Ann Butterworth Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

30 Jun, 2015

Public hearings, survey to gather citizen, government input on public records fee proposal

By Deborah Fisher|2015-06-30T16:03:41-05:00June 30, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth, Blake Farmer, David Moore, Dick Williams, Don Long, fees for public records, Janet Kleinfelter, Lucian Pera, Robb Harvey, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Steve McDaniel, State Sen. Jim Tracy, Sumner County|0 Comments

Three public hearings will be held around the state in September to gather opinions and input about a legislative proposal to allow local and state government agencies to charge fees to citizens to inspect public records. Currently, the Tennessee Public Records Act says that citizens must be allowed to view public records for free, but citizens can be charged if they request copies of those records. In the case of copies, citizens by law can be charged both the actual cost of the copy and a per-hour labor fee for the time it takes to compile the records after the first hour. Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth outlined her draft [...]

22 Jun, 2015

Open Records Counsel sets ACOG meeting, plans survey, hearings on public records

By Deborah Fisher|2015-06-29T07:47:06-05:00June 22, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: ACOG, Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth, fees for public records, Office of Open Records Counsel|0 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel has set a Monday, June 29, meeting of the Advisory Committee on Open Government to discuss a study on issues related to inspection of public records. The meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. in Room 29 of Legislative Plaza in Nashville, and will be live-video streamed and accessible from the Tennessee General Assembly's website. The agenda includes discussion of the scope of the study, a proposed questionnaire/survey and hearings on public records issues. It also includes discussion about a plan for review for the Schedule of Reasonable Charges, the Frequent and Multiple Request and Safe Harbor Policies, the Best Practices Guidelines and FAQs and [...]

25 Mar, 2015

Bill to allow new public records fees pulled from House consideration

By Deborah Fisher|2015-04-28T11:33:33-05:00March 25, 2015|Categories: Legislature|Tags: ACOG, Ann Butterworth, fees for public records, legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel, State Rep. Steve McDaniel|0 Comments

State Rep. Steve McDaniel this morning took off notice a bill that would allow new charges to be assessed citizens who want to inspect public records. House Bill 315 and its companion in the Senate is a top legislative priority for the Tennessee School Boards Association. Before pulling the bill, McDaniel kept the idea of new public records fees alive by saying the Office of Open Records Counsel has agreed to conduct public hearings in conjunction with the Advisory Committee on Open Government this summer on the proposal, and make a recommendation on the bill by January 2016. Ann Butterworth is the Open Records Counsel who would be in charge of [...]

9 Mar, 2015

From AP: Open Records Counsel says transparency panel exempt from sunshine law

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-30T02:31:16-05:00March 9, 2015|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: ACOG, Ann Butterworth, legislature, OORC|0 Comments

By Erik Schelzig, Associated Press A panel of experts assembled to offer advice on transparency issues is not subject to the state’s open meetings law. At least that’s the opinion of Ann Butterworth, who heads the Comptroller’s Office of Open Records Counsel. She made the finding in response to an email activist Ken Jakes’ request for more information about a recent teleconference held by the 14-member Advisory Committee on Open Government. “Is that not ironic that the very office that holds the responsibility of seeing that the citizens have access is involved in blocking access?” Jakes said. Jakes wanted to know more about the school board association’s representative on the [...]

9 Sep, 2014

Tennessee Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge leaving post for new job

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-30T02:32:44-05:00September 9, 2014|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: Ann Butterworth, Elisha Hodge, OORC|1 Comment

Elisha Hodge, state of Tennessee's Office of Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge, the Open Records Counsel for the state of Tennessee, is leaving her post to take a new job as a legal consultant for the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, she said Tuesday. Her last day will be Oct. 3. State Comptroller Justin Wilson said in an email announcing the change Monday that Ann Butterworth, Assistant to the Comptroller, will serve as interim Open Records Counsel until a permanent replacement is named. Butterworth previously served in the position. Wilson praised Hodge's commitment in the email: "Since joining our office in 2007, Elisha has dedicated her efforts to serving [...]

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