Open Records Ad Hoc Committee Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

10 Dec, 2018

Open Records Committee to make recommendations Thursday

By Deborah Fisher|2018-12-10T12:47:48-06:00December 10, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: exemptions, Open Records Ad Hoc Committee|0 Comments

The Open Records Ad Hoc Committee will meet on Thursday for discussion and recommendations regarding the growing number of exemptions to the public records laws that allow government entities to keep some records secret. The committee has met three times, beginning in August, after being formed by Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and then-House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, who wanted an examination of exemptions that may need to be removed or placed in a sunset review process. The committee's chairmen are Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville. The other committee members are: Rep. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby Rep. Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield Sen. Jeff [...]

8 Nov, 2018

Bill Lee says he will lead “complete overhaul” of public records, open meetings laws

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-08T19:31:15-06:00November 8, 2018|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings, Public Records|Tags: ACOG, Bill Haslam, Bill Lee, exemptions, Open Records Ad Hoc Committee|1 Comment

Governor-elect Bill Lee announced today on the priorities page of his new website that he "will lead a complete overhaul of our open records and open meetings acts" and receive public comments before he signs new laws. Gov.-elect Bill Lee says he will lead an overhaul of the public records and open meetings law to make government more transparent for citizens. Under "Open and Responsive Government," the priority says: "Tennessee taxpayers deserve a transparent and open government. Bill will initiate a new program to invite and receive public comments on new laws before signing, and he will get out of the bubble of Nashville to deliver State of the [...]

30 Sep, 2018

TCOG lists 13 exemptions, exemption categories that need revision or elimination

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-09T08:19:46-06:00September 30, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Public Records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: economic development records, investigation exemption, investment records, lottery records, Open Records Ad Hoc Committee, prisons, private entities, public hospital boards, tax credits, TBI, University of Tennessee, vendor names|1 Comment

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government recently provided the Open Records Ad Hoc Committee 13 exemptions or categories of exemptions that are interfering with the public's right to know what government is doing. Deborah Fisher, executive director of TCOG "As you will see, many of the exemptions listed have problems related to overbreadth or vagueness that we suspect may exceed the public purpose of the exemption. We know that some of the considerations we are bringing forward were not part of the debate when the exemptions were passed by the legislature," TCOG's letter said. "While this list may not cover every exemption that impairs transparency in government, we wanted [...]

30 Sep, 2018

Google’s secrecy agreement with the Montgomery County IDB should be undone

By Deborah Fisher|2020-11-19T12:35:59-06:00September 30, 2018|Categories: economic development, exemptions, Legislature|Tags: economic development, Google, Jack McElroy, Montgomery County Industrial Development Board, Open Records Ad Hoc Committee, PILOTS, trade secrets|0 Comments

The Google groundbreaking via WRKN February 2018. On Dec. 22 2015, the Industrial Development Board of Montgomery County entered into a “Payment in Lieu of Tax Agreement” with Google “to induce” it to build and operate an information technology center near Clarksville. It provided that: Google, through its company Foxman LLC, would take over property (which the government had purchased with taxpayer funds) through a lease agreement; The industrial development board would issue as much as $2 billion in industrial revenue bonds to help Google finance additional facilities and equipment on the property, and; Google would be relieved from paying any taxes on the land for 20 years, [...]

12 Sep, 2018

Open Records Ad Hoc Committee meets on Thursday

By Deborah Fisher|2018-09-12T11:12:54-05:00September 12, 2018|Categories: exemptions, Legislature, Public Records|Tags: exemptions, Open Records Ad Hoc Committee|0 Comments

The Joint Open Records Ad Hoc Committee will have it second meeting on Thursday as it tackles a review of exemptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act. Last month, at its inaugural meeting, the committee heard a report from Jason Mumpower, chief of staff for the Comptroller's Office, who explained a new compilation of all the statutory exemptions. He said there are now 563 exemptions in state law. (The last time a legislative committee conducted an exemption review was 30 years ago and when there were 89 exemptions.) The committee also heard a presentation and recommendations from TCOG. Several people are scheduled to give presentations on Thursday including: Janet Kleinfelter, [...]