adequate notice Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

2 May, 2024

Carter County school board leaves off its agenda its vote to close elementary school
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Carter County school board leaves off its agenda its vote to close elementary school

adequate public notice, school boards

Carter County school board leaves off its agenda its vote to close elementary school

By Deborah Fisher|2024-05-02T15:02:05-05:00May 2, 2024|Categories: adequate public notice, school boards|Tags: adequate notice, agendas, Carter County, special called meeting|0 Comments

The Carter County School Board voted 6-1 to close an elementary school in a special called meeting on April 25, but didn't let the public know in advance in its meeting notice. This likely violates the law's requirements for public notice for special called meetings, which requires a governing body to reasonably describe the purpose of the meeting and the action to be taken. The school board's notice had only one action item: to adopt the next year's budget.

11 Apr, 2023

House, Senate pass bill requiring clear agendas for local legislative body meetings
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House, Senate pass bill requiring clear agendas for local legislative body meetings

adequate public notice, Legislature, meeting agenda, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

House, Senate pass bill requiring clear agendas for local legislative body meetings

By Deborah Fisher|2023-04-11T11:21:31-05:00April 11, 2023|Categories: adequate public notice, Legislature, meeting agenda, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: adequate notice, agendas, government websites, State Rep. Jerome Moon, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire|0 Comments

The House and Senate have unanimously approved a bill that will improve the timeliness and clarity of the agendas of local legislative bodies. The bill now heads to the governor's desk and will become law once signed. The bill requires that agendas be available to the public 48 hours in advance of the meeting and that they "reasonably describe matters to be deliberated and acted upon during the meeting." Several lawmakers signed onto the bill. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government brought the bill to the legislative sponsors after a series of court opinions saying that no agenda was required by the Open Meetings Act.

29 Jul, 2022

Court of Appeals whittles away public notice protections of open meeting law
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Court of Appeals whittles away public notice protections of open meeting law

adequate public notice, open meetings lawsuits

Court of Appeals whittles away public notice protections of open meeting law

By Deborah Fisher|2023-04-11T11:01:48-05:00July 29, 2022|Categories: adequate public notice, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: adequate notice, agendas, Court of Appeals, Dickson County Commission, Judge Andy Bennett, open meetings, planning commission, Titan Partners|0 Comments

A Tennessee Court of Appeals rolled back the meaning of the open meetings law in a surprising ruling when it said that a governing body does not have to give public notice of an important upcoming vote as part of its agenda, even when the vote is on an issue of widespread community interest.

27 Jun, 2020

Judge: Nashville board violated Open Meetings Act by failing to provide adequate notice of soccer stadium vote

By Deborah Fisher|2020-06-29T10:55:50-05:00June 27, 2020|Categories: adequate public notice, Open Meetings, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: adequate notice, Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, Duane Dominy, Metro Nashville, Nashville sports authority, open meetings violations|0 Comments

Artist rendering of planned soccer stadium in Nashville. A Nashville judge said the Nashville sports authority board violated the Open Meetings Act when it did not provide adequate notice of the meeting in which it approved a $192 million construction management project for the stadium. A Davidson County chancellor ruled that Nashville government violated the Open Meetings Act in 2018 by failing to provide adequate notice of a Metro Sports Authority board meeting in which a $192 million construction contract was signed for a soccer stadium. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle in her June 25 order ruled the action taken in approving the contract with Mortenson/Messer Construction Company is void and [...]

9 Jul, 2019

Chancellor puts Ridgetop BOMA under permanent court order to not violate open meetings act again

By Deborah Fisher|2019-07-09T12:33:09-05:00July 9, 2019|Categories: adequate public notice, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: adequate notice, Chancellor Lauren McMillan Jr., open meetings act enforcement, Ridgetop|0 Comments

Chancellor Laurence McMillan Jr. has permanently enjoined the Ridgetop's Board of Mayor and Aldermen from violating the Tennessee Open Meetings Act again in an action that should help ensure that the board's future decision-making is done in public. Robertson County Chancellor Laurence M. McMillan Jr. signed an injunction voiding a June 10 decision to eliminate the Ridgetop Police Department, and placed the town's Board of Mayor and Aldermen under permanent court order to not violate the Open Meetings Act again. The order states that the BOMA violated the Open Meetings Act by not providing adequate notice of the June 10 meeting as required by law. Ridgetop's BOMA dissolved the five-officer [...]