News

31 Mar, 2016

Why can’t I access public records in Tennessee? A particular problem for “border” journalists

By |2016-03-31T14:56:29-05:00March 31, 2016|Categories: requests|Tags: , , |0 Comments

A freelance journalist who lives near Chattanooga "literally two blocks" from the state line gives her perspective on the city's policy to deny her access to public records because she lives in Georgia.  She makes a good case for why that policy doesn't make sense. See Cari Wade Gervin's column in Chattanooga Times Free Press: Expand access to records to all citizens Tennessee state law provides a right of access to citizens of the state of all public records. That doesn't mean government entities cannot provide public records to non-residents, they just don't have to. That position was upheld in 2013 in a Virginia case by the U. S. Supreme [...]

30 Mar, 2016

Watch the video, read excerpts, from House Committee meeting on body cam video

By |2016-03-30T09:44:14-05:00March 30, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

State Rep. Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville Discussion by members of the House State Government Committee about body cam video legislation that would close access to records mostly centered on how best to avoid advancing the bill and instead request that the Advisory Committee on Open Government study the issue. See video: House Committee discusses body cam legislation. The committee clearly expressed that it did not want to move forward with a bill, with state Rep. Bill Sanderson, R-Kenton, stripping down his amendment to the part requiring a study and recommendation from the advisory committee, and state Rep. William Lamberth, R-Cottontown, at one point saying that passing any bill, even amended, [...]

29 Mar, 2016

House committee kills body cam bill, sends it to study by ACOG

By |2016-03-30T07:34:36-05:00March 29, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|0 Comments

The House State Government Committee today killed a bill that would have closed access to body cam footage, including footage related to questions of police use of force and misconduct. It instead asked for the Advisory Committee on Open Government to study the issues and report back in January. (See Tennessean story: Attempt to seal police body cam footage fails) The Advisory Committee on Open Government is a broad-based group of 14 members representing various civic organizations, media, law enforcement and city and county governments. (See who is on the Advisory Committee on Open Government.) The original language in H.B. 876 had nothing to do with body cameras. But state Rep. [...]

28 Mar, 2016

News-Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy on police records and the Supreme Court decision

By |2018-08-06T08:47:25-05:00March 28, 2016|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , |0 Comments

From Jack McElroy, editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, in a column published Sunday: Jack McElroy Boy, did Gary Wade touch a nerve. The former Supreme Court justice dissented in the media's lawsuit to see police records in the Vanderbilt rape case, and that really hacked off his fellow justices. First, some background. The Tennessee Public Records Act declares that all records are open to the public, "unless otherwise provided by state law." The Legislature has passed scores of exemptions. But "state law" also includes the constitution, court rulings, common law, and regulations based on law. In the Vanderbilt case, the News Sentinel joined a coalition seeking information [...]

25 Mar, 2016

New Tennessee law could make requesting public records less confusing

By |2016-12-08T07:50:46-06:00March 25, 2016|Categories: Legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel, requests|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

From Associated Press: The state Legislature has passed a bill that will require nearly every government office across Tennessee to tell citizens how they can get public records. State Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, led the bill's passage. The measure first directs the open records counsel in the state comptroller's office to come up with a model public records policy that local government agencies could adopt. The legislation would then require government offices to have a written public records policy by July 1, 2017. The policy can't be less open than state law allows, and it should explain to citizens how to make a request to either inspect or [...]

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