legislature Archives - Page 8 of 12 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

7 Mar, 2015

Increasing fees for public records is not the answer for government transparency

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:53:33-05:00March 7, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: Chattanooga, fees for public records, Judge Dee David Gay, legislature, OORC, Rutherford County, Sumner County, Sumner County School Board, Tennessee School Boards Association|0 Comments

The fastest way to shut down access to government records is to charge fees people can’t afford to pay. Another way is to simply ignore or delay responding to citizens or media who make requests under the Tennessee Public Records Act. Yet another, which takes more effort, is to actively confuse or frustrate a citizen or journalist with byzantine policies and practices to make them go away. All can be powerfully effective. And, unfortunately, all take place in Tennessee. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government received nearly 200 calls to its hotline last year from journalists and citizens who faced obstacles in getting public documents from their local government or [...]

5 Mar, 2015

TSSAA seeks carve-out from Tennessee Public Records Act

By Deborah Fisher|2020-02-23T10:10:43-06:00March 5, 2015|Categories: exemptions, functional equivalent, Legislature|Tags: Frank G. Clement Jr., functional equivalent, legislature, public records exemption, Southcomm, TSSAA|0 Comments

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association is asking the Legislature on Tuesday to close records that in the past were used to expose possible cheating in recruiting high school athletes. It appears the people who regulate athletics for thousands of Tennessee youth want to be able to hide what they do and don’t do. The TSSAA, until last year, did not believe it was subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act. But a trial court and the Court of Appeals in Nashville courts affirmed that it is. Now a proposal in the Legislature, which is scheduled for the Senate State and Local Committee on Tuesday, seeks to statutorily relieve them [...]

22 Feb, 2015

Editorial: Bills would keep citizens in dark on public records

By Deborah Fisher|2015-03-02T07:39:27-06:00February 22, 2015|Categories: exemptions, fees|Tags: fees for public records, Knoxville News Sentinel, legislature, performance evaluations, TSSAA|0 Comments

Awesome editorial about need for transparency and accountability in government by Knoxville News Sentinel, reprinted here with permission: Three bills now pending in the Tennessee Legislature would combine to cripple the public's access to government records. One would make citizens pay to see official documents. Another would prevent the public from reviewing state employee performance evaluations. The third would shield from scrutiny the organization that regulates school sports statewide. The bills' sponsors and other lawmakers should reconsider these proposals in the context of transparency and accountability. One bill being pushed by the Tennessee School Boards Association would allow state and local government agencies to charge citizens a fee to inspect [...]

20 Feb, 2015

HIPAA cited as reason to keep confidential lawmakers’ health insurance benefits

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-23T10:05:38-06:00February 20, 2015|Categories: HIPAA|Tags: HIPAA, legislature|0 Comments

The erroneous idea that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) makes confidential the amount of money that governments in Tennessee pay to buy employee health insurance comes up occasionally, the latest after a controversial decision by a state legislative committee to reject the governor's Insure Tennessee proposal. The state of Tennessee is not alone in also paying for elected officials or lawmakers' health insurance benefits. Nashville Metro Council members get to be on the city's health care plan, and they and their families can keep the coverage for their entire life if they want. These benefits can be good deal for the recipient, and for some who have [...]

13 Feb, 2015

Proposed Tennessee bills could close public records; a few open them up

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-13T09:19:09-06:00February 13, 2015|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: driver's license information, exemptions, fees for public records, legislature, performance evaluations, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. JoAnn Favors, State Rep. Karen Camper, State Rep. Mike Carter, State Rep. Roger Kane, State Rep. Steve McDaniel, State Sen. Jim Tracy, State Sen. Ken Yager, State Sen. Mike Bell, State Sen. Reginald Tate, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire|1 Comment

Lawmakers of 109th General Assembly have filed a host of bills to block or hinder citizen access to public records in the hands of government. Several of the proposed Tennessee bills could close public records, while another proposes to charge fees to inspect records. The latter would set up a hurdle that could discourage citizens from pursuing records requests. The proposed fees would cover some of the time public employees spend gathering or redacting records for disclosure. Local government would determine the hours of labor involved, which leaves open the possibility that fees could be inflated to block or discourage access. While some bills affecting public records focus on making [...]