Tag: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Executive Director Deborah Fisher Says the Continued Withholding of Covenant Killer Materials Is ‘Disturbing’

Kaitlin Housler

Deborah Fisher, the executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, described the continued withholding of documents by the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) relating to the case of the Covenant School killer as simply “disturbing.”

On Tuesday, The Tennessee Star published all 90 pages of the journal written between January and March of 2023 by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the 28-year-old biological woman who self-identified as a transgender man and who, on March 27, 2023, murdered three 9-year-old students and three staff members at the Covenant School in Nashville before being subsequently killed by MNPD officers.

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Michael Patrick Leahy: Bill Lee’s ‘Laundry List Red Flag Law Special Session’ Is a Dramatic Break from the Modern Political Tradition of Tennessee

Tennessee Star Staff

Host Michael Patrick Leahy lays out why Gov. Bill Lee’s “Laundry List Red Flag Law Special Session’ breaks with modern political tradition in Tennessee.  He also explains the surprising reason his ‘Red Flag’ law is doomed to fail in court on Friday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report.  TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: Well, we’re looking at this special session call Governor Bill Lee had – his ill-advised call [for a special session that will convene on Monday, August 21.]It’s going to be an opportunity for the Left wing to descend upon the capital on Monday and try to intimidate Tennessee General Assembly members to adopt gun control measures and a Red Flag law. We’ll get to those details here in just a minute, but let’s talk about the history of special sessions. It’s supposed to be on extraordinary occasions. The modern political tradition here in the state of Tennessee is to take care of the business of the state during the general session of the Tennessee General Assembly, which convenes in January and typically runs to April or May. And when you have an opportunity for committee hearings and for more deliberate consideration of a wide array of laws…

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Crommentary: The Runaway Left Wields Power Through the Tyranny of the Minority

Tennessee Star Staff

On Friday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report, original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael noted three seemingly unrelated stories in the news today to illustrate how the Left is effectively dominating critical sectors of life across across the country.  TRANSCRIPT Crom Carmichael: Michael, like so many of my recent commentaries, it’s kind of a theme – pulling from a bunch of different stories on seemingly unrelated topics. But this is a headline from the Wall Street Journal, James Freeman, “Has the Bay Area Hit Bottom?” and what it goes on to point out is just how terrible things are in San Francisco and in Oakland. And there’s one there’s one quote in here. It’s by Mr. Chachas acquired Gump’s department stores following a chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. And here’s what he wrote – and it was published in the local paper there. San Francisco now suffers from a tyranny of the minority behavior and actions of the few that jeopardize the livelihood of the many. The ramifications of COVID policies advising people to abandon their offices are only beginning to be understood. Equally devastating had been a litany of destructive San Francisco strategies, including allowing the homeless to occupy our…

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Open Government Expert: Any Tennessee General Assembly Committee Has the Legal Authority to Obtain the Covenant Killer Manifesto

Tennessee Star Staff

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Executive Director Deborah Fisher joined all-star panelist and author Carol Swain in-studio on Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the provisions in current law that would make the Covenant Killer Manifesto available for review by Tennessee lawmakers.

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Threats of Copyright Infringement Lawsuits over Release of Covenant Killer’s Manifesto Probably Wouldn’t Hold Up in Court, Open Government Advocate Says

M.D. Kittle

While the Covenant School killer’s parents consider their daughter’s deadly manifesto “intellectual property” and suggest anyone who publishes the documents could face legal damages, records experts say the threat is more legal posturing in a nationally watched public records lawsuit. 

But the latest legal twist in the court battle over Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s journals, written notes, memoirs and related writings is an attempt to take a “wrecking ball” to Tennessee’s public records law, one open government expert told The Tennessee Star. 

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MNPD Tells The Tennessee Star that Covenant Mass Shooter’s ‘Dated Journals’ Will be Released, Does Not Provide Timeline

Peter D'Abrosca

In a shift from what has widely been called a “manifesto,” the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Friday told The Tennessee Star that it will release “dated journals” left behind by the mass shooter who killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville one month ago. 

“The writings are essentially dated journals,” Don Aaron, an MNPD spokesman, told The Tennessee Star. “While the word manifesto was used on the first day, we have since referred to these as ‘writings’ or ‘journals.'”

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‘Significant’ Court Victory for Transparency Advocates in Tennessee Public Records Case

The Center Square

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government is calling a public records victory for the Nashville Post “significant” after the news outlet succeeded in its lawsuit to force Gov. Bill Lee’s office to release a report on how his administration responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Davidson County Chancellor Pat Moskal ruled this week in favor of the Nashville outlet after Lee’s office had denied a records request to Scene for the $3.8-million report from McKinsey & Co. The governor’s office claimed “deliberative process” privilege in which a public entity claims that a record is being used in deliberations and thus cannot be released to the public.

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Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Deborah Fisher on the Likelihood of Robby Starbuck’s Inclusion on TN-5 GOP Ballot

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Executive Director Deborah Fisher, to the newsmaker line to comment upon the recent ruling by Judge Russell Perkins to the Tennessee Republican Party to reinstate Robby Starbuck as a GOP candidate for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.

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In Presenting Bill for Interstate Compact with Arkansas and Tennessee, Mississippi Senator Omits Unelected Quasi-Governmental Entity’s Broad Powers Including Eminent Domain, Passes Senate Unanimously

Laura Baigert

During his presentations of a bill that would enter the state of Mississippi into an interstate compact with Arkansas and Tennessee, the Senate sponsor completely omitted that, if passed, the law would create an unelected quasi-governmental entity with very broad powers, including eminent domain. The bill went on to pass the state Senate unanimously on February 3.

SB2716, sponsored by Republican Senator David Parker (R-DeSoto), is a 17-page document that creates the RegionSmart Development District (District) and the RegionSmart Development Agency of the Greater Memphis Region (RegionSmart Development).

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Tennessee Government Relents to Pressure, Reveals County-By-County Location of State’s Seven Coronavirus Cases

Admin

The Tennessee Department of Health has backed down from its secret government stance — by a little — and released the county-by-county location of the state’s seven confirmed coronavirus cases.

The TDH and Gov. Bill Lee for two days had refused to say which counties had coronavirus COVID-19 cases. Late Tuesday evening, TDH acknowledged intense public criticism when it issued this statement:

The Tennessee Department of Health has announced updated case management protocol regarding confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a continued effort to keep communities informed while also maintaining patient privacy.

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Ridgetop Mayor Accused of Giving Little Public Notice He Would Scrap Police Department

Chris Butler

  The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has criticized how Ridgetop’s mayor and aldermen had little to no transparency when alerting the public that they might vote to do away with the city’s police department. As The Tennessee Star reported this month, Ridgetop City Council members voted to do away with the city’s police force because of what some people say is the mayor’s hurt ego and his vendetta against the now-former police chief. As The Star reported in March, then-Police Chief Bryan Morris said Mayor Tony Reasoner and Vice Mayor McCaw Johnson were out to cripple his department. TCOG Executive Director Deborah Fisher said on the organization’s website that the public notice given for this particular board of aldermen meeting was vague. “Saying only in the public notice for the June 10 meeting that the meeting was “on the budget and police department” seems to leave out the fairly significant nugget that the board would be voting that night on dissolving it. And there is some question why the notice was not on the website,” Fisher wrote. “Put yourself in the seat of the Ridgetop mayor and aldermen. If you were having a meeting in which you might vote on eliminating the…

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Hamblen County Commissioners Send All Cameras to the Back of the Room

Chris Butler

  Hamblen County commissioners recently adopted a policy mandating that anyone recording commission meetings with cameras, video equipment or other recording devices must stand in the back of the room. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has criticized the policy. But County Commissioner Tim Goins told The Tennessee Star this week that “it’s not a big deal” and “some people were complaining” about people up front making too many noises. Commissioners speak into microphones, meaning everyone in the room should already hear or capture audio on their recording devices, Goins said. “This is not a threat to government transparency,” Goins said. “We want transparency. We want all that good stuff.” County Commissioner Wayne Nesmith told The Star the local cable company televises their county commission meetings. Nesmith also said, however, County Mayor Bill Brittain does not want recording devices in the room. “The mayor doesn’t want anybody recording our commission meetings. In my opinion you should be recording all committee meetings, budget meetings, jail study commission meetings, any meeting the county is doing, they need to be recorded,” Nesmith said. “I’m not sure why. My gut feeling is they don’t want the people in the county knowing what’s going on…

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Judge Seals File for Former Robertson County Teacher Accused of Recording Girls in Locker Room

Chris Butler

  A Robertson County judge has sealed the entire court file in a case involving a former public high school teacher-volleyball coach accused of video recording girls undressing in a locker room. This, according to The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, which mentioned the case in their most recent newsletter. The TCOG also said the judge, Bill Goodman, will not allow members of the public to know about new charges in a new indictment against Clifton Horn. “The original indictment involved allegations that the former coach video-recorded girls undressing in the locker room,” according to the TCOG. According to the RobertsonCountyConnection.com, former East Robertson High School volleyball coach Clifton Horn is facing sexual exploitation charges and recently had even more charges added to his long list of accusations. “Jason White, assistant district attorney for the 19th Judicial District and (Horn’s attorney Peter) Strianse requested a gag order in the case, which Judge Goodman approved,” according to the website. The details of the new indictment were not made available to the public. The court records have been sealed, by order of Judge Goodman, allowing access of the court file only to the District Attorney General’s office and members of the defense team. The decision to seal…

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Tennessee Legislature Addresses Public Records Laws in 2019 Session

Chris Butler

  This week The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government released a list of new public records exemptions and public records laws passed during this year’s legislative session. “Citizens can expect some bills related to public records to re-emerge when the Legislature reconvenes Jan. 14, 2020,” TCOG Executive Director Deborah Fisher wrote. “One of the more significant bills that was delayed, but attracted a lot of attention late in the session, would create a process for an injunction against a public records requester whose behavior was deemed ‘harassment,’ as well as require government entities to post ‘basic government information’ on their websites.” Among the new public records laws, as compiled by the TCOG: • The Tennessee Public Records Act now requires that “any legislation that creates an exception to the open records requirement of § 10-7-503 deeming records of public entities to be open for inspection by the public must be referred to the government operations committee, according to the rules of the house of representatives.” “The House government operations committee then is required to give a positive, neutral or negative recommendation before the legislation would continue its process through the committee system.” • A new exemption makes confidential a person’s home…

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Tennessee Legislators Reportedly Put off Open Records Law Until Next Year

Chris Butler

Legislators have put off a bill designed to ward off people who supposedly make one too many open records requests, according to the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. The legislation, Senate Bill 590 and House Bill 626, permits people who work for Tennessee government entities to seek an injunction against anyone who seeks public records requests “in a manner that would cause a reasonable person, including a records custodian or any staff of the public entity in control of the public records, to be seriously abused, intimidated, threatened, or harassed.” “The bills’ sponsors, Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, offered different amendments to their bills before asking to defer committee action until the first calendars of 2020,” according to the TCOG’s website. “Both said they filed the bills at the request of the city of Gallatin who had been overwhelmed by requests to inspect records from one particular public records requester.” As the TCOG went on to say, an amendment made exceptions for journalists and anyone who wanted to gather government information for mass audiences. That activity does not constitute harassment. Government entities would also have to file a report with the state’s Office of Open Records…

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Tennessee Resolution Calls on TVA to Have Open Meetings

Chris Butler

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly will consider a resolution to express support for a bill in Congress that would require the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Board of Directors to hold open meetings. This, according to the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. According to the TCOG website, State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, explained Senate Joint Resolution 192 in a Senate committee meeting this month. The resolution won unanimous approval. “We all know, Mr. Chairman, that the TVA is the steward of billions of dollars of ratepayers money,” Yager reportedly told members of the Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee this week. “But they also make rules that govern the lives and affect the lives of everybody else in Tennessee. Not the least of which is the property owners of this state. I just think in the spirit of transparency and open government, that all of their meetings should be open. The Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act is sponsored by U.S. Rep Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, according to the TCOG. “Burchett’s bill would require the board and subcommittees of the board to hold their meetings in public, provide public notice of its meetings no fewer than six days before the…

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State House Subcommittee Allows Businesses Receiving Taxpayer Funds to Continue to Determine What Becomes Public Information by Claiming ‘Trade Secret’

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A bill that would have shed light on taxpayer funded payments by Tennessee state and local governments to private entities was killed at its first stop in the House Public Service & Employees Subcommittee. By an obvious voice vote on HB 0370, Chairman Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville) ruled that the Nays prevailed. In his introduction of the bill, Representative Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville) told the subcommittee members, “The intent of this bill is to require disclosure – to shine a light, if you will – on what our government entities are paying for goods and services.” Representative Daniel told the committee, “I would submit that transparency and accountability in government instills public trust in government.” “However, vague and broad exceptions to the (Tennessee) Public Records Act concerning what a private entity might deem to be trade secrets or confidential information can obscure information concerning benefits that are conveyed by government entities to these privately-owned recipients,” continued Daniel. To clarify, Daniel emphatically stated, “This bill would not act on or touch such information” that may actually be confidential and disclosed by the private entity in connection with receiving government payments, benefits or properties. “It is we,” Daniel fervently stated, emphasizing…

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Tennessee Legislature to Weigh Letting Parents Watch School Bus Videos

Chris Butler

Tennessee lawmakers will review a bill this week that, if enacted into law, will allow parents to view school bus videos if they hear of physical harm, harassment, intimidation or bullying involving their child. The bill’s sponsor is State Sen. Shane Reeves, R-Murfreesboro, according to the state of Tennessee’s website. “The policies must require that photos or video footage be viewed under supervision of the director of schools, the school principal, or a school official,” according to Reeves’ bill.  Reeves sponsored the bill because he said a Lewisburg mother faced roadblocks finding out what happened to her kindergartener on the bus, according to the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s website. “Brooke Wilkerson said she was concerned when her young daughter told her about a ‘secret tickling game’ on the bus that she wasn’t supposed to talk about. Later, her daughter said she had to wipe off her mouth after a friend kissed her. Wilkerson said she later found out the other student was 12,” according to the TCOG. “Wilkerson went to school officials and the Marshall County Sheriff’s office to try to find out more, but could not get anyone in authority to do a complete review of all the…

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State Rep. William Lamberth Seeks to Limit Public Records Access to as Little as Three Requests a Year

Chris Butler

If government officials accuse you of filing one too many public records requests, then they could use the courts to penalize you under a proposed bill at this year’s Tennessee General Assembly. State Rep. William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) introduced the bill this session. As written, a government official could seek an injunction to keep people “from making records requests that constitute harassment.” If an injunction goes through, then the person requesting government records could make no further requests for one year, according to the bill. That person, though, could ask a court to reverse the decision – but only if he or she shows “the public records request does not constitute harassment.” “Harassment” means three or more public records requests within a period of one year that are made in a manner that would cause a reasonable person, including a records custodian or any staff of the public entity in control of the public records, to be seriously abused, intimidated, threatened, or harassed,” according to the bill, as currently written. “For which the conduct in fact seriously abuses, intimidates, threatens, or harasses the person; and that are not made in good faith or for any legitimate purpose, or are made maliciously.”…

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Push Begins in Tennessee to Make Records Public on Who Gets Tax Credits

Chris Butler

Three prominent organizations in Tennessee want state legislators to open the books and let the public know details about incentives the state gives away for economic development purposes, according to The Daily Memphian. Those three organizations are the Beacon Center of Tennessee, Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee, and the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, according to the paper. “A state document released in December 2017 shows Tennessee has $987.6 million in carry-over tax credits from previous incentive packages. Those include $790.5 million for investments in industrial machinery and $197.1 million for standard job tax credits. A new report is to come out before Jan. 1, 2019,” The Daily Memphian reported. The report, according to the paper, doesn’t show which companies received the tax credits. State officials hid five items on the document “to avoid violating taxpayer confidentiality.” “Those involve credits for job creation in high-poverty areas, an environmental project, a headquarters dealing with a net operating loss, for green energy investment and for the purchase of brownfield property,” according to The Daily Memphian. The paper quoted AFP state director Tori Venable as saying “a million-dollar money bomb” will detonate when the economy tanks. “AFP-Tennessee is worried those types of liabilities…

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