Gov. Lee Signs Bill Into Law That Requires TN Governing Bodies To Allow Times For Public Comment

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

On Friday, April 28th, 2023, Governor Bill Lee signed a bill into law that requires Tennessee’s governing bodies to allow time for citizen comments at publicly held meetings.

Senate Bill 0551 (SB0551), was sponsored by Sen. Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun-District 1) and its companion House Bill 0448 (HB0448), was sponsored by Rep. Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville-District 18).

Regarding the need for such legislation, Senator Lowe said, “We have had some indications throughout the state, of election commissions, occasionally school boards, that are not providing adequate public comment in meetings that have an agenda with actionable items. This would make it by law, that they would have to provide a time for public comment.”

The bill also allows governing bodies to put reasonable limitations on public comment.

“Much like we do on this committee,” Sen. Lowe said, referencing set timeframes for public testimony and set amounts of a meeting’s time that can be devoted to public comment, in order to avoid any specific person or group from filibustering a meeting.

“It’s a good faith effort with the community, just to make sure everyone has a voice in a public space,” Sen. Lowe said.

During the legislative process, the bill was amended to state that the right to public comment would not be applicable when a meeting was held to conduct discipline against a member of the governing body or when no actionable items were up for discussion.

The legislation first passed in the House on March 23rd with only Democrats voting against it.

Following, the bill passed in the Senate on April 5th with only Democrat Senator Charlane Oliver voting against.

Now that Governor Lee has signed the legislation, the Act will be assigned a public chapter number and be placed in Tennessee code.  The legislation states that it will go into effect immediately upon becoming law.

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 Director 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