Bill To Require All Governing Bodies To Allow Public Comment To Be Heard In Committees On Tuesday

Image Credit: Guillaume Paumier / CC

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

House Bill 0448 (HB0448) aimed at requiring public comment at state governmental meetings has been placed on the the calendar of the House Public Service subcommittee for Tuesday February 21st, 2023 at 4:30pm.

Corresponding Senate Bill 0551 (SB0551) is on the Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar also on the 21st, but will be dealt with first at 10:30am.

The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 44, Part 1, by adding new sections that require governing bodies to reserve a period for public comment for each public meeting “to comment on matters that are germane to the items on the agenda for the meeting.”

The new section would allow for “reasonable restrictions” on public comments, such as the length of time that each speaker will be allowed to provide comment, and the number of speakers, while also requiring that practicable steps be taken to ensure that “opposing viewpoints are represented fairly.”

According to Senator Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun-District 1), there is currently nothing in TN code 8-44-1 that requires governing bodies to allow the public to speak at meetings. “This bill is a step in the right direction by saying they must allow time for public comment,” Lowe stated.

An amendment has been added that adds a new subsection (d) to Section 1:

(d) This section does not apply to: (1) A meeting of a governing body, or a portion thereof, where the governing body is conducting a disciplinary hearing for a member of the governing body or a person whose profession or activities fall within the jurisdiction of the governing body; or (2) A meeting for which there are no actionable items on the agenda.

Last week, we reached out to Representative Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville-District 18) about the bill and received the following reply from someone in her office:

The language of Rep. Davis’ bill is standard with respect to reasonable restrictions of the length of the period,  number of speakers, and length of time that each speaker will be allowed to provide comment.

Although many boards or governing bodies may allow public comment in practice or policy, it is not codified in T.C.A., meaning they do not have to let anyone speak. This bill requires governing bodies to give members of the public an opportunity to speak on agenda items.

We have again sent an inquiry to ask if a member of the public may still speak if their topic is not on the agenda.

The contact information for the members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee can be found below:

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

Sen. Page Walley (R) – Vice-Chair – sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2368

Sen. Mark Pody (R) – 2nd Vice-Chair – sen.mark.pody@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2421

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

Sen. Sara Kyle (D) – sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4167

Sen. Adam Lowe (R) – sen.adam.lowe@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3851

Sen. John Stevens (R) – sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4576

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

Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D) – sen.jeff.yarbro@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3291

And here is the contact information for the members of the House Public Service Subcommittee:

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.