OORC Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

19 Dec, 2016

Open Records Counsel plans 2nd draft of model public records policy for ACOG

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-20T13:30:32-06:00December 19, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: ACOG, Adam Yeomans, Ann Butterworth, fees for public records, Janet Kleinfelter, Lee Pope, model public records policy, OORC|1 Comment

Open Records Counsel Ann Butterworth told members of the Advisory Committee on Open Government at a Friday meeting that her office will develop a second draft of a model public records policy and best practices guidelines and present them in coming weeks. ACOG, a 14-member committee appointed by the Comptroller's Office, is allowed under state law to review and provide comment on the model policy, and any other forms or schedules produced by the office. Butterworth and new deputy open records counsel Lee Pope said the office received more than 40 comments from the public and members of ACOG on its draft model policy and other eight documents and forms it [...]

9 Mar, 2015

From AP: Open Records Counsel says transparency panel exempt from sunshine law

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-30T02:31:16-05:00March 9, 2015|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: ACOG, Ann Butterworth, legislature, OORC|0 Comments

By Erik Schelzig, Associated Press A panel of experts assembled to offer advice on transparency issues is not subject to the state’s open meetings law. At least that’s the opinion of Ann Butterworth, who heads the Comptroller’s Office of Open Records Counsel. She made the finding in response to an email activist Ken Jakes’ request for more information about a recent teleconference held by the 14-member Advisory Committee on Open Government. “Is that not ironic that the very office that holds the responsibility of seeing that the citizens have access is involved in blocking access?” Jakes said. Jakes wanted to know more about the school board association’s representative on the [...]

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 [...]

9 Sep, 2014

Tennessee Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge leaving post for new job

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-30T02:32:44-05:00September 9, 2014|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: Ann Butterworth, Elisha Hodge, OORC|1 Comment

Elisha Hodge, state of Tennessee's Office of Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge, the Open Records Counsel for the state of Tennessee, is leaving her post to take a new job as a legal consultant for the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, she said Tuesday. Her last day will be Oct. 3. State Comptroller Justin Wilson said in an email announcing the change Monday that Ann Butterworth, Assistant to the Comptroller, will serve as interim Open Records Counsel until a permanent replacement is named. Butterworth previously served in the position. Wilson praised Hodge's commitment in the email: "Since joining our office in 2007, Elisha has dedicated her efforts to serving [...]

18 Aug, 2014

Tennessee Open Meetings Act more than a checklist

By Deborah Fisher|2014-09-10T09:06:40-05:00August 18, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Eddie Overholt, Elisha Hodge, Greene County, OORC, Tennessee Open Meetings Act|1 Comment

It’s not every day that a citizen gets cuffed, arrested and ejected from a public meeting in Tennessee. But that’s what happened, famously, to Eddie Overholt in Greene County last month where he faces charges of disrupting a public meeting and resisting arrest. I say famously because Overholt’s arrest, and the events leading up to it, were captured on video that has gone viral through Facebook and has appeared on national and international news sites, including Russia Today. Deborah FisherTCOG Executive Director His crime? He asked members of the Industrial Development Board of Greeneville and Greene County to speak louder so citizens could hear. The furor has lessons [...]