Office of Open Records Counsel Archives - Page 9 of 9 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

25 Mar, 2015

Bill to allow new public records fees pulled from House consideration

By Deborah Fisher|2015-04-28T11:33:33-05:00March 25, 2015|Categories: Legislature|Tags: ACOG, Ann Butterworth, fees for public records, legislature, Office of Open Records Counsel, State Rep. Steve McDaniel|0 Comments

State Rep. Steve McDaniel this morning took off notice a bill that would allow new charges to be assessed citizens who want to inspect public records. House Bill 315 and its companion in the Senate is a top legislative priority for the Tennessee School Boards Association. Before pulling the bill, McDaniel kept the idea of new public records fees alive by saying the Office of Open Records Counsel has agreed to conduct public hearings in conjunction with the Advisory Committee on Open Government this summer on the proposal, and make a recommendation on the bill by January 2016. Ann Butterworth is the Open Records Counsel who would be in charge of [...]

29 Oct, 2014

The law says “promptly” when it comes to public records requests

By Deborah Fisher|2014-10-29T09:27:48-05:00October 29, 2014|Categories: requests|Tags: Office of Open Records Counsel, public records request|1 Comment

A news reporter in Nashville called me recently when a public information officer for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency refused to release a document that had been voted upon a few days earlier by a subcommittee of the public agency’s board of directors. The full board of directors was set to vote on it in less than a week. It was not secret document. It had no confidential information. It was an agreement that outlined how a developer would get $12.5 million in taxpayer money through tax-increment financing to help him build a $225 million skyscraper in downtown Nashville. The public information officer told the reporter that he could [...]

19 Sep, 2014

OORC: Carter County committee appointments may have violated Sunshine Law

By Deborah Fisher|2014-09-19T09:57:46-05:00September 19, 2014|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, Open Meetings|Tags: Carter County, Elisha Hodge, Elizabethton Star, Office of Open Records Counsel, open meetings violation|0 Comments

Elisha Hodge with the Office of Open Records Counsel alerted the Carter County Commission chairman this week that it appears the governing body violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act in its appointments to committees. She also noted the public vote afterward did not appear to cure any violation because it did not include "new and substantial reconsideration" of the issues. The Elizabethton Star outlines in a detailed story Thursday how the commission first directed the three commissioners from each district to confer privately to decide who would be on which committee, and to forward their decision to the county clerk. Then at a Sept. 15 meeting, when a dispute was [...]

18 Jun, 2014

Knoxville News Sentinel: Oak Ridge police deny access to incident report

By Deborah Fisher|2014-06-18T15:29:07-05:00June 18, 2014|Categories: crime records|Tags: crime records, Knoxville News Sentinel, Oak Ridge police, Office of Open Records Counsel|0 Comments

The Knoxville News Sentinel explores whether police incident reports, also called offense reports, should be subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act and open for public view. The story was sparked when Oak Ridge police denied the News Sentinel's request to view an incident report related to an alleged sexual assault of a woman by someone "who appeared to be a police officer or security guard." Police say the alleged crime is under investigation so the report is protected from disclosure. TCOG is quoted, as well as Office of Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge. Here's a link to the story.