Public Records Archives - Page 53 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

28 Aug, 2015

TCOG plans comment for public records hearings: New fees would choke off citizen oversight

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-30T03:24:20-05:00August 28, 2015|Categories: fees, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Ann Butterworth, Office of Open Records Counsel, public hearings, TCOG news, Tennessee School Boards Association|0 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel is conducting public records hearings in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson in September to ask the question: Should the Tennessee Public Records Act permit the government to charge citizens to inspect public records? The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government believes that charging citizens to view public records would make it easier for some government officials to block citizen access to records. We believe that the result of a change in Tennessee law would be immediate: Some citizens would no longer be able to view public records because they could not afford to pay the fees. The change would roll back Tennessee’s legal tradition of favoring [...]

25 Aug, 2015

A peek at what’s ahead for the public records hearings

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-25T08:02:36-05:00August 25, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: fees for public records, Louden County, Mayor Rollen "Buddy" Bradshaw, Office of Open Records Counsel, public hearings|1 Comment

In three weeks, the Office of Open Records Counsel will hold the first of three public hearings on consecutive days in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson to get comments on whether the law should be changed so that citizens can be charged to inspect records. Louden County mayor Rollen “Buddy” Bradshaw told the News-Herald in Lenoir City in a Sunday story that he plans to attend the Knoxville hearing on Sept. 16 and advocate for fees. He cited a records request from a citizen that cost "$8,000-$9,000 in attorney fees, additional labor costs and other expenses" -- expenses he thinks the citizen should have to pay. The citizen who made the public [...]

22 Aug, 2015

Police records shed light on use of lethal force in Memphis

By Deborah Fisher|2016-01-06T09:21:13-06:00August 22, 2015|Categories: crime records|Tags: Memphis, police records, The Commercial Appeal|0 Comments

The Commercial Appeal published a story yesterday that examined 22 shooting deaths of suspects by Memphis police since 2009. It is a clear example of how access to public records can shed light on local government operations, providing citizens and community leaders support and information for better understanding and tackling a problem. The sheer volume of people shot and killed by Memphis police over a period of five years might be startling, but the Commercial Appeal went farther with its analysis after poring through police records, including video from a home surveillance camera showing an officer shooting an unarmed suspect in the back as he fled. From the story, "CA Investigation: [...]

22 Aug, 2015

Tennessee Watchdog: Open records may get a little less open

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-22T13:15:50-05:00August 22, 2015|Categories: fees|0 Comments

Chris Butler with Tennessee Watchdog published a story about the upcoming public hearings about charging new fees to inspect public records: Tennessee Open Records may get a little less open. A reminder: If you can't make a public hearing, you can still send comments answering the main question to be posed by the Office of Open Records Counsel at the public hearings at this email address: [email protected]. 1. Should the TPRA permit record custodians to charge for inspection of public records? In Butler's story, he quotes Tennessee Press Association, TCOG and Lee Harrell, the lobbyist for the Tennessee Association of School Boards, which is pushing the legislation to change the law [...]

16 Aug, 2015

Newspapers make case against fees to access public records

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-17T07:23:13-05:00August 16, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: David Plazas, fees for public records, Jack McElroy|0 Comments

Two Tennessee newspapers editorialized against a legislative proposal to charge citizens new fees to access public records today. Jack McElroy David Plazas David Plazas, opinion engagement editor of The Tennessean and Jack McElroy, editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, published pieces in advance of the three September hearings planned in Nashville, Knoxville and Jackson to gather input on a proposal to change the law to allow local government and state agencies to charge fees if someone wants to inspect a public record. Currently, the law requires that inspection be free, although charges can be made if the citizen wants copies. Read the columns here: Tell Tennessee to [...]