Republican Senate Leader Critical of Open Meetings Improvements

By ERIK SCHELZIG
Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ The Legislature's top Republican told county officials Wednesday that he can't support proposed updates to the state's open meetings law without significant revisions.

Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey told the Tennessee County Services Association that, as written, the bill "is way too stringent."

Proponents of the first overhaul of the state's "Sunshine in Government" law since it was passed in 1974 say it would add teeth to the rules by making officials who knowingly violate the regulations pay $50 and legal fees.

The sticking point remains the question of burden of proof.

"If we start fining people, if elected officials have to prove that an accusation is wrong _ as opposed to the accuser proving that it's right _ I have a problem with that," Ramsey, R-Blountville, said after the meeting.

Existing law states that two members of the same body cannot privately discuss public matters. Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said the burden of proof issue is being worked out in a series of meetings with local officials _ with the notable exception of the County Services Association, which has declined to attend.

"They've not been involved in the discussions," said Gibson. "What we know about their concerns we get from a bulletin they sent out almost three weeks ago."

Ramsey said the right changes could lead him to change his position.  That could bring him into step with his GOP colleagues in the Senate, 10 of whom have signed on as sponsors to the bill.

Commissioners in Bedford County, about 50 miles south of Nashville, voiced their disapproval of the proposal in a vote Tuesday. "This bill creates tremendous potential for harassment of public officials and nuisance suits,"     Commissioner Joe Tillett said.

Tillett said the news media have profit motives for stirring up the issue.  "This is a way for them to sell more newspapers and sell more advertising," Tillett said.

The proposal passed on a voice vote although one commissioner could be heard voting no.

The open government coalition was created in 2003 to protect and improve Tennessee's public access laws. Members include the Tennessee Press Association, the state's major daily newspapers, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, The Associated Press and Common Cause of Tennessee.

The group found 115 alleged violations between January 2003 and October 2005, including an average of one a week for the first 10 months of last year.

Ramsey said that that figure may sound high, but argued that an average of 1,000 meetings fall under Sunshine Law requirements each month.

"What he ignores is that's only the 115 that were found out about," said Gibson. "And 40 of those were from public officials complaining about other public officials meeting in secret and leaving them out." 

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government: http://www.tcog.info