Public Records Archives - Page 38 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

5 Dec, 2016

TCOG encourages citizens to comment on draft model public records policy

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-05T13:12:20-06:00December 5, 2016|Categories: Public Records, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: advisory opinions, citizen id, Ken Jakes, model public records policy, Office of Open Records Counsel, open data, requests by email, State Rep. Bill Dunn, State Sen. Richard Briggs, Sumner County School Board, TCOG news|0 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel is giving the public a chance to review and comment on a draft of a statewide model public records policy. A new law requires all government entities in Tennessee to adopt a public records policy by July 1, 2017. [T.C.A. §10-7-503 (g)]. The law also requires the Office of Open Records Counsel, a state agency housed in the State Comptroller’s Office, to develop a model best practices and public records policy that can be used by the government entities. The deadline for commenting is Dec. 15. Comments and feedback should be sent to [email protected]. The model draft policy is extensive and includes many new guidelines [...]

5 Dec, 2016

Law requiring public records policy

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-05T10:14:41-06:00December 5, 2016|Categories: Public Records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: legislation, model public records policy, State Rep. Bill Dunn, State Sen. Richard Briggs|0 Comments

T.C.A. § 10-7-503(g) (g) No later than July 1, 2017, every governmental entity subject to this section shall establish a written public records policy properly adopted by the appropriate governing authority. The public records policy shall not impose requirements on those requesting records that are more burdensome than state law and shall include: (1) The process for making requests to inspect public records or receive copies of public records and a copy of any required request form; (2) The process for responding to requests, including redaction practices; (3) A statement of any fees charged for copies of public records and the procedures for billing and payment; and (4) The name [...]

16 Nov, 2016

TCOG, League of Women Voters to host body camera forum in December

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-01T08:56:37-06:00November 16, 2016|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Dawn Deaner, Hedy Weinberg, League of Women Voters, police body cameras, Steve Anderson, TCOG event|1 Comment

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and the Nashville Chapter of the League of Women Voters will host a body camera forum, "Police Body Cameras: From Privacy to Accountability -- What Citizens Should Know," Dec. 7 in Nashville. It is free and open to the public. A panel discussion, followed by audience questions and comments, will feature Lonnell Matthews, director of the mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods and Community Engagement; ACLU-Tennessee Executive Director Hedy Weinberg; and Davidson County Public Defender Dawn Dean. The event will be from 4-5 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the First Amendment Center at 1207 18t Avenue South. Two weeks ago, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry [...]

26 Oct, 2016

TCOG files amicus brief in Sumner County case over emailed public records request

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-28T08:03:53-05:00October 26, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Court of Appeals, John Williams, Ken Jakes, Rick Hollow, Sumner County School Board, TCOG news, Tennessee School Board Association|1 Comment

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has filed an amicus curiae brief with the Court of Appeals in Nashville in a case in which the Sumner County Board of Education argues that government entities do not have to accept a public records request sent by email. The case stems from a public records request made by citizen Kenneth Jakes in March 2014 to inspect the Sumner County Board of Education's public records policy. The school district denied the request, saying the method in which Jakes made the request -- by email and a followup phone call -- did not meet their requirements. Jakes was told he had to mail the request through the U.S. [...]

26 Oct, 2016

ECD posts online database of FastTrack grants, but leaves out job creation

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:57:25-05:00October 26, 2016|Categories: economic development, open data|Tags: ECD, economic development, tax credits|0 Comments

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development has posted online a searchable database of FastTrack grants since 2011, but has left out key information it gathers on job creation. Mike Reicher, a data reporter on The Tennessean's investigative reporting team, writes about the development in some depth here: State releases list of business grants totaling $400 M. There are many things to like about the database from an open government perspective. For one, it replaces what essentially were PDFs of FastTrack grants, and PDFs of other documents associated with the grants, but in a jumble of different styles that made it difficult to make connections or draw any meaning from it. The new database is [...]