Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen is discussing setting up a public records "ombudsman" to work out of the Comptroller's Office to help resolve public records issues for citizens.
The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government [TCOG] has been pushing for over 3 years to improve Tennessee's open records and open meetings laws.
[I support groups that encourage open government, and I am a member of TCOG.]
The full AP article is posted on the website of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (TCOG).
Difficulty in getting public records often occurs at the local level. TCOG did a statewide public records survey in 2004 and found that citizens who requested public records at the local level were denied those records about 1/3 of the time.
Currently, if a citizen is denied a record that he thinks is public, there are only two options: (1) give up (government loves that) or (2) file a lawsuit (often expensive and time-consuming).
Now the Governor is talking about a third option--an ombudsman that citizens can contact when public document issues come up.
I hope that "government officials" groups, such as the Tennessee County Commissioners Assn., the Tennessee County Mayors Assn., and others will not oppose efforts to open up government.
[The 2/8/07 article states that Doug Goddard with the Tennessee County Commissioners Association was not available for comment.]
While on the Hamblen County Commission, I met and spoke to Doug Goddard several times. I think that Mr. Goddard himself believes in open government. I hope that the Tennessee County Commissioners Association that he leads also believes in open government and recognizes that there should be a way to resolve public records requests short of a lawsuit that costs the county and the citizen.
I'll be watching and contacting my legislators soon (Rep. John Litz rep.john.litz@legislature.state.tn.us and Sen. Steve Southerland sen.steve.southerland@legislature.state.tn.us) in support of ways to make government transparent and open.
With the goal of making local government more open and transparent, I asked the Hamblen County Commission at its January meeting to consider posting government information (e.g. minutes of all meetings, budget data and amendments, quarterly line item financial reports, monthly check listings, property records, etc) on the Hamblen County Government website.
The information is there. The technology is there. The only thing lacking at this point is government willingness to open up!
Showing posts with label Tn Coalition for Open Gov't. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tn Coalition for Open Gov't. Show all posts
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
December 13, 2006 State Ethics Committee: Attorney-Client Privilege?
In a really strange twist of fate, the ethics and legality of actions of the Tennessee Ethics Commission are being questioned.
The Commission was recently asked to provide an "advisory opinion" to two Nashville lawyers who wanted to know when the duties of a lawyer require him or her to register as a lobbyist.
The commission is required by law to answer such questions in order to help lobbyists and public officials avoid conflicts and ethical violations.
The News-Sentinel article is here.
How the Commission handled the request is at issue.
The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) alleges that staff and members of the Ethics Commission prepared and circulated drafts and e-mail comments of the proposed advisory opinion but did not make the drafts or e-mails public.
Allan Ramsaur, head of the TBA, maintains that these exchanges and comments violate Tennessee's open meetings law requiring governmental bodies to hold all discussions and deliberations in an open, public meeting.
The commission, according to Ramsaur, was debating, discussing, and commenting on the issue in secret via e-mail exchanges.
Ethics Commission Chairman Tom Garland did not believe there was a violation. But, if there was a violation, it was "insignificant."
Then there are additional allegations that the Commission violated Tennessee's Open Records laws. An attorney, Courtney Pearre, filed a public documents request asking that all drafts and related documents be provided.
The state's "open records" law requires that most documents created, sent, or received by government agencies - with some exceptions - be made public upon request.
The Commission refused Pearre's initial request but is still "considering" the matter as it seeks guidance from the state attorney general's office.
The Executive Director of the Ethics Commission, Bruce Androphy, cites the "attorney-client privilege" and "the deliberative process privilege" as exceptions to the requirement that records be made public.
Androphy adds that the commission believes that the draft documents and e-mails requested by Pearre are covered by one or both of the privileges.
Ramsaur, head of the Tennessee Bar Assn., responded that the "deliberative process" exception - keeping draft documents secret when in draft stage - is not recognized in Tennessee and that the "attorney-client" privilege apparently does not apply.
Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition on Open Government, apparently agrees with Ramsaur that the draft documents are not protected by any privilege and are public documents.
On a possible violation of Tennessee's Open Meetings Law, Gibson adds that this would depend on the content of the drafts and the e-mail comments and whether the drafts and e-mails show that "deliberation" was taking place.
The Commission was recently asked to provide an "advisory opinion" to two Nashville lawyers who wanted to know when the duties of a lawyer require him or her to register as a lobbyist.
The commission is required by law to answer such questions in order to help lobbyists and public officials avoid conflicts and ethical violations.
The News-Sentinel article is here.
How the Commission handled the request is at issue.
The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) alleges that staff and members of the Ethics Commission prepared and circulated drafts and e-mail comments of the proposed advisory opinion but did not make the drafts or e-mails public.
Allan Ramsaur, head of the TBA, maintains that these exchanges and comments violate Tennessee's open meetings law requiring governmental bodies to hold all discussions and deliberations in an open, public meeting.
The commission, according to Ramsaur, was debating, discussing, and commenting on the issue in secret via e-mail exchanges.
Ethics Commission Chairman Tom Garland did not believe there was a violation. But, if there was a violation, it was "insignificant."
Then there are additional allegations that the Commission violated Tennessee's Open Records laws. An attorney, Courtney Pearre, filed a public documents request asking that all drafts and related documents be provided.
The state's "open records" law requires that most documents created, sent, or received by government agencies - with some exceptions - be made public upon request.
The Commission refused Pearre's initial request but is still "considering" the matter as it seeks guidance from the state attorney general's office.
The Executive Director of the Ethics Commission, Bruce Androphy, cites the "attorney-client privilege" and "the deliberative process privilege" as exceptions to the requirement that records be made public.
Androphy adds that the commission believes that the draft documents and e-mails requested by Pearre are covered by one or both of the privileges.
Ramsaur, head of the Tennessee Bar Assn., responded that the "deliberative process" exception - keeping draft documents secret when in draft stage - is not recognized in Tennessee and that the "attorney-client" privilege apparently does not apply.
Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition on Open Government, apparently agrees with Ramsaur that the draft documents are not protected by any privilege and are public documents.
On a possible violation of Tennessee's Open Meetings Law, Gibson adds that this would depend on the content of the drafts and the e-mail comments and whether the drafts and e-mails show that "deliberation" was taking place.
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