Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Archives - Page 19 of 22

13 Oct, 2015

TCOG executive director Deborah Fisher elected to NFOIC board

By Deborah Fisher|2015-10-15T09:36:34-05:00October 13, 2015|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Deborah Fisher, NFOIC|0 Comments

Deborah Fisher, executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, was elected to the National Freedom of Information Coalition Board of Directors at the organization's annual FOI summit in Denver Oct 9-10. Deborah Fisher Fisher was among three new additions to the NFOIC board. Also elected to three-year terms were: David Cuillier, Director of the University of Arizona School of Journalism and chair of the Society of Professional Journalists, Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, and Justin Silverman, executive director of New England First Amendment Coalition. Fisher has been executive director of TCOG, a non-partisan non-profit organization devoted exclusively to promoting and preserving [...]

31 Aug, 2015

TCOG answers state’s 5 questions on charging fees for public records

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-10T08:51:27-06:00August 31, 2015|Categories: fees, Office of Open Records Counsel, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, fees for public records, Office of Open Records Counsel, redactions, Schedule of Reasonable Charges|0 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel is posing five questions about charging fees for public records at upcoming hearings Sept. 15-17 in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson. Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth is gathering comments in advance of making a recommendation in January on whether the law should be changed to allow governments to charge citizens to look at public records. Following are TCOG's responses to the five questions. 1. Should the TPRA (Tennessee Public Records Act) permit record custodians to charge for inspection of public records? No. New fees would choke off citizen access to a wide swath of public records. Plain and simple, we believe that allowing government to [...]

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 [...]

21 Aug, 2015

What you can do when you think the Open Meetings Act was violated

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-21T18:26:26-05:00August 21, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: open meetings violations, TCOG news|0 Comments

Because TCOG gets so many questions and complaints from citizens who wonder what they can do when their officials in a local government violate the state's Open Meetings Act, we've set up a new Open Meetings Complaint page on TCOG's website under the "Resources" tab to explain some options. We will continue to update this page as time goes on, and add to it as we hear from you. TCOG's aim is to try to provide helpful information on how best to create a culture in local government that complies with both the letter and the spirit of the Sunshine law. You can reach the page here: Open Meetings Complaint page. [...]

3 Aug, 2015

TCOG urges Tennessee Supreme Court to allow journalists to use electronic tools in courtrooms

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T07:15:09-05:00August 3, 2015|Categories: Open Courts, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: courtroom access, courts, Rule 30|0 Comments

PRESS RELEASE For immediate release Aug. 3, 2015 Contacts: Lucian T. Pera, vice president, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (901) 524-5278, [email protected] Deborah Fisher, executive director, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (615) 602-4080, [email protected] NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has filed comments with the Tennessee Supreme Court, urging it to change its proposed revision of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 30 so that journalists can use electronic tools in courtrooms, while still allowing for regulation of video or audio recordings. Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 30 was adopted in 1996 to govern the use of cameras in the courtroom by media. In general, the rule spells out guidelines designed [...]