fees

7 Oct, 2015

What’s behind the fees for inspection bill? NewsChannel 5+ Open Line discussion

By |2015-10-07T17:28:56-05:00October 7, 2015|Categories: fees|0 Comments

WTVF NewsChannel5+ hosted a discussion last week on the recent public hearings and issues around the fees for inspection  proposal. (Background here.) I represented Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, and Lee Harrell, director of government relations for the Tennessee School Boards Association, spoke about his group's initiation of the bill and what led to it. NewsChannel5 veteran reporter Ben Hall moderated the discussion and call-in questions from viewers. The four parts of the video are available for viewing on the NewsChannel5+ Open Line web page. Here are links to the 4 video segments, each about 10 minutes. Video 1 - How did the legislation come up, and what's the impact? Video [...]

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18 Sep, 2015

Murfreesboro Post: Sen. Jim Tracy – ‘I’m never gonna run that bill’

By |2019-09-11T18:54:56-05:00September 18, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: , , , |1 Comment

State Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville The Murfreesboro Post caught up with state Sen Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, after the public hearings this week. Tracy, at the request of the  Tennessee School Boards Association, sponsored their bill to allow new fees to be charged against citizens who want to see public records. Tracy told Murfreesboro Post reporter Sam Stockard that he wanted to put some teeth in the law to go after the "bad actors" on both sides -- government officials who were delaying or obstructing requests, and those who were requesting emails from entire school boards or county commissions. (Tracy told Tennessee Coalition for Open Government the same thing earlier this [...]

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17 Sep, 2015

Audio from public hearings on public records fees posted

By |2015-09-17T09:13:42-05:00September 17, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: |0 Comments

The Tennessee Comptroller has posted audio from the first two hearings in Knoxville and Nashville on its YouTube channel. The Jackson hearing occurs later today at 3 p.m. central time. Audio from Nashville hearing on proposed public records fees Audio from Knoxville hearing on proposed public records fees  

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17 Sep, 2015

News stories on state hearings on proposed public record fees

By |2020-11-19T12:26:29-06:00September 17, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: , |1 Comment

A collection of news stories on proposed public record fees in Tennessee, coverage of the public hearings in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson. KNOXVILLE (Sept. 15) WATE-TV's coverage of the Knoxville public hearing on the proposal to charge fees to inspect public records. WATE (video): Should you have to pay for public records that your tax dollars have already paid for? Knoxville News Sentinel: Proposed records fee met with public backlash WBIR: Room packed with opinions on possible fees for public records WUOT 91.9: Hearings gauge opinion on proposed fees to view public records Roane County News: Public records access fees "akin to a poll tax" NASHVILLE (Sept. 16) Shelbyville Times-Gazette: [...]

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16 Sep, 2015

Nashville: Media, public speak against proposed open records fee

By |2015-09-17T08:21:00-05:00September 16, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: |0 Comments

The second of the three public hearings -- this one in Nashville -- on potential new fees to access public records drew another standing-room only crowd, with about 80 people crowded into the hearing room. Of the 22 who spoke, only two said that news fees should be allowed in the law. Those two were a representative for the Nashville Electric Service and the finance director for the City of Mt. Juliet. The rest who spoke included a cross-section of well-known and longtime journalists, as well as several citizens, the state president of the League of Women Voters-Tennessee, and one state lawmaker, state Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon. More details in [...]

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