open meetings

29 Jul, 2022

Court of Appeals whittles away public notice protections of open meeting law

By |2023-04-11T11:01:48-05:00July 29, 2022|Categories: adequate public notice, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

A Tennessee Court of Appeals rolled back the meaning of the open meetings law in a surprising ruling when it said that a governing body does not have to give public notice of an important upcoming vote as part of its agenda, even when the vote is on an issue of widespread community interest.

4 Sep, 2020

New order requires real-time access to public meetings held electronically

By |2020-09-04T15:57:17-05:00September 4, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment

Beginning on Oct. 1, all governing bodies in Tennessee must provide real-time audio or video access of their meetings held electronically. Under Gov. Bill Lee’s earlier executive order, governing bodies who met electronically instead of in-person because of COVID-19 safety concerns had to make “reasonable efforts to provide live access." But if a governing body could not provide live access after making such efforts, it could make a recording of the meeting and provide it to the public afterward. The new order, issued on Aug. 28, requires both live access and a "clear audio or video recording of the meeting." The recording must be made available to the public "as [...]

15 Jun, 2020

TCOG survey documents state’s experience with electronic meetings

By |2020-06-15T08:47:06-05:00June 15, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

News reporters, citizens and some government officials provided assessments on governing body meetings held electronically as part of TCOG's informal statewide survey. This screenshot is of a meeting of the Hamilton County Board of Education. An informal survey by Tennessee Coalition for Open Government on governing body meetings held in April and May has for the first time documented the state’s widespread experience with electronic meetings under the Open Meetings Act. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor on March 20 temporarily suspended part of the Open Meetings Act to allow governing bodies to meet and conduct business by electronic means rather than being required to gather a quorum [...]

6 May, 2020

Gov. Lee extends order allowing governing bodies to meet electronically through June 30

By |2020-05-09T13:09:12-05:00May 6, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Gov. Bill Lee extended provisions in Executive Order No. 16 allowing members of governing bodies to meet electronically through June 30. The order previously was scheduled to expire on May 18. The new order makes no changes in the earlier provisions other than extending the date. Under Executive Order No. 16, a governing body subject to the Open Meetings Act in Tennessee may "meet and conduct its essential business by electronic means, rather than being required to gather a quorum of members physically present at the same location, if the governing body determines that meeting electronically is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Tennesseans in light of [...]

13 Mar, 2020

Open meetings during an outbreak: We must preserve transparency

By |2020-03-13T14:06:26-05:00March 13, 2020|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , |0 Comments

The chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court announced today that all Tennessee courts would be suspending in-person judicial proceedings through March 30 because of the coronavirus outbreak. There are some exceptions. Business must go on for some essential and critical proceedings. In those cases, the court said the proceedings will be limited to attorneys, parties, witnesses, security officers and “necessary persons” as determined by the trial judge. Also this week, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners announced it will host “virtual meetings for at least the next two weeks.”  “These virtual meetings will take place in the 1st Floor Chambers to ensure that residents and employees may view the [...]

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