Bill Haslam Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

26 May, 2016

Haslam staff used private email accounts for state business

By Deborah Fisher|2016-05-27T08:20:35-05:00May 26, 2016|Categories: email|Tags: Bill Haslam, Janet McGaha, Mark Cate, Phil Williams, private email, Will Cromer|0 Comments

While the U.S. State Department's inspector general on Wednesday released a blistering analysis of Hillary Clinton's use of private email, back in Tennessee reporter Phil Williams of NewsChannel 5 reported a nugget about the use of private email by Governor Bill Haslam and his staff. NewsChannel 5 reporter uncovers Haslam staff using private email for government business. Williams made a public records request of emails on the state email server of a handful of administrators that either were received from or sent to a private email address containing @billhaslam.com, a domain for the governor's campaign webpage. Although it was only a snapshot for a defined slice of time, [...]

2 Nov, 2015

Haslam administration slow to share economic incentives for development deal

By Deborah Fisher|2015-11-02T10:25:55-06:00November 2, 2015|Categories: economic development|Tags: Advanced Munitions, Bill Haslam, economic development, Randy Boyd|0 Comments

Why is the Haslam administration so hush-hush on how much in economic incentive dollars it is giving to companies? In a case that Knoxville News Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy uses as an example in his Sunday column, Advanced Munitions International has already received the deed to 269 acres in Blount County for an ammo factory and headquarters. Governor Bill Haslam and his ECD commissioner, Randy Boyd, attended an event to announce that 605 new jobs would be created. But the Haslam administration wouldn't reveal what it's giving Advanced Munitions for those 605 jobs. The economic incentives or grants is likely in the millions. But paperwork not yet signed, check back later. When the [...]

26 Oct, 2015

Knoxville News Sentinel: State holds back emails on outsourcing project

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-27T16:21:26-05:00October 26, 2015|Categories: deliberative process privilege|Tags: Bill Haslam, deliberative process privilege, email, Greg Adams, Judge Richard Dinkins, outsourcing|0 Comments

Governor Bill Haslam's office released 72 pages of emails of his chief operating officer in charge of the state's building-management outsourcing project, but held back some, saying they fell under a "deliberative process" exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act. The Knoxville News Sentinel and The Commercial Appeal requested correspondence dating back to September 2014 of Greg Adams relating to the controversial outsourcing plan. Haslam's office has been considering the plan since November, but news of it did not become public until Aug. 17 when a "request for information" from potential vendors was posted on the state procurement office website. The released correspondence offered new insight into the governor's office response to the [...]

16 Oct, 2015

AP: Haslam defends recommendation for advisers to avoid email

By Deborah Fisher|2021-12-28T11:18:20-06:00October 16, 2015|Categories: deliberative process privilege, email|Tags: Bill Haslam, deliberative process privilege, email, outsourcing|0 Comments

Another story on government email from Erik Schelzig with the Associated Press: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam is defending a practice among his outsourcing advisers to avoid email correspondence to prevent information getting out to the public. The Republican governor told reporters after an economic development conference this week that it's a standard practice of "sharing some wisdom" with new employees who have come to government from the private sector that all of their correspondence is subject to Tennessee's open records laws. "Any government that comes into office, the very first day they say, careful what you put in that email, because unless you want to see it [...]

2 Apr, 2015

Judge denies open records lawsuit against Haslam

By Deborah Fisher|2015-04-02T07:00:09-05:00April 2, 2015|Categories: economic development, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Bill Haslam, Brett Carter, Chancellor Carol McCoy, open records, Revenue Commissioner Richard Roberts, tax records|0 Comments

By ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press A tax attorney who sued for the release of records from Gov. Bill Haslam's administration related to a $350,000 analysis of business tax collections in Tennessee said Tuesday that he likely will appeal a judge's denial of his open records lawsuit. Attorney Brett Carter had filed the lawsuit in chancery court alleging a "willful" violation of the Tennessee Open Records Act over the state finance and revenue departments' refusal to disclose details about how they decided to draft the Revenue Modernization Act that Haslam has proposed to lawmakers this year. But Chancellor Carol McCoy on Monday denied Carter's lawsuit after reviewing some of the requested materials [...]