Secrecy Proposal Aims At Lawyers
Bartlett mayor wants wreck records withheld

March 30, 2006

By Jody Callahan
The Commercial Appeal

If a bill under consideration by the Tennessee legislature is approved, virtually all personal information regarding those involved in traffic collisions might no longer be available to the public.

The bill would allow government agencies to remove a driver, passenger or witness's license number, telephone number, address and date of birth from collision reports, which are public documents.

The bill is under consideration in both the state House and Senate. It would have to be approved by both bodies as well as the governor before becoming law.

Because the bill authorizes but does not require the withholding of the information, doing so would be the choice of the governments keeping the records.

State Rep. Tre Hargett, R-Bartlett, sponsored the House bill at the request of Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald, who said his office gets requests for reports about once a year from "unscrupulous" people looking to contact accident victims.

"It was clear what they wanted them for: They were in cahoots with a lawyer," McDonald said. "Then our citizens get a phone call. ... 'I have a good friend who's an attorney. You ought to give them a call.'"

An advocate of open government charged that the measure, if passed, would effectively "close those records" to the public.

"You'll have trouble identifying people involved in accidents. Every bit of information that would be used to make sure you were talking about the right person would be removed," said Frank Gibson, head of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.

"You might not be able to tell when a school-bus driver was involved in an accident, or a public official, or a police officer."

McDonald said he believes the measure balances privacy and the public's right to know.

"I like personal freedom as much as anybody, but I also like privacy as much as anybody. This is one of those difficult areas where you try to balance the rights of people who want information," McDonald said.

Gibson said his organization plans to fight the bill.

"We plan to oppose it when it comes up in committee next week," he said. "(We'll) be prepared to testify and talk to committee members where possible between now and then to explain why it's important to keep this information open."

McDonald said he's been told the bill is a long shot.

"They're not giving me a lot of hope, but it's the right thing in terms of taking care of our citizens," he said.

Hargett said the bill's future could be determined by how much money it would cost the state to enact it.

"If it has significant impact on state expenditures, it will be difficult to (pass)," he said.

-- Jody Callahan: 901-529-6531