economic development records Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

14 Jul, 2014

Newspapers delve into alleged Sunshine Law violations in zoning vote

By Deborah Fisher|2014-07-14T16:10:21-05:00July 14, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: economic development records, Greene County, Herbert Moncier, Knoxville News Sentinel, litigation, open meetings violation|0 Comments

The Knoxville News Sentinel in its Sunday edition digs into a lawsuit alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act in Greene County when approval was given to rezone land for a company that planned to make components for industrial explosives. The Greeneville Sun has also covered the lawsuit involving US Nitrogen extensively as well as reported stories on the plant's construction, application for permits and environmental opposition. Its stories can be found at this link. The Knoxnews.com article is reprinted here, with permission. You can read TCOG's column about the state's open government laws regarding economic development here. By Hugh G. Willett Special to the News Sentinel GREENEVILLE — The future [...]

14 Jul, 2014

Lawsuit probes secrecy in economic development

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-26T05:06:58-06:00July 14, 2014|Categories: economic development, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: economic development records, Greene County, Herbert Moncier, litigation, open meetings violation|0 Comments

By Deborah Fisher Executive Director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government When government officials get into the business of economic development, they usually face the choice between transparency and secrecy. Too often, they choose secrecy. And sometimes the law allows it. At the state level, specific exemptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act give the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development broad latitude to keep confidential who they are talking with and incentives they are offering. Only after a deal is done, and the state has signed on the dotted line about how much money it has agreed to give a company in exchange for jobs, can the public [...]

15 Apr, 2014

7 new laws affecting meetings, records in TN – plus a few that didn’t make it
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7 new laws affecting meetings, records in TN – plus a few that didn’t make it

exemptions, Legislature

7 new laws affecting meetings, records in TN – plus a few that didn’t make it

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T16:55:12-05:00April 15, 2014|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: child death records, economic development records, government transparency initiatives, government websites, legislature, schools, sexual assault records|0 Comments

As the 108th General Assembly wraps up this week, here's a quick rundown on new laws affecting government meetings and open records in Tennessee: Legislation passed: Sexual assault victims: The names of sexual assault victims can now be redacted from public records under new legislation that makes their identity confidential. This only applies after a conviction or guilty plea, and sentencing has occurred. In addition to the name, any images that depict the victim (video or photo) are also confidential, as is the victim's address and phone number. The victim has a right to waive confidentiality. Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, and Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson sponsored the bills. Note that [...]

1 Apr, 2014

Exemptions generous when it comes to economic development records

By Deborah Fisher|2014-04-10T11:27:50-05:00April 1, 2014|Categories: economic development|Tags: ECD, economic development records, newschannel5, Open Records Act exemptions|0 Comments

A few months ago, we reported here in a post about public records that the governor's office had denied state Rep. Mike Turner, D-Nashville, access to economic development records, citing two laws as the basis for protecting the information from public disclosure. Last night, those documents, leaked to NewsChannel 5's Phil Williams, became the basis of a story about the Haslam administration's effort to tie incentives to the outcome of work council discussions with Volkswagen over its plant in Chattanooga. The state's offer of about $300 million in incentives "subject to works council discussions between the State of Tennessee and VW being concluded to the satisfaction of the State of Tennessee" [...]

4 Feb, 2014

Tennessee Tower story exposes deal secret under records law

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T16:13:42-05:00February 4, 2014|Categories: economic development, exemptions|Tags: ECD, economic development records, NewsChannel 5, Open Records Act exemptions|0 Comments

Phil Williams, chief investigative reporter for NewsChannel 5, uncovered confidential state documents that outline an economic development proposal to give Tennessee Tower to the Sears Corporation if it moved its headquarters to Nashville. The state told Williams that the Tennessee Tower "never really got serious consideration and that the governor never delivered those words drafted for him by his economic development team" for a video presentation. But they wouldn't let him see the video Haslam did record. Following is an excerpt from the script obtained by Williams. You can go to the story on NewsChannel5 and read the whole thing: "We're so committed to making your new home in Tennessee [...]