Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Archives - Page 3 of 21

23 Jun, 2020

2020 Legislative Report: A session shadowed by COVID-19

By Deborah Fisher|2020-07-30T12:24:17-05:00June 23, 2020|Categories: Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|0 Comments

The 111th General Assembly had a session like no other in 2020, punctured by a pandemic that caused leadership to abruptly close their meetings to the public on March 16. Hundreds of people who usually flock to the Cordell Hull building and the Capitol to try to influence their lawmakers and make their voice heard were reduced to telephone, email and video. Lawmakers continued for four days this way, then recessed March 19. When they reconvened on June 1, the House had opened its doors to the public again, albeit with reduced seating, required temperature checks and strong suggestions for mask-wearing. The Senate did not; instead, promising action on only [...]

15 Jun, 2020

Senate passes records preservation bill; House set for floor vote tonight

By Deborah Fisher|2020-06-27T11:58:20-05:00June 15, 2020|Categories: Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|0 Comments

State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, initiated and carried the bill that prohibits the destruction of public records that are subject to a pending public records request. The bill also requires a minimum retention period of 12 months for written or electronic correspondence regarding a public record request. A bill that would prohibit the destruction of public records that are subject to a pending public records request was approved by the Senate on Thursday and is set for consideration on the House floor tonight. The proposal, carried by state Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and state Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, plugs a gap in Tennessee law that drew attention last year in [...]

15 Jun, 2020

TCOG survey documents state’s experience with electronic meetings

By Deborah Fisher|2020-06-15T08:47:06-05:00June 15, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: audibility of public meeting, COVID-19, electronic meetings, open meetings|0 Comments

News reporters, citizens and some government officials provided assessments on governing body meetings held electronically as part of TCOG's informal statewide survey. This screenshot is of a meeting of the Hamilton County Board of Education. An informal survey by Tennessee Coalition for Open Government on governing body meetings held in April and May has for the first time documented the state’s widespread experience with electronic meetings under the Open Meetings Act. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor on March 20 temporarily suspended part of the Open Meetings Act to allow governing bodies to meet and conduct business by electronic means rather than being required to gather a quorum [...]

2 Jun, 2020

TCOG, 55 others ask TN Supreme Court to protect open courts during COVID-19

By Deborah Fisher|2020-06-02T11:30:01-05:00June 2, 2020|Categories: Open Courts, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: COVID-19, electronic meetings, judicial districts, Tennessee Supreme Court|1 Comment

The joint petition to the Tennessee Supreme Court asks the court to use its emergency powers to protect public and media access to court proceedings during COVID-19. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and 55 other organizations and people ranging from news media to criminal justice groups to First Amendment experts have filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court asking the court to take "immediate steps to protect the public's Constitutional and common law right of access to court proceedings" during the COVID-19 epidemic. Few of the 30 judicial district plans submitted and approved by the Supreme Court provide "any reasonable level of compliance" with the constitutional right of access, [...]

29 Apr, 2020

TCOG joins open meetings lawsuit against Registry of Election Finance board over email vote

By Deborah Fisher|2020-05-09T13:11:31-05:00April 29, 2020|Categories: open meetings lawsuits, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: attorney-client privilege, Bill Young, email vote, Registry of Election Finance, Tennessee Attorney General, Tom Lawless|1 Comment

In an effort to uphold the Open Meetings Act, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government today joined news media organizations, journalists and press associations in filing an open meetings lawsuit against the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. See lawsuit here. (Read: Media groups sue campaign finance board over email vote, contend violation of open meetings law - By Joel Ebert, The Tennessean, Tennessee media groups, watchdog sue over vote by email - By Travis Loller, AP, Reporters Committee group files lawsuit over Towns decision - By Sam Stockard, The Daily Memphian.) On the evening of April 1, the election finance board took an email vote in secret to reduce by [...]