State Sen. Lee Harris Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

15 May, 2017

New laws passed in 2017 affect access to public records

By Deborah Fisher|2022-01-10T10:22:19-06:00May 15, 2017|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings, Public Records, requests|Tags: addresses, audibility of public meeting, Bill Haslam, body cameras, bus safety complaints, crime victims, economic development records, electronic meetings, health care exams, lawmaker travel, police, requests by email, state parks, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. Darren Jernigan, State Sen. Doug Overbey, State Sen. Ken Yager, State Sen. Lee Harris, tax credits, TBI, TCOG news, Tennessee State Museum, vendors|0 Comments

TCOG Legislative Report 2017 Following is a summary of new laws affecting access to government information. They include 7 new exceptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act, 2 existing exemptions partially rolled back, 1 new law improving access to records in general, 1 new law creating criminal penalties for releasing certain confidential information, and 3 new laws improving government records for better accountability. 1 - Requiring acceptance of public records requests through email State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville State Rep. Courtney Rogers, R-Goodlettsville, brought this legislation after an expensive legal dispute in her home county of Sumner County where the school district refused to accept public records requests by [...]

Senate approves bill to open TBI records in police-involved shootings

By Deborah Fisher|2017-04-21T10:05:16-05:00April 21, 2017|Categories: crime records|Tags: police shootings, State Sen. Brian Kelsey, State Sen. Lee Harris, TBI|1 Comment

The Senate this week voted 30-0 to make TBI investigative records in police-involved shootings open to the public after the "prosecutorial function" is finished. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has an exemption in the Tennessee Public Records Act that allows it keep its records confidential even after the case is over, but this legislation would create an exception for police-involved shootings. “This is extremely important legislation for Tennessee," said state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who signed on to the bill as a co-sponsor and who carried similar legislation last year. (see video) "We need to make this information public to exonerate our law enforcement officers who are at times wrongfully accused [...]

Want to know your legislator’s voting record? Bill tries to make it easier

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-01T04:08:53-06:00February 28, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: D-Memphis, legislature, State Sen. Lee Harris, voting record|0 Comments

Are you interested in knowing your legislator's voting record? State Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis, and state Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, have proposed legislation that would make that much easier for the ordinary citizens in Tennessee. State Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis On Tuesday, Harris' bill, S.B. 322, passed a key Senate committee. It would require that the state "publish the voting record of each general assembly member on the official website of the Tennessee general assembly following the adjournment of each annual session of the general assembly." "As it stands now, in order to compile a legislator’s voting record, you would have to go to each individual bill to see how [...]