Lawmakers Agree To Create Open Meetings Study Committee
 

By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II, Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Lawmakers have agreed to create a special committee to examine Tennessee's open meetings law and make recommendations for the next session of the General Assembly.

The original bill was introduced as a major overhaul of the state's open government law, but it didn't have enough support so lawmakers amended it to create a study committee.

The Senate version of the bill recommends that the committee be made up of lawmakers, the governor's office, local officials, members of news associations, open government groups and citizens, such as the League of Women Voters.

The House version, which was approved Saturday on the last day of the session, added an amendment that increased the number of committee members to 18 and required that one of them be a black journalist.

The Senate agreed to the House changes. The legislation now goes to the governor for his signature.

Rep. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, voted against the bill because he believed such a requirement to be unconstitutional.

"I requested an attorney general opinion that said it's constitutionally suspect to reserve spots on certain committees based on race," Kelsey said.

House sponsor Joe Fowlkes said its main purpose is "to come up with legislation that's agreeable to everyone."

"The first bill we had didn't really involve all the stakeholders," said the Cornersville Democrat. "We decided it was a good idea to back off this year and bring all the stakeholders together."

Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said the legislation shows that "the General Assembly acknowledges there are problems with Tennessee's public meeting and public records laws.

"We hope the creation of this committee will produce proposals to improve those laws," Gibson said.

Under the original bill, city councils and county commissions could have been hit with a $50 fine and attorneys' fees for knowingly violating open meetings rules. The bill would have also clarified rules for when and how governments could hold a closed meeting, how notice of meetings should be given and what activities constitute and official meeting.

The committee is expected to make its first report by December 1, 2006, and a final report by February 1, 2007.

See SB2471 on the General Assembly Web site at: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us