Public Records Archives - Page 55 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

8 Jul, 2015

My favorite part of the ACOG meeting about charging new fees for public records (VIDEO)

By Deborah Fisher|2015-07-09T01:26:30-05:00July 8, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth|0 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel has posted video of the meeting she held with the Advisory Committee on Open Government Committee meeting from June 29. The topics covered were upcoming public hearings and questionnaires to gather information so, as Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth told the group, she can make her recommendation to the Legislature, presumably on whether or not to propose new fees on citizens to inspect public records, and if so, how. (See previous blog post: Public hearings, survey to gather citizen, government input on public records fee proposal.) Since the video is long (1 hour and 43 minutes), I've highlighted a part of the video below that takes [...]

1 Jul, 2015

Knoxville prepares new blanket ban on releasing dashcam video, waits for TN Supreme Court ruling

By Deborah Fisher|2015-07-01T09:28:44-05:00July 1, 2015|Categories: crime records|Tags: crime records, dashcam video, Knoxville Police Department, Ron Mills, Tennessee Supreme Court, Vanderbilt rape case|1 Comment

The Knoxville Police Department is waiting on a decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court before it puts into place a new blanket ban on release of all dashcam videos, sometimes indefinitely. In a story today by longtime crime and courts reporter Jaime Satterfield in the Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville's Deputy Law Director Ron Mills says: “You have to protect the integrity of not only your investigation but your prosecution. If there’s a pending appeal or within the possible time frame for a (post-appeal) relief petition, yes, it could be years. In the case of unsolved crimes, it could be indefinite.” The proposed policy would be a marked change for the Knoxville [...]

30 Jun, 2015

Public hearings, survey to gather citizen, government input on public records fee proposal

By Deborah Fisher|2015-06-30T16:03:41-05:00June 30, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth, Blake Farmer, David Moore, Dick Williams, Don Long, fees for public records, Janet Kleinfelter, Lucian Pera, Robb Harvey, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Steve McDaniel, State Sen. Jim Tracy, Sumner County|0 Comments

Three public hearings will be held around the state in September to gather opinions and input about a legislative proposal to allow local and state government agencies to charge fees to citizens to inspect public records. Currently, the Tennessee Public Records Act says that citizens must be allowed to view public records for free, but citizens can be charged if they request copies of those records. In the case of copies, citizens by law can be charged both the actual cost of the copy and a per-hour labor fee for the time it takes to compile the records after the first hour. Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth outlined her draft [...]

26 Jun, 2015

Appeals Court reverses denial of attorney fees in public records case

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T15:08:36-06:00June 26, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Alex Friedmann, attorneys' fees, Chancellor J.B. Cox, Court of Appeals, Judge Arnold Goldin, Marshall County, Marshall County Sheriff Norman Dalton|0 Comments

The Court of Appeals in Nashville reversed a trial court ruling, and ordered attorney's fees be awarded to Alex Friedmann, managing editor of Prison Legal News, who sued the Marshall County Sheriff's Office after it refused to let him get copies of written jail policies and contracts unless he appeared in person. (Read the ruling: Alex Friedmann, et al. v. Marshall County, TN, et al.) Friedmann wrote a letter to the sheriff's department requesting copies under the Tennessee Public Records Act of certain jail policies and contracts. The sheriff's department told Friedmann that he would have to make his request in person. "This email does not deny Mr. Friedman[n] the records, [...]

22 Jun, 2015

Open Records Counsel sets ACOG meeting, plans survey, hearings on public records

By Deborah Fisher|2015-06-29T07:47:06-05:00June 22, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: ACOG, Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth, fees for public records, Office of Open Records Counsel|0 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel has set a Monday, June 29, meeting of the Advisory Committee on Open Government to discuss a study on issues related to inspection of public records. The meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. in Room 29 of Legislative Plaza in Nashville, and will be live-video streamed and accessible from the Tennessee General Assembly's website. The agenda includes discussion of the scope of the study, a proposed questionnaire/survey and hearings on public records issues. It also includes discussion about a plan for review for the Schedule of Reasonable Charges, the Frequent and Multiple Request and Safe Harbor Policies, the Best Practices Guidelines and FAQs and [...]