News - Page 59 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

21 Apr, 2017

Senate approves bill to open TBI records in police-involved shootings

By Deborah Fisher|2017-04-21T10:05:16-05:00April 21, 2017|Categories: crime records|Tags: police shootings, State Sen. Brian Kelsey, State Sen. Lee Harris, TBI|1 Comment

The Senate this week voted 30-0 to make TBI investigative records in police-involved shootings open to the public after the "prosecutorial function" is finished. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has an exemption in the Tennessee Public Records Act that allows it keep its records confidential even after the case is over, but this legislation would create an exception for police-involved shootings. “This is extremely important legislation for Tennessee," said state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who signed on to the bill as a co-sponsor and who carried similar legislation last year. (see video) "We need to make this information public to exonerate our law enforcement officers who are at times wrongfully accused [...]

21 Apr, 2017

No tax-supported entity should get secrecy in spending

By Deborah Fisher|2017-04-24T17:28:29-05:00April 21, 2017|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Chattanooga, convention and visitors bureau, functional equivalent, Hamilton County Commission, hotel/motel sales tax, private entities, Tim Boyd|0 Comments

A shadowy situation has emerged in Chattanooga with an organization that manages millions of taxpayer dollars with no transparency and such a surprising disregard for accountability that one wonders what it would take to wake up elected officials who are supposedly in charge. Welcome to the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, whose lawyer threatened to sue the county after a commissioner dared to shed a little sunlight on how it spends tax dollars. The Chattanooga CVB is on track to get $7.8 million in hotel/motel tax this year via a pass-through arrangement with the Hamilton County government. The Chattanooga CVB gets almost all of its funds from [...]

12 Apr, 2017

5 things to watch in public records policies

By Deborah Fisher|2017-04-12T11:29:39-05:00April 12, 2017|Categories: requests|Tags: fee waivers, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, model public records policy, photos of public records, public records policies, public records request coordinator, public records requests|0 Comments

To influence government, citizens must have access to information. In Tennessee, an important safeguard to that access is the state’s public records law. But sometimes that law gets ignored or flouted, and government entities create rules or habits that make it hard, confusing or downright impossible for citizens to access public records in a timely way. Last year, lawmakers took a step in the right direction toward encouraging compliance with the Tennessee Public Records Act, and passed a law that requires every government entity in the state to establish a public records policy by July 1. The public records policies must outline the process for citizens to make public records [...]

23 Mar, 2017

WATE 6: DA’s request could prevent closure for Gatlinburg fire victims

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-23T06:30:01-05:00March 23, 2017|Categories: crime records|Tags: Gatlinburg fire, Sevier County, Sevier County District Attorney Jimmy Dunn|0 Comments

From WATE 6 in Knoxville on efforts to get information about the emergency response to the Gatlinburg fire:

21 Mar, 2017

Senate committee approves bill requiring more financial disclosure by lawmakers

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-02T12:19:27-06:00March 21, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: financial disclosure, lawmaker travel, State Rep. Gerald McCormick, State Sen. Doug Overbey|0 Comments

The Senate State and Local Government Committee recommended for passage legislation that would require members of the General Assembly to disclose when they receive trips paid by a person with an interest in public policy. State Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, and state Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, came about after stories reported by The Tennessean of a Gulf Shores fishing trip hosted by a school voucher advocate, a trip to Europe for lawmakers to learn about “radical Islam,” and trips to tour a North Carolina school, also funded by a voucher proponent. Overbey told the committee that his bill does not [...]