Recently the Tennessee Comptroller’s office released a list of 538 exemptions to the public records law passed by lawmakers. Most of those — almost 450 — were added in the past 30 years, according to the best information the office could find. But really, isn’t that one of the problems? It was notable that Comptroller […]
Tag: tennessee open records
Chattanooga researchers push for Hamilton County to open more data to public scrutiny
Two years ago, the city of Chattanooga adopted an "open data" policy that made public huge amounts of information gathered every day by local government agencies.
Now a small nonprofit organization is calling on Hamilton County government to follow suit.
Metro Ideas Project, an independent, nonprofit research startup based in Chattanooga, has released a new project, Open Hamilton, that argues as much.
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Frank Gibson: No excuse for Hendersonville’s public records saga
From The Tennessean: It has always troubled me that ignorance of the law can be used as a legal defense for not complying with the Tennessee Public Records Act.
That absurdity came back a few weeks ago when The Hendersonville Star News reported on a brouhaha that had been raging for months between Hendersonville city officials and a group of local residents. The issue was whether (and how much) the city could charge to produce copies of public records.
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Judge rules emails requested by newspaper should be public, county weighing appeal
From TribTown.com: KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A judge has ruled that the Knoxville News Sentinel should have access to Knox County emails it requested under the state’s open records law.
The newspaper reports Blount County Circuit Court Judge David Duggan ruled on Tuesday that nine of the 13 emails in question were public record and the county should release them.
Visit TribTown.com for more.
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Read More… from Judge rules emails requested by newspaper should be public, county weighing appeal
State open records expert says city law needs do-over
From The Tennessean: A public records battle between the city of Hendersonville and a group of citizens requesting hundreds of pages of documents has prompted the state to weigh in — on the side of the residents.
That means the city will have to reapprove a new records policy. It passed a resolution establishing fees for labor and copying in July, but an opinion from Elisha Hodge of the state’s Office of Open Records Counsel says aldermen must instead pass an ordinance for the changes to become law, as the city charter requires.
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Read More… from State open records expert says city law needs do-over
Tennessee DCS would charge $35,000 to provide public records
From TimesFreePress.com: NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The state agency that oversees the welfare of Tennessee children is again at financial odds with news organizations seeking more information.
The Tennessean reported the Department of Children’s Services said this week that it would charge $34,952 to produce public records of children who died or nearly died during the past 11 months after having some contact with DCS.
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Kent Flanagan: For Sunshine Week, Kent Flanagan looks at history of Tennessee Public Records Act of 1957
Opinion from The Nashville City Paper:
For months last year, I kept asking members of the Coalition for Open Government and the Tennessee Press Association if they knew anything about the history of the Tennessee Public Records Act of 1957.
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Online quiz lets you test your knowledge of Tennessee Sunshine Law
From The Republic:
The Tennessee Sunshine Quiz is letting Tennesseans test their knowledge of open government issues with an online survey. The quiz measures knowledge of the state's Public Records Act and Public Meetings Act.
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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for February 8, 2013
Read More… from NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for February 8, 2013
Tenn. minority leader wants GOP Senate caucus meetings open
From Kingsport Times-News:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The top Democrat in the state Senate is calling on Republicans to make the upper chamber of the General Assembly subject to open government laws, saying he wants to see more transparency in government.
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