Bredesen committed to open records laws

NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen said Thursday he remains committed to maintaining Tennessee’s open records and open government laws.

“I think there was some talk about trying to close things down earlier this year,” Gov. Bredesen told members of the Tennessee Press Association at a meeting here. “I was one of the first to go right out front saying, ‘Don’t do that. This is a bad idea.’ We need to keep government open in that.”

Members of the Tennessee Press Association and the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government are pushing for stronger laws involving public records and meetings.

Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, who is chairman of the Open Government Study Committee, has introduced two bills on the subject. Both measures moved through the Senate Government Operations Committee this week and were sent to the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

One bill would strengthen current laws and puts the state’s “ombudsman” office, which the governor created last year to help citizens with local open record requests, into statute.

While generally supportive, the governor said the “devil’s in the details” on some bill provisions such as setting time schedules for local governments to respond to requests.

The other bill, generated by the study committee, would let up to three officials of public bodies meet and deliberate in secret. Under current law, two or more members of public bodies are barred from deliberating public business in private.

Sen. McNally has voiced reservations about the bill.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, said “there will be some changes this year. I’m going to leave most of that to Randy” McNally.