public records

The state is creating a whole new fee system for anyone who seeks access to public records, and even though the public can offer comments on this new proposal, you only have until noon Thursday to do so. Many thanks to R. Neal for pointing this out on his blog:

Dorothy Bowles, U.T. Professor and member of the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists, alerts us to a proposal that would make it more difficult and expensive for citizens and journalists to access public records.

Rob Huddleston comments on the recent controversy:

The TDP say they received the letter through a simple Tennessee Public Records request. Fair enough.

The Bredesen administration recently claimed - without any support in state law - that some emails created by state government employees on state government computers aren't public records (even though state law clearly says they are) because the emails are "personal" rather than related to state business.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel’s Tom Humphrey gets in on the action covering the disclosure on this website of correspondence between TNGOP Ch

From the campaign of A.J. McCall:

With the second quarter fundraising closed in the 2008 election cycle A.J. McCall, candidate for State House District 46, is reporting a balance of $77,379.55 in his campaign account after raising nearly $80,000.

From Michael Silence:

“Providing information to the public is an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties and responsibilities of public officers and employees;”
- The Tennessee Legislature

A Marsha Blackburn campaign volunteer, who requested “volumnious” public documents and emails regarding Congressman Blackburn’s primary opponent Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood,

The Bredesen administration is - once again - trying to prevent a member of the public from accessing public records by making it unnecessarily expensive and difficult for them to do so.