News - Page 13 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

28 Apr, 2022

Legislature invigorates campaign finance reporting, ethics rules
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Legislature invigorates campaign finance reporting, ethics rules

Legislature, Open Meetings

Legislature invigorates campaign finance reporting, ethics rules

By Deborah Fisher|2022-04-29T10:23:03-05:00April 28, 2022|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: campaign finance, ethics, political candidates, Rep. Glen Casada, Rep. Robin Smith, State Rep. Cameron Sexton, State Rep. Sam Whitson, State Sen. Ferrell Haile, State Sen. Randy McNally, Tennessee Ethics Commission, Tennessee Registry of Election Finance|0 Comments

The Legislature passed comprehensive legislation closing several loopholes and adding more transparency and accountability to campaign finance reporting and ethics measures Thursday. House Speaker Cameron Sexton describes the bill as bringing money flows "from the dark into the light." One provision of the bill requires nonprofits organized under IRS code 501(c)(4), (5) and (6) to report expenditures related to a candidate during election periods, causing pushback from such groups, but the bill goes much farther than this one change.

25 Apr, 2022

Lawmakers move closer to increasing campaign finance transparency
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Lawmakers move closer to increasing campaign finance transparency

Legislature

Lawmakers move closer to increasing campaign finance transparency

By Deborah Fisher|2022-04-26T10:38:41-05:00April 25, 2022|Categories: Legislature|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, campaign finance, ethics, political candidates, State Rep. Cameron Sexton, State Rep. Sam Whitson, Tennessee Registry of Election Finance|0 Comments

A bill that would create big changes to Tennessee's campaign finance law is still on the table though differences between the House and Senate versions must be resolved before final passage.

7 Apr, 2022

Sponsors withdraw bill that would have reduced citizen access to body cam, dashcam footage

By Deborah Fisher|2022-04-07T14:08:58-05:00April 7, 2022|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: dashcam video, police body camera, Sate Rep. John Gillespie, State Rep. Michael Curcio, State Sen. Jack Johnson|0 Comments

The sponsors of legislation that would have rewritten laws regarding citizen access to body cam and dashcam footage decided not to run their bill this year.

7 Apr, 2022

Three bills improving open government laws clear House and Senate

By Deborah Fisher|2022-04-08T06:05:19-05:00April 7, 2022|Categories: crime records, Legislature, Open Meetings, requests|Tags: deaths in custody, electronic meetings, jails, prisons, public records requests, State Rep. Jeremy Faison, State Rep. Tim Rudd, State Sen. Kerry Roberts, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, website|0 Comments

Three bills that improve open government have cleared both the House and Senate. One will improve the transparency of public meetings of hundreds of state boards and commissions. Another brings more transparency to deaths that occur in local jails and state prisons. And the third clarifies language in the public records law that sometimes causes confusion over ID requirements and the responsibility of government to search for records.

5 Apr, 2022

Stealth caption bill would block citizen access to police body cam footage, prevent restrictions on surveillance

By Deborah Fisher|2022-04-05T08:02:20-05:00April 5, 2022|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: police body cameras, State Rep. Michael Curcio|5 Comments

A stealth caption bill that seeks to lock down citizen access to police body cam and dashcam footage has emerged late in session and will be heard in two key committees on Wednesday. The bill allows a law enforcement agency to delete most body cam and dashcam footage after 30 days and prevents local restrictions on police surveillance, such as facial recognition systems and drones. The bill, as revised, would be a dramatic step away from transparency, allowing police complete discretion over how it handles body camera footage and what is released and not released, even to the citizens directly affected in a police confrontation.