fees for public records

11 Jun, 2021

Report takes aim at redaction, access to body camera footage

By |2021-06-22T16:27:47-05:00June 11, 2021|Categories: crime records|Tags: , , |0 Comments

A recent report by investigative journalist Marc Perrusquia details the excessive redaction of body camera footage, obscuring information and leading to high labor costs and delays when journalists and members of the public want to view it. The report, "Inaccessible: Police Body Camera Footage Is Often Expensive, Heavily Edited And Takes Months To Get", was published by the Institute for Public Service Reporting in Memphis where Perrusquia is director. The report is especially relevant and timely because a law that allows redaction of certain parts of body camera footage is set to expire July 1, 2022. [...]

3 Sep, 2019

New white paper: Can labor fees be charged when a requestor only wants to inspect?

By |2019-09-03T11:17:00-05:00September 3, 2019|Categories: fees, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , |0 Comments

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government released a new white paper today analyzing how production fees were incorporated into the Tennessee Public Records Act. The new white paper examines opinions by the Attorney General and the Office of Open Records Counsel, dating back to 1980, as well as a 1998 Tennessee Supreme Court opinion. The paper also examines the legislative history of changes to the Tennessee Public Records Act in 2008 that resulted in the Schedule of Reasonable Charges maintained by the Office of Open Records Counsel. Finally, the paper includes a history of the effort in 2015 to change the law to remove "free inspection" of public records, a statewide [...]

16 Aug, 2018

State agencies in full swing establishing public records rules

By |2020-11-19T12:34:36-06:00August 16, 2018|Categories: fees, requests|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

If you are journalist or citizen who makes public records requests to state agencies, now is the time to pay attention to the public records rules being developed regarding that access. I've listed the agency email addresses and deadlines to submit below. Two state agencies have already held hearings and (and finished soliciting written comments) for their proposed rules: the Department of Transportation and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Coming up are: Aug. 30, Bureau of Workers' Compensation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development Sept. 18, Tenncare Sept. 24, Department of Revenue Sept. 24, Department of Safety and Homeland Security Sept. 28, Tennessee Housing [...]

6 Aug, 2018

Three state agencies file hearing notice for public records rules; one bans photos

By |2018-08-06T12:27:43-05:00August 6, 2018|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Three Tennessee state agencies have upcoming public hearings on proposed public records rules. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 500 Deaderick Street, Ground Floor Room G.227. Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 30 at the Tennessee Room, 220 French Landing Drive, 1-A. Division of Tenncare, Department of Finance and Administration, 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 310 Great Circle Road, Conference Room 1 East A. In advance of public hearings, three state agencies have published their proposed rules on accessing public records. (Illustration by CC BY-SA 3.0 by Nick Youngson) Each of the agencies is proposing rules that [...]

14 Jul, 2017

Appellate court reverses trial court, upholds attorney fee provision in public records case

By |2018-11-16T15:09:47-06:00July 14, 2017|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , , , |1 Comment

The Court of Appeals on Thursday found a Lynnville city recorder was willful in denying a citizen access to inspect public records when she required an upfront $150, and remanded the case back to consider the award of the citizen's attorney fees. It is the third case in two years in which the appellate court has said that a wrongful denial of public records must be based on law or a good faith argument about the law to avoid the award of attorney fees. Court of Appeals Judge Arnold B. Goldin In the opinion delivered by Judge Arnold B. Goldin and joined by Judge J. Steve Stafford, the court reversed [...]

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