'State Needs To Beef Up It's Open Meetings Law

All lawmaking bodies should conduct business in full view of public

The Tennessean/Published: Tuesday, 02/21/06

If anything is certain about government in Tennessee after the last
year, it is that the public has good reason to wonder what elected officials
are up to.

Apart from the ethics scandal in the legislature, several episodes in
local governments throughout the state have underscored the need for strong
open-government laws so that citizens know when government officials are
meeting and that the proceedings are subject to public view.

A bill before the General Assembly this session will help ensure open
government. Lawmakers are strongly urged to approve it.

The legislation is being pushed by the Tennessee Coalition for Open
Government, of which this newspaper is a member.

The proposal calls for fines of $50 when members of a public body
violate open-meetings statutes, also putting those entities on the hook for
legal fees incurred when the law is violated. The bill would define a
meeting as one attended by two or more members of the legislative body and
calls for criteria for posting public notice of when meetings are held and
the nature of the meetings. The bill would not completely ban closed
meetings but would require that closed meetings be announced and that the
reason for having an executive session be given. It would also prohibit any
votes in closed meetings.

The bill builds on precedents set in several court decisions regarding
open meetings in the past. While it seems natural to suggest that the ethics
scandal in the legislature in the last year provides impetus for bolstering
the law, the fact is that the legislation has been needed for years.

All lawmaking bodies or their committees should have to conduct their
business for the public to see. One example of the sort of problems that
occur could be found in the way some members of the Metro Council used
e-mails to establish an alternative budget proposal last year. That's an
attempt to hide legislative activity from public view.

The bill has drawn opposition: Doug Goddard, executive director of the
Tennessee County Commissioners Association, says the proposal is too
stringent and that the penalties would deter people from seeking office.

Perhaps they would. But any individuals who have qualms about doing
the public's business in public view are bad candidates for elective office.
For the public's sake, the bill should pass.....

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Opinion-Editorials - State needs to beef up its open-meetings law"
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