State Sen. Todd Gardenhire Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

24 Feb, 2016

Bill to remove public notices in newspapers fails in committee

By Deborah Fisher|2016-02-26T09:16:40-06:00February 24, 2016|Categories: adequate public notice, Legislature|Tags: public notices, State Sen. Ken Yager, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire|1 Comment

Threatening to remove public notices of meetings and other legal notices from newspapers can be a tactic to intimidate a press that has become critical of government. But lawmakers failed to bite on a proposal in the state senate committee on Tuesday. A bill that would have allowed local and state government entities in Tennessee to stop publishing public notices of upcoming meetings and other items in local newspapers failed in committee when no lawmakers would make a motion to bring it for discussion. State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, proposed the bill, S.B. 1909. But when State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, the chairman of the Senate State and Local Government Committee, [...]

24 Feb, 2016

Chattanooga lawmaker scolds Hamilton County commissioners for secret attempt to change law

By Deborah Fisher|2016-02-24T18:48:33-06:00February 24, 2016|Categories: Legislature|Tags: Chattanooga, Hamilton County Commission, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire|0 Comments

State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, pulled his bill, S.B. 1911, from consideration in a Senate committee Tuesday, saying the Hamilton County Commission had asked him and others in the Hamilton County delegation to sponsor it without discussing it in a public meeting. State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, speaking to a Senate committee. To see the VIDEO, click on the picture. The bill was filed as a caption bill, meaning the language was a placeholder for the real intent of the sponsor. Gardenhire told the Senate State and Local Government Committee Tuesday that the bill now had an amendment (which has not yet been made public on the General Assembly's [...]

13 Feb, 2015

Proposed Tennessee bills could close public records; a few open them up

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-13T09:19:09-06:00February 13, 2015|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: driver's license information, exemptions, fees for public records, legislature, performance evaluations, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, State Rep. JoAnn Favors, State Rep. Karen Camper, State Rep. Mike Carter, State Rep. Roger Kane, State Rep. Steve McDaniel, State Sen. Jim Tracy, State Sen. Ken Yager, State Sen. Mike Bell, State Sen. Reginald Tate, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire|1 Comment

Lawmakers of 109th General Assembly have filed a host of bills to block or hinder citizen access to public records in the hands of government. Several of the proposed Tennessee bills could close public records, while another proposes to charge fees to inspect records. The latter would set up a hurdle that could discourage citizens from pursuing records requests. The proposed fees would cover some of the time public employees spend gathering or redacting records for disclosure. Local government would determine the hours of labor involved, which leaves open the possibility that fees could be inflated to block or discourage access. While some bills affecting public records focus on making [...]

30 Jan, 2015

Times Free Press: AG’s opinion gives Erlanger another bonus dilemma

By Deborah Fisher|2017-01-06T15:25:51-06:00January 30, 2015|Categories: Attorney General Opinions, Open Meetings|Tags: AG opinion, Chattanooga, Erlanger Health Systems, Herbert Slatery, public hospital boards, State Rep. Mike Carter, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, Times Free Press|0 Comments

Following is a reprint of today's Chattanooga Times Free Press story about the AG's opinion on requirements for public hospital boards under the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. The Times Free Press graciously gave TCOG permission to reprint the article: http://youtu.be/3aToD-eNx1k By Kate Belz The status of $1.7 million in bonuses paid out to Erlanger Health System's management has again been called into question, as a new opinion issued by the state's attorney general has local lawmakers calling for the money to be paid back. Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III's opinion, issued Wednesday, states that Tennessee law does not permit hospitals such as Erlanger to meet in a closed session [...]

8 Jan, 2015

Chattanooga lawmakers to seek AG opinion on hospital’s possible Open Meetings law violation

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:53:08-05:00January 8, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: AG opinion, Chattanooga, Erlanger Health Systems, hospital board, open meetings violation, State Rep. JoAnne Favors, State Rep. Mike Carter, State Sen. Bo Watson, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, Times Free Press|0 Comments

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported in a story that Chattanooga state lawmakers plan to seek an opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General on whether a local publicly funded hospital violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act when it met privately and discussed bonuses for management staff. And the answer on the hospital's possible Open Meetings law violation could determine whether they file legislation to remove a special exemption for public hospital boards to meet in closed meetings in certain situations. (See bottom of blog post for an excerpt of the current law on this.) The Times Free Press story, reported by Kate Belz, is reprinted here, with permission from the [...]