Google’s secrecy agreement with the Montgomery County IDB should be undone
On Dec. 22 2015, the Industrial Development Board of Montgomery County entered into a “Payment in Lieu of Tax Agreement” with Google “to induce” it to build and operate an Continue Reading Tennessee...
View ArticleTCOG lists 13 exemptions, exemption categories that need revision or elimination
Tennessee Coalition for Open Government recently provided the Open Records Ad Hoc Committee 13 exemptions or categories of exemptions that are interfering with the public’s right to know what...
View ArticleJudge rules against Phil Williams saying public records can be withheld if...
Another blow was dealt to public records access in Tennessee this month when NewsChannel 5 lost a case in Chancery Court in Davidson County related to a recent controversy involving Continue Reading...
View ArticleBill Lee says he will lead “complete overhaul” of public records, open...
Governor-elect Bill Lee announced today on the priorities page of his new website that he “will lead a complete overhaul of our open records and open meetings acts” and receive public Continue Reading...
View ArticleTBI Director announces more transparency on internal investigations
TBI Director David Rausch has announced that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will no longer shield from the public the outcomes of internal investigations into possible misconduct by its agents....
View ArticleWhat records are open and closed on the Amazon deal?
Now that Amazon has announced that it will locate a logistics hub with 5,000 big-paying jobs in Nashville, what documents related to the $102 million incentive deal are subject to Continue Reading...
View ArticleQuestions about photography ban, ID requirement prompts committee to stop...
The Joint Government Operations Committee voted today to ask the Department of Financial Institutions to hold a public hearing on its rules related to public records requests after questions about...
View ArticleTennessee lags other states in tax credit transparency
When it comes to transparency of state business tax credits given to companies as part of economic development programs, Tennessee lags other states in how much it reveals to the Continue Reading...
View ArticleOpen Records Committee to make recommendations Thursday
The Open Records Ad Hoc Committee will meet on Thursday for discussion and recommendations regarding the growing number of exemptions to the public records laws that allow government entities to...
View ArticleOpen Records Committee recommends changes to exemption process
An open records committee that has met over the past five months to consider the growing number of exemptions to Tennessee’s Public Records Act says it will recommend a new, Continue Reading Tennessee...
View ArticleListen to TCOG on the Grand Divisions podcast with Rep. Jason Zachary
This week, I was interviewed along with state Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, on the Grand Divisions podcast about open government legislation. We primarily talked about a bill that will require...
View ArticleTennessee lawmaker seeks to make 911 calls confidential
A Tennessee lawmaker is seeking to make 911 calls confidential. Rep. Rick Tillis, R-Lewisburg, has filed HB 335 which would amend the Tennessee Public Records Act to say: (1) Notwithstanding Continue...
View ArticleNashville, Knoxville lawmakers seek to make names in traffic accident reports...
A Nashville representative and Knoxville senator have filed bills that would make parts of traffic accident reports confidential, including the names of people involved in the accident. Rep. Jason...
View ArticleWashington Post story details Google techniques to keep economic development...
A Washington Post story last week has detailed how Google, often acting through a newly formed company with a different name, secured non-disclosure agreements with government entities around the...
View ArticleCommercial Appeal: Bill would require Tennessee governments to disclose...
The Commercial Appeal recently did a story about a bill in the Legislature, supported by TCOG, that would solve the issue of business entities claiming that government documents about payments Continue...
View ArticleHouse subcommittee approves bill to improve vetting of new public records...
A House subcommittee approved a bill on Wednesday that would change the way legislation to create new exemptions to the public records law are vetted. The bill, HB86 by state Continue Reading Tennessee...
View ArticleConfidentiality of government settlements in sexual harassment claims at...
A bill that would allow the identities of victims of sexual harassment and sexual criminal offenses, and possibly other identifying details, to be concealed as part of settlement agreements with...
View ArticleMom fights for law to allow parents to view school bus video
Lawmakers will consider a bill next week to allow parents to view school bus video after reports of physical harm, harassment, intimidation or bullying involving their child. Sen. Shane Reeves,...
View ArticleHouse bill to limit trade secret exception for government payments fails in...
“It is we, the Legislature, representatives of the people, who should declare what is a trade secret and what is confidential (about government transactions). Not these private entities who are...
View ArticleTCOG, Associated Press, Gannett, Sinclair, others file amicus brief in...
Several news organizations and the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government have filed an amicus brief in a case under appeal in which ordinary public records were swept into an investigative Continue...
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