In Tennessee, the open meetings law applies to “[t]he members of any public body which consists of two (2) or more members, with the authority to make decisions for or recommendations to a public body on policy or administration…” T.C.A. § 8-44-102 (b)(1)(A)

The Tennessee Supreme Court looked at the legislative history of the statute in the 1976 case of Dorrier v. Dark and gave a more comprehensive definition:

“(T)he Legislature intended to include any board, commission, committee, agency, authority, or any other body, by whatever name, whose origin and authority may be traced to state, city, or county legislative action and whose members have authority to make decisions or recommendations on policy and administration affecting the conduct of the business of the people in the governmental sector.”

This means that committees formed by a county commission, for example, are also subject to the rules of the open meetings law regardless of whether the committee is made up of citizens or public officials.

While the reach of the Open Meetings Act is wide when it comes to government, the Court of Appeals ruled in 2001 in Mayhew v. Wilder that it does not apply to the state legislature. Before this, many presumed the state legislature fell under the sunshine law. But the court noted that the legislature does not trace its origins to any legislative action and cited two provisions of the state constitution to conclude the law does not apply to the House and Senate.

  • Article II, Section 22, of the Tennessee Constitution says the doors of the General Assembly shall be open except when the “business shall be such as ought to be kept secret.”
  • Article II, Section 12, lets each chamber “determine the rules of its proceedings.” And, the court said, one two-year session of the General Assembly cannot bind the next.

Though criticized in editorials for “exempting themselves” from the sunshine law, both houses of the General Assembly have had rules that say the doors can be closed only for state and national security matters and certain impeachment proceedings. Read more about who is subject to the open meetings law.