News - Page 50 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

16 Feb, 2018

Knoxville lawmaker’s bill to reduce transparency of college president, school superintendents selection is up for consideration Tuesday

By Deborah Fisher|2018-02-16T11:48:59-06:00February 16, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: college president selection, exemptions, State Rep. Harry Brooks, superintendent selection|1 Comment

The first of two bills filed by a Knoxville lawmaker that would allow more secrecy in the selection of school superintendents and college presidents is scheduled to be heard by the the House Education and Administration Planning Subcommittee on Tuesday. State Representative Harry Brooks, R-Knoxville Harry Brooks, R-Knoxville, proposes to eliminate provisions in the law that require an open process and replace them with language that would give school boards and governing boards of state colleges and universities the option of keeping confidential applicant names until a single finalist has been selected. Currently, governing bodies of the state's colleges, including University of Tennessee, must allow the public to [...]

30 Jan, 2018

Does Tennessee have too many exemptions to its public records law?

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T19:03:02-05:00January 30, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: crime records, deliberative process privilege, exemptions, law enforcement privilege|1 Comment

This week, the Tennessee Comptroller’s office released a list of 538 exemptions to the public records law passed by lawmakers. Most of those — almost 450 — were added in the past 30 years, according to the best information the office could find. But really, isn’t that one of the problems? Comptroller Chief of Staff Jason Mumpower, who oversees the Office of Open Records Counsel, told lawmakers in his presentation that the exemptions “are a hodgepodge all over the Tennessee Code Annotated.” It’s hard to tell exactly when some were created. He even acknowledged that they may have missed some, and if someone finds something not on the list, to [...]

30 Jan, 2018

538 public records exemptions in Tennessee law

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T19:02:12-05:00January 30, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: Beth Harwell, exemptions, Jason Mumpower, State Sen. Ken Yager, State Sen. Mike Bell, State Sen. Randy McNally|0 Comments

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A report has found that there are now 538 exemptions to Tennessee's public records law, about six times as many as there were three decades ago. According to the state comptroller's office, the Tennessee Public Records Act only had two statutory exceptions when it was enacted in 1957. By 1988, a legislative committee reported there were 89 exceptions. In its report released Tuesday, the comptroller's Office of Open Records Counsel found that number has grown to include hundreds of exceptions in Tennessee Code. "I will tell you, they are hodgepodge all over the Tennessee Code Annotated," Jason Mumpower, comptroller's office chief of [...]

26 Jan, 2018

Senate committee to hear report on public records exemptions

By Deborah Fisher|2018-01-26T16:30:40-06:00January 26, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Beth Harwell, State Sen. Randy McNally|1 Comment

The Senate State and Local Government Committee is scheduled to hear a report on exemptions to the Public Records Act on Tuesday. The House State Government Committee is also scheduled to hear the report at its Tuesday meeting. Lt. Gov Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge Last year, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) asked the state's Office of Open Records Counsel to conduct a comprehensive review of exemptions and produce a detailed list. "In the interest of transparent and open government, we would like to review this list in order to remove or place in sunset at least some of the various exemptions," [...]

26 Jan, 2018

New Pentagon Papers movie wins because the press fought for the people’s right to know

By Deborah Fisher|2018-01-26T08:04:37-06:00January 26, 2018|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: classified documents, national security, Pentagon Papers, press freedom|0 Comments

The movie The Post about the Pentagon Papers case in 1971 has been called a “love letter” to the press. But it could just as well be considered a love letter to the public’s right to know. The Pentagon Papers, which were classified documents leaked to the New York Times, exposed how five presidential administrations — from Harry Truman to Richard Nixon — had lied to the public and to Congress about the Vietnam war where 58,000 American lives were lost. Tom Hanks (center) plays the Washington Post's editor in The Post, a movie about the publication of classified information from the Pentagon Papers that ended up before the [...]