legislature Archives - Page 10 of 13 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

23 Mar, 2014

The Tennessean takes on secrecy of execution drugs

By Deborah Fisher|2014-05-02T06:46:57-05:00March 23, 2014|Categories: execution drugs, exemptions|Tags: Claudia Bonnyman, execution drugs, legislature, Open Records Act exemptions, The Tennessean|0 Comments

The Tennessean exposes the secrecy of execution drugs in a front-page story in today's Sunday edition. State lawmakers last year passed an exemption to the Tennessee Open Records Act that allows the state to keep confidential the name of its supplier of drugs for lethal injections. With that decision, it joined other states who have marched toward similar confidentiality, driven to that secrecy because drug manufacturers have refused to supply states on moral grounds. Finding less obvious sources meant the states had to agree to keep new suppliers secret. The secrecy of the drug source has been questioned on First Amendment grounds in at least three other states. Defense lawyers challenged [...]

22 Mar, 2014

Citizens should have access to crime records

By Deborah Fisher|2014-04-09T16:29:34-05:00March 22, 2014|Categories: crime records|Tags: crime records, legislature, sexual assault records|0 Comments

Last week in a House subcommittee a police chief expressed alarm that anyone could come in to his department and get access to crime records after a case is closed. He was testifying in support of a bill that would make victims of sexual assault crimes anonymous after the case is over. The proposal would exempt their names and any other potentially identifying information from the Tennessee’s Open Records Act. I applaud that police chief for his stated adherence to Tennessee’s laws, which give any Tennessee citizen access to local law enforcement’s investigations into a crime after the case is over or prosecution is ended. But unlike the chief, I’m [...]

11 Mar, 2014

Bill to close lottery records fails in committee

By Deborah Fisher|2014-04-09T16:34:26-05:00March 11, 2014|Categories: Legislature|Tags: legislature, lottery records, open records, Open Records Act exemptions|0 Comments

Proposed legislation to make the name of lottery winners confidential and not subject to the state's Open Records Act failed on a 2-4 vote in the Senate State and Local Government committee this morning. State Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, said she brought S.B. 2060 to protect lottery winners who might be harassed or scammed by others trying to get some of their windfall. She said she sought the bill after an issue was raised by a constituent. She said the bill would have allowed lottery winners to "opt in" on whether their name could be disclosed by the lottery. Wanda Wilson, the general counsel of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp., testified [...]

5 Mar, 2014

Proposal to stream state agency meetings on Internet hampered by high cost

By Deborah Fisher|2014-05-07T02:44:07-05:00March 5, 2014|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: legislature, Tennessee Open Meetings Act, video|1 Comment

By Deborah Fisher, Executive Director, TCOG A bill that would require state agency meetings to be streamed live over the Internet was approved unanimously by the Senate State and Local Government Committee yesterday and referred to the Finance, Ways and Means Committee. SB1734 would create a new chapter in the law known as the "Tennessee Streaming Video Act" and would apply to "any department, commission, board, office or other agency of the executive branch of state government." The bill passed after state Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, told the committee that he was working to amend it to bring the fiscal note down or remove it. The bill would apply to the public [...]

3 Mar, 2014

Metro Pulse write about sex crime secrecy bill

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T16:14:36-05:00March 3, 2014|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: crime records, legislature, Open Records Act exemptions, sexual assault records|0 Comments

Reporter Paige Huntoon writes in Metro Pulse in Knoxville about a bill that would make information about sex crimes secret. She interviews the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, as well as the state police chiefs association which brought it to Massey to carry. Also interviewed is Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and the Tennessee Press Association, which is seeking revisions so less information about sex crimes would be secret from the public. Huntoon reports that Massey is open to revising the bill to address concerns. Here is a link to Huntoon's story: "Broadly written sex crimes bill attracts concerns, criticism from press and open-records advocates" [...]