Rep. Elaine Davis Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

16 Jan, 2025

Davis, Lowe seek to expand public comment law
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Davis, Lowe seek to expand public comment law

Legislature, public comment

Davis, Lowe seek to expand public comment law

By Deborah Fisher|2025-01-16T08:33:49-06:00January 16, 2025|Categories: Legislature, public comment|Tags: Rep. Elaine Davis, Sen. Adam Lowe|0 Comments

A pair of lawmakers are seeking to expand public comment periods to require governing bodies to allow comment on items that are not on the agenda but germane to the governing body's work. The lawmakers — state Rep. Elaine Davis of Knoxville and state Sen. Adam Lowe of Calhoun — passed the first public comment requirement bill in 2023. Davis said this would allow members of the public to let the governing body know of issues that they may not be aware of.

24 May, 2023

New laws require local government to provide agenda, public comment periods
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New laws require local government to provide agenda, public comment periods

Legislature, meeting agenda, public comment

New laws require local government to provide agenda, public comment periods

By Deborah Fisher|2023-05-24T11:54:07-05:00May 24, 2023|Categories: Legislature, meeting agenda, public comment|Tags: adequate public notice, meeting agenda, public comment, Rep. Elaine Davis, Sen. Adam Lowe, State Rep. Jerome Moon, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire|1 Comment

The General Assembly made two major changes to the Open Meetings Act this year. One new law requires that county and city legislative bodies provide an agenda 48 hours in advance of the meeting. The agenda must "reasonably describe" each agenda item. The other requires all governing bodies set aside a period for public comment, allowing citizens to speak about items on the agenda.

15 Mar, 2023

Bill would allow governmental bodies to post meeting notices on website
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Bill would allow governmental bodies to post meeting notices on website

adequate public notice, Legislature

Bill would allow governmental bodies to post meeting notices on website

By Deborah Fisher|2023-03-15T12:51:54-05:00March 15, 2023|Categories: adequate public notice, Legislature|Tags: government websites, meeting notices, Rep. Elaine Davis, University of Tennessee|0 Comments

A bill that allows governing bodies to post notice of their meetings on their websites passed a House committee, but not before pushback on a provision that requires the governing body to also mail or email the meeting notices to citizens who request it.

3 Mar, 2023

Proposed public comment law passes key House Committee
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Proposed public comment law passes key House Committee

Legislature

Proposed public comment law passes key House Committee

By Deborah Fisher|2023-03-03T11:56:33-06:00March 3, 2023|Categories: Legislature|Tags: public comment, Rep. Elaine Davis, Sen. Adam Lowe|0 Comments

The bill would require governing bodies to set aside a time for public comment at all governing body meetings except those in which there are no actionable items on the agenda and those in which the governing body is conducting a disciplinary hearing. The bill also allows a governing body to set time limits and require the person to give advance notice of their wish to speak.

20 Feb, 2023

Proposed law would require public comment periods
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Proposed law would require public comment periods

Legislature, public comment

Proposed law would require public comment periods

By Deborah Fisher|2023-02-20T10:02:07-06:00February 20, 2023|Categories: Legislature, public comment|Tags: public comment, Rep. Elaine Davis, Sen. Adam Lowe|0 Comments

Public comment periods would be required at governing body meetings under a bill filed by Knoxville state representative Elaine Davis and Calhoun senator Adam Lowe. The bill allows governing body members to set rules around public comment periods, such as limiting the amount of time of the period and the amount of time of each speaker. The bill requires a public comment period for citizens to comment on items "that are germane to the items on the agenda for the meeting."