News - Page 24 of 128 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

11 Mar, 2021

Bill to allow county commissioners to vote by phone and not in person moves forward

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-11T16:38:59-06:00March 11, 2021|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: electronic meetings, Rep. Dave Wright, State Sen. Richard Briggs, voting by phone|0 Comments

A bill that would permit county commissioners to participate remotely in a meeting and vote on matters by phone or other electronic means passed the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday despite several lawmakers on the committee raising concern and saying they would vote against it. It was unclear in the voice vote exactly how lawmakers on the 21-member committee voted — to some people present, the "no's" sounded louder than the "ayes." But after pausing in silence for more than 10 seconds after the vote, Committee Chairman John Crawford who represents Bristol and Kingsport announced, "Bill moves on!" The bill will next be heard in the House Finance, Ways [...]

4 Mar, 2021

Is Tennessee ready for the slippery slope of legislating by phone?

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-04T12:12:38-06:00March 4, 2021|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: COVID-19, electronic meetings, Rep. Dave Wright, State Sen. Richard Briggs, voting by phone|0 Comments

During the pandemic, members of local and state governing bodies have been allowed to conduct meetings electronically per executive order by Gov. Bill Lee. They have not had to hold physical meetings in a physical place. They can hold meetings on Zoom or even by telephone conference call, as long as they allow the public real-time live audio or video access and follow other rules. In some instances, this has meant that the governing body is on videoconference, and the public must show up physically at city hall to watch them through a government computer. It has not been ideal for citizens, who have lost the benefit of interaction with [...]

1 Mar, 2021

Bill would make confidential police video, contact info of those arrested and detained

By Deborah Fisher|2021-03-01T13:21:56-06:00March 1, 2021|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: body cameras, crime records, Glen Casada, State Sen. Jack Johnson|0 Comments

Proposed legislation by state Rep. Glen Casada and state Sen. Jack Johnson would make confidential police video of someone arrested or detained and not subject to the public records law. The bill also would close contact information of those arrested, including the home address and phone number. HB 910 is scheduled to heard by the House Public Service Subcommittee at its Wednesday meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. The bill would add an exemption to the public records act that says: (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, personal identifying information compiled by and in the possession of municipal and county law enforcement agencies and detention facilities concerning any [...]

26 Feb, 2021

Lawmakers scheduled to hear proposed exception to the Open Meetings Act, public records bills next week

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-26T15:27:02-06:00February 26, 2021|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|0 Comments

With the General Assembly in full swing, several bills affecting government transparency are scheduled for hearings in subcommittees and committees next week. Although some lawmakers may be planning to introduce amendments to these bills, as of this writing amendments for next week's bills were not yet posted to the Amendment Packet page of the website that lists House amendments. (The Senate does not post amendments until after they've been adopted in committee.) The legislation with probably the widest impact is a proposal to allow county commissioners to participate in meetings electronically, such as by calling in on a phone to a meeting that is otherwise being held in person. That [...]

14 Feb, 2021

New ‘proprietary’ exemption would shield data about state insurance plan

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-14T20:07:48-06:00February 14, 2021|Categories: Legislature, Public Records|Tags: health insurance, proprietary records, State Rep. Martin Daniel, State Rep. Pat Marsh, trade secrets|0 Comments

A proposed public records exemption would make confidential "all proprietary information" received by the state from its health insurance contractors, including but not limited to information or data about reimbursement rates paid through the state's self-funded employee health plan. Access to information showing the disparities in payments to health care providers for the same services became an issue in 2019 when then-state Rep. Martin Daniel of Knoxville sought to get data to see if the state was reaping savings it should. After Daniel sought the information, the three large health care companies who contract with the state to administer the state’s employee health care plan — BlueCross Blue Shield of [...]