Image Credit: Public Domain
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A bill aimed at requiring public comment at state governmental meetings is scheduled to be heard in the House Public Service subcommittee on Tuesday February 14th, 2023.
Representative Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville-District 18) is sponsoring House Bill 0448 (HB0448) with Senator Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun-District 1) sponsoring Senate Bill 0551 (SB0551) in the Senate.
The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 44, Part 1, by adding the following new section:
(a) A governing body shall, for each public meeting, reserve a period for public comment to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on matters that are germane to the items on the agenda for the meeting.
(b) The governing body may put reasonable restrictions on the period for public comment, such as the length of the period, the number of speakers, and the length of time that each speaker will be allowed to provide comment. The governing body may require a person to give notice in advance of the desire to offer comments at a meeting. The governing body shall take all practicable steps to ensure that opposing viewpoints are represented fairly, if any.
(c) A notice for a public meeting shall indicate the manner in which a person may indicate the person’s desire to provide public comment at the meeting.
While The Tennessee Conservative has been assured by one of the bill’s sponsors that the intent of the proposed legislation is to guarantee first amendment rights, in section (b) the language states that the governing body may limit the number of speakers. In 2021, some school districts across the state tried to adopt rules limiting public participation for school board meetings.
In October 2021, Williamson County Schools attempted to limit speakers to no more than 30. That language was later deleted from the school district’s website. A year later, the school board voted to limit formal complaints about textbooks, instructional materials, and supplementary instructional materials to current WCS parents/guardians, employees, and students only. Grandparents, former educators, and other concerned Williamson County residents no longer have the ability to meaningfully engage with the school board directly about inappropriate material in the schools funded with their taxpayer dollars.
Sen. Lowe responded to our inquiry about the bill and said, “Currently, nothing in TN code 8-44-1 requires [governing bodies] to allow any communication. This bill is a step in the right direction by saying they must allow time for public comment.”
When asked about the proposed language that might be used to limit the number of speakers at meetings, Lowe said that he would look at possibly amending the language so that governing bodies would not be able to set unreasonable limits to subvert the intent of the law.
“We want to make sure there is time for comment but without creating an unproductive filibuster,” said Lowe.
The contact information for the members of the House Public Service Subcommittee can be found below.
Rep. Iris Rudder (R) – Chair – rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-8695
Rep. Rebecca K. Alexander (R) – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251
Rep. Vincent Dixie (D) – rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1997
Rep. Rick Eldridge (R) – rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6877
Rep. Curtis Johnson (R) – rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4341
Rep. Kerry Keisling (R) – rep.kerry.keisling@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6852
Rep. Dennis Powers (R) – rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3335
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
THANX!! Called all!
Any legal resident in the county has the right to address any government public meeting.
Especially their school board meetings.
Appropriate public statements received by email should also be read into the record, or added to the on-line transcript.