2 Republicans Hope to Make Public Records Harder for Citizens to Access

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov / iStock

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Two Republicans in the Tennessee Legislature have introduced a set of companion bills that would, in effect, negate the statutory guarantee that Tennessee citizens cannot be charged fees to review public records.

House Bill 2635 (HB2635), sponsored by Representative Dave Wright (R-Corryton-District 19) and Senate Bill 2534 (SB2534), sponsored by Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin-District 18), as introduced, specifies that the costs incurred by a records custodian for producing a public record upon request include the labor costs associated with locating, redacting, and producing each record requested for inspection.

The bill specifies that a records custodian may require a requestor to pay the custodian’s “reasonable costs” incurred in producing the requested material and to assess the reasonable costs in the manner established by the office of open records counsel.

Under current law, the state allows the records custodian to charge fees only if the requester asks for copies to be made.  However, viewing the public records cannot be charged.

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According to our source, the bill was introduced at the request of the Tennessee Police Chiefs Association.

NewTruth

The idea for this bill was first presented in 2015 but received significant public opposition that resulted in the sponsors withdrawing the legislation. 

As outlined in an email sent to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally by a concerned constituent about the current bill, “The change proposed in the new bill would be enormous and create a new obstacle for the public to access government records. It is not unusual for people requesting copies of public records to be charged hundreds of dollars, or even thousands of dollars if a high-paid employee like a director of schools or attorney is involved in compiling or reviewing the records. It is not unreasonable to assume those same charges would be levied on citizens who just want to inspect records.”

If you would like to ask your Tennessee legislator not to vote for the bill, you can find their contact information HERE.

HB2635 was assigned to the House Public Service Subcommittee on February 8th.  SB2534 was passed on first and second consideration and referred to the Senate State and Local Government Committee.  The bill has not appeared on either group’s calendar at this article’s time of publication.

House Public Service Subcommittee Republican Members

Esther Helton (chair) – rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1934

Rebecca K. Alexander – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251

Curtis Johnson – rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4341

Kelly Keisling – rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6852

Pat Marsh – rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6824

Senate Standing Committee – State and Local Government

Richard Briggs (chair) – sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1766

Todd Gardenhire (vice-chair) – sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6682

Page Walley (2nd vice-chair) – sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2368

Ed Jackson – sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1810

Brian Kelsey – sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3036

Bill Powers – sen.bill.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2374

Ken Yager – sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741 -1449

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com

One thought on “2 Republicans Hope to Make Public Records Harder for Citizens to Access

  • February 22, 2022 at 7:30 pm
    Permalink

    What is wrong with Wright and Haile?
    They need to be replaced. They are acting like Leftists.

    Reply

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