Open Records Act exemptions

28 Mar, 2014

TCOG testifies on bill to make sexual assault victims confidential

By |2014-04-14T18:35:45-05:00March 28, 2014|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government's executive director Deborah Fisher offered testimony to the House State Government Committee Tuesday pointing out how proposed legislation to redact the names of sexual assault victims from crime records could reduce the media's ability to report on sexual assault crimes. The House State Government Committee passed the bill, which had been amended by the sponsors from its original version to apply only to cases in which there is a conviction or guilty plea. The bill also allows individual victims to sign a written waiver to opt out of the law's confidentiality requirements. Fisher noted stories by Tennessee media in which public records were used to [...]

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23 Mar, 2014

The Tennessean takes on secrecy of execution drugs

By |2014-05-02T06:46:57-05:00March 23, 2014|Categories: execution drugs, exemptions|Tags: , , , , |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 [...]

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11 Mar, 2014

Bill to close lottery records fails in committee

By |2014-04-09T16:34:26-05:00March 11, 2014|Categories: Legislature|Tags: , , , |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 [...]

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3 Mar, 2014

Metro Pulse write about sex crime secrecy bill

By |2019-09-11T16:14:36-05:00March 3, 2014|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: , , , |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"       [...]

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27 Feb, 2014

Department moves to make health inspection reports public

By |2014-04-09T16:46:23-05:00February 27, 2014|Categories: health facilities|Tags: , , |0 Comments

To comply with federal law, the Tennessee Department of Health began in 2012 posting annual inspection reports of nursing homes on the state website. At the time, the Division of Health Care Facilities said it wanted to eventually post to the state website reports from all the health facilities it inspects. Proposed legislation this session paves the way for this, say those who have worked on the bill. The health department bill (SB 1629 and HB 1425) changes language in current law to explicitly make public its annual survey inspection reports of all health care facilities and pharmacies. The health department inspects a range of facilities, including assisted living centers, hospices, dialysis [...]

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