News - Page 54 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

5 Oct, 2017

Building transparency in government tops agenda at NFOIC summit

By Deborah Fisher|2017-10-05T10:40:07-05:00October 5, 2017|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: NFOIC summit, TCOG event|0 Comments

The National Freedom of Information summit agenda includes multiple sessions on efforts to build transparency in government. Sessions on state-level research, how to build sustainable citizen coalitions, and FOI litigation will take place at the NFOIC summit on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13-14 in Nashville at the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University. Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, is the keynote speaker for the Saturday luncheon, which is sponsored by the Charles Koch Institute. Registration for the summit is open to anyone, and can be done here. Registration fees for working press and students are waived or discounted (see registration form options). Tennessee [...]

5 Oct, 2017

Memphis mayor proposes new open data policy

By Deborah Fisher|2017-10-05T10:53:43-05:00October 5, 2017|Categories: open data|Tags: Jim Strickland, Memphis, open data|0 Comments

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says he wants "to take our transparency to a new level" with a new open data policy. Through the end of October, the mayor's office is asking for feedback on the draft policy. Here is an excerpt: CITY OF MEMPHIS OPEN DATA POLICY Jim Strickland, mayor of Memphis I. Purpose The City of Memphis is committed to expanding the data it makes available to the public and providing the tools for understanding and interpretation of the data. To realize this commitment, this Open Data Policy sets forth the principles for the Memphis Open Data Program and establishes the Data Governance Committee. The Data Governance [...]

5 Oct, 2017

Ohio senator files anti-SLAPP bill similar to legislation that was pulled last year in Tennessee

By Deborah Fisher|2017-10-05T11:12:52-05:00October 5, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: Ohio bill, public participation, SLAPP suits|0 Comments

A coalition of citizen, media and advocacy groups in Ohio are putting their support behind a so-called anti-SLAPP bill introduced in their state yesterday. The bill is similar to one introduced in Tennessee, but taken off notice during the 2017 legislative session without discussion in committee or subcommittee. The Ohio bill is modeled after Texas law, as was Tennessee's. Many people are not familiar with a SLAPP lawsuit. SLAPP stands for "strategic lawsuit against public participation" and is a moniker coined in the 1980s. Here's an entry describing SLAPP suits from The First Amendment Encyclopedia at MTSU and an excerpt: A SLAPP suit, or strategic lawsuit against public participation, is a [...]

4 Oct, 2017

TCOG urges Office of Open Records Counsel to update guidance on taking photos of public records

By Deborah Fisher|2017-10-04T07:18:04-05:00October 4, 2017|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, Public Records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Adam Yeomans, Advisory Committee on Open Government, Lee Pope, Office of Open Records Counsel, photos of public records|0 Comments

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has urged the Office of Open Records Counsel to update its Model Public Records Policy and take quick action to stem a growing problem of government entities who are preventing citizens from taking photos of government records. See a copy of the TCOG's letter here: Taking photos of public records - Letter to Office of Open Records Counsel, 10-3-17. The letter was sent to Open Records Counsel Lee Pope from Adam Yeomans, who is vice president of TCOG's board of directors and its representative on the Advisory Committee on Open Government. The advisory committee is a 14-member group appointed by the Comptroller that provides advice to [...]

29 Sep, 2017

Appeals court rules economic development organization subject to public records, open meetings law

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:09:55-06:00September 29, 2017|Categories: economic development, functional equivalent, open meetings lawsuits, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Dandridge, economic development records, functional equivalent, Jefferson County, Judge Charles Susano Jr., Judge D. Michael Swiney, Judge Steven Stafford, public records lawsuit|0 Comments

In a win for a group of citizens in East Tennessee, the Court of Appeals in Knoxville ruled this week that a nonprofit economic development organization in Jefferson County is subject to the state's public records and open meetings laws. The court held in Oliver Wood et al. v. Jefferson County Economic Development Oversight Committee, Inc., that the nonprofit organization, which has received between 60 percent to 68 percent of its budget from local governments each year, is the functional equivalent of a government entity and subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act. The court also ruled that because EDOC has a significant role in making decisions and recommendations to local government [...]