Bill to allow local utility boards to end in-person public meetings moves forward
The House Public Service Subcommittee passed a bill last week that would permit hundreds of local utility boards that govern rates for electric, water, gas and other public services to stop meeting in person if they choose. The bill, HB 509, will be heard next week by the House State Government Committee at its 1:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday in the Cordell Hull building in Nashville. The bill has the potential to open the door for local governing bodies to start conducting meetings all electronically and casting votes on key issues by phone outside the public eye. Sponsor Clark Boyd, R-Lebanon, told the committee that the intention is to allow a [...]