Archives - Page 33 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

21 Mar, 2017

Email bill passes the House 96-0

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-21T06:30:08-05:00March 21, 2017|Categories: Legislature, requests|Tags: bad players, requests by email, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. Darren Jernigan|0 Comments

A bill that would make clear that public records requesters can make their requests via email passed the House 96-0 last night. See video from presentation of the bill on the House floor. State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville, presents H.B. 58, with State Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Nashville, by her side. Jernigan helped author an amendment. The email bill was sponsored by state Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville. It was amended in committee with input from state Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Nashville. The amendment reduces a government entity's requirements for a period of time to fulfill public records requests from people who have a pattern of not coming to view records they [...]

20 Mar, 2017

Even elected officials have trouble prying loose government information

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-27T16:21:38-05:00March 20, 2017|Categories: economic development, Legislature|Tags: outsourcing, proactive disclosure|0 Comments

Tucked in a Nashville Scene article about Nashville councilman John Cooper is an anecdote that is not altogether unusual -- an elected official hitting a roadblock in getting what he thinks should be basic public government information. At-large Nashville Councilman John Cooper Cooper is the chairman of Metro Council's Budget and Finance Committee and the article by Steven Hale describes him as "a vocal opponent of the type of incentive deals that have been a staple of Metro's economic development strategy for years." Cooper tells The Scene that "I'm kind of in a thing with Rolling Mill Hill, trying to get just basic information about the transaction." Having a [...]

17 Mar, 2017

House committee passes bill allowing requests by email with some limits for “bad players”

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-17T18:27:44-05:00March 17, 2017|Categories: Legislature, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: requests by email, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. Darren Jernigan|0 Comments

The House State Government committee unanimously passed H.B. 58 this week, which would make clear that citizens may send records requests by email to records custodians. The email bill also contains a section meant to deal with multiple requests to view records from someone who never comes to review them, and requests for copies for which a person never pays for or retrieves. Chairman of the State Government Committee, state Rep. Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville, noted that the legislation went through several revisions, with changes from the Office of Open Records Counsel, from the bill's sponsor and from a member of the committee, state Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Nashville. "What we have with [...]

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. [...]