public records request

8 May, 2019

Tennessee Tech Trustees say students IDs not sufficient for public records requests

By |2019-05-08T07:49:14-05:00May 8, 2019|Categories: requests|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Tennessee Tech trustees rejected a request from journalism students to use their student identification card to prove they lived in Tennessee for purposes of making a public records request. However, trustees refused to change their policy, but said they would allow out-of-state students without a Tennessee driver's license to show a utility bill, such as from their dorm or apartment, to prove their Tennessee residency. The students had gathered a petition with 150 signatures from students and faculty to change the policy after out-of-state students who worked for the student newspaper were denied access to public records. From left: Chairman Tom Jones, Trustee Johnny Stites, Tennessee Tech University President Phil [...]

17 Apr, 2019

Bill to punish “harassing” public records requesters delayed until first calendars in 2020

By |2019-04-17T12:48:30-05:00April 17, 2019|Categories: adequate public notice, Legislature, requests|Tags: , , , |1 Comment

Proposed legislation that would allow a government entity in Tennessee to get an injunction to stop public records requesters whose requests constituted "harassment" has been delayed until next year. The bills, Senate Bill 590 and House Bill 626, sought to allow government entities to stop a public records requester from making further requests if a judge found the requests to be made "in a manner that would cause a reasonable person, including a records custodian or any staff of the public entity in control of the public records, to be seriously abused, intimidated, threatened, or harassed." The bills' sponsors, Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, offered different [...]

6 Feb, 2019

An early look at open government legislation we’re tracking for 2019

By |2019-02-18T19:40:25-06:00February 6, 2019|Categories: Legislature, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

Today is a bill filing deadline in Tennessee, so this list will be updated and most certainly will get bigger as we learn more. The larger issue for TCOG will be caption bills, which open up parts of the Tennessee Code that are not part of the Public Records Act in Title 10, Chapter 7, and are not yet clear that they aim to close records.  We hope to find out about these bills early in the process so that we can examine the language more closely. If you know of something, please let us know! We are happy to examine and vet legislation, and share our insight on how [...]

6 Aug, 2018

Three state agencies file hearing notice for public records rules; one bans photos

By |2018-08-06T12:27:43-05:00August 6, 2018|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Three Tennessee state agencies have upcoming public hearings on proposed public records rules. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 500 Deaderick Street, Ground Floor Room G.227. Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 30 at the Tennessee Room, 220 French Landing Drive, 1-A. Division of Tenncare, Department of Finance and Administration, 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 310 Great Circle Road, Conference Room 1 East A. In advance of public hearings, three state agencies have published their proposed rules on accessing public records. (Illustration by CC BY-SA 3.0 by Nick Youngson) Each of the agencies is proposing rules that [...]

16 Oct, 2017

Delaying access to public records violates law, appeals court rules

By |2020-04-09T09:09:02-05:00October 16, 2017|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , , , |1 Comment

Government entities cannot ignore the requirement in the Tennessee Public Records Act to provide access to records promptly and still be in compliance with the law, according to an appellate court ruling last week in Jetmore v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Court of Appeals Judge Andy Bennett In the opinion delivered by Judge Andy D. Bennett, the court upheld a trial court's finding against the Metro Nashville Police Department, which had limited the number of traffic accident reports it would provide a requester to three a day. The appellate court also upheld the award of attorney's fees to the requester who brought the lawsuit, saying [...]

Go to Top