Ann Butterworth Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

5 Jul, 2017

Lee Pope promoted to Open Records Counsel, replaces Ann Butterworth

By Deborah Fisher|2017-07-05T09:59:07-05:00July 5, 2017|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: Ann Butterworth, Lee Pope, Office of Open Records Counsel, Rachel Buckley|0 Comments

Lee Pope, the state's new Open Records Counsel. Lee Pope, who joined the Office of Open Records Counsel last year as Deputy Open Records Counsel, has been promoted to Open Records Counsel, replacing Ann Butterworth. Butterworth is returning to her primary role as Assistant to the Comptroller for Public Finance. Butterworth had served since 2014 as the Open Records Counsel after Elisha Hodge left. Comptroller Justin P. Wilson said Pope has played a key role in eliminating a backlog of requests for assistance and in developing a model public records policy for use by government entities. Pope previously worked as Assistant Director and General Counsel for the Tennessee [...]

19 Dec, 2016

Open Records Counsel plans 2nd draft of model public records policy for ACOG

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-20T13:30:32-06:00December 19, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: ACOG, Adam Yeomans, Ann Butterworth, fees for public records, Janet Kleinfelter, Lee Pope, model public records policy, OORC|1 Comment

Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth told members of the Advisory Committee on Open Government at a Friday meeting that her office will develop a second draft of a model public records policy and best practices guidelines and present them in coming weeks. ACOG, a 14-member committee appointed by the Comptroller's Office, is allowed under state law to review and provide comment on the model policy, and any other forms or schedules produced by the office. Butterworth and new deputy open records counsel Lee Pope said the office received more than 40 comments from the public and members of ACOG on its draft model policy and other eight documents and forms it [...]

8 Dec, 2016

Read TCOG’s comments on proposed model public records policy

By Deborah Fisher|2017-02-20T09:04:33-06:00December 8, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, requests, TCOG letters, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Adam Yeomans, Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth, citizen id, model public records policy, Office of Open Records Counsel, open data, public records requests, requests by email, Sumner County School Board, TCOG news|0 Comments

TCOG Letter on Model Public Records Policy 12-7-16 Tennessee Coalition for Open Government provided written feedback Wednesday on the Office of Open Records Counsel's proposed "Best Practices & Guidelines and Model Public Records Policy." This policy is important because it is intended as a model for all government entities in the state as they move to adopt public records policies as required by a new law. Parts of the guidelines and model policy are beneficial to citizens and government entities -- such as an emphasis on the statutory requirement that public records requests be handled promptly. Adam Yeomans is TCOG's representative on the Advisory Committee on Open Government. He is [...]

21 Sep, 2016

Government lawyer to join Open Records Counsel as new deputy

By Deborah Fisher|2016-09-21T09:48:56-05:00September 21, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: Ann Butterworth, Lee Pope, Office of Open Records Counsel|0 Comments

Lee Pope, an attorney with six years experience working in Tennessee state government, has been hired as Deputy Open Records Counsel, a newly created position in the Office of Open Records Counsel. Lee Pope, the new deputy open records counsel Pope's duties will include answering questions and resolving disputes regarding access to public records, said Jason Mumpower, chief of staff in the Comptroller's Office which houses the Open Records Counsel. Last year, an audit found the office fell far behind on answering inquiries, creating large backlogs. It requested and received funding from the Legislature to hire another attorney to assist Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth in answering inquiries. Pope [...]

7 Sep, 2016

Open Records Counsel begins work on model public records policy

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-10T14:30:00-05:00September 7, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Ann Butterworth, fees, model public records policy, Office of Open Records Counsel, requests|0 Comments

Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth told members of the Advisory Committee on Open Government last week that she hopes to have a final version of a new model public records policy finished by Dec. 15 A new state law requires all government authorities to adopt a public records policy for their government entity by July 1, 2017, and outlines new requirements that must be included. The legislation also instructed the Office of Open Records Counsel to develop a "model best practices and public records policy", working with the Advisory Committee on Open Government, that could be used by governing authorities as a guide. So far, only Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has [...]