Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Archives - Page 6 of 21

17 Mar, 2020

Lawmakers to consider bill to temporarily amend Open Meetings Act to allow electronic participation during coronavirus epidemic

By Deborah Fisher|2020-03-17T08:24:42-05:00March 17, 2020|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|1 Comment

The General Assembly did the right thing yesterday in announcing it would not proceed with its regular calendars, and instead focus on just essential business before recessing for at least 8 weeks. House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally indicated lawmakers could finish their essential business by the end of the week and go home. One of those bills under consideration this week would give local governing bodies the ability for their members to meet electronically -- such as dialing in on a conference line, or joining via a videoconference. The legislation would also allow local governing bodies to comply with the Open Meetings Act by providing electronic [...]

13 Mar, 2020

Open meetings during an outbreak: We must preserve transparency

By Deborah Fisher|2020-03-13T14:06:26-05:00March 13, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: COVID-19, open meetings|0 Comments

The chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court announced today that all Tennessee courts would be suspending in-person judicial proceedings through March 30 because of the coronavirus outbreak. There are some exceptions. Business must go on for some essential and critical proceedings. In those cases, the court said the proceedings will be limited to attorneys, parties, witnesses, security officers and “necessary persons” as determined by the trial judge. Also this week, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners announced it will host “virtual meetings for at least the next two weeks.” “These virtual meetings will take place in the 1st Floor Chambers to ensure that residents and employees may view the [...]

23 Feb, 2020

Bill would require government entities to put meeting agendas online

By Deborah Fisher|2023-04-11T10:57:55-05:00February 23, 2020|Categories: Public Records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: agendas, basic government information, government websites, meeting minutes, State Rep. William Lamberth, State Sen. Mike Bell|1 Comment

State Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and state Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, are pushing a bill that would require government entities to post meeting agendas on their websites, as well as other basic government information. House Bill 2132 and Senate Bill 2756 would make it easier and faster for the public to get and review agendas for upcoming meetings. State Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, (left) and State Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, (right) have proposed legislation that would require government entities with a website to include meeting agendas and other basic government information on the website. The bill requires a government entity with a website to post its meetings agendas on the [...]

23 Feb, 2020

Harassment bill fails on 5-4 vote

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T16:38:31-06:00February 23, 2020|Categories: requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: harassment, legislation, public records requests, State Sen. Ferrell Haile, State Sen. Mike Bell|0 Comments

A bill that would allow a government entity to petition a court for an injunction against someone who was using the public records process to harass government employees failed in a Senate committee last week. Sen. Ferrell Haile, R- Gallatin. The harassment bill, sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, arose last year after reports of a man who city officials in Gallatin and others believe is abusing the process and wasting government time through multiple and voluminous requests with seemingly no purpose. Haile amended the bill, working with stakeholders including Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, which eventually supported the amended version of the bill. Haile characterized the bill as an [...]

21 Jan, 2020

Press release: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press announces Local Legal Initiative launch in Tennessee

By Deborah Fisher|2020-01-21T08:49:35-06:00January 21, 2020|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|0 Comments

Local Legal Initiative will place lawyers in total of five states — Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee — to provide local news organizations with pro bono legal support The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press announced today that it will launch its Local Legal Initiative this year in Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee to provide pro bono legal support to local journalists and news outlets throughout the states pursuing enterprise and investigative journalism. The Reporters Committee’s expansion to provide direct legal services to more journalists at the local level follows a $10 million investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced last year as [...]