NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two Republican lawmakers want to subject the General Assembly to the same open records laws that local governments in Tennessee must follow.
The bill proposed by Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Rep. Tom DuBois, R-Columbia, would require all legislative records to be open unless they are specifically closed in one of the more 200 exemptions to the open records law.
"We want to run it up the flag pole and see what happens," Ketron said.
The legislature is not expressly excluded from the open records act. However under a policy adopted in 1994, the General Assembly keeps records and investigations into sexual harassment claims against lawmakers confidential.
Legislative personnel files are also kept secret.
A Nashville judge ruled in December 2004 that the legislature has the right to set a different standard for itself, a case stemming from requests for any files pertaining to "sexual harassment or sexual discrimination charges" against state Rep. Chris Crider, R-Milan.
Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said that case has been one of the only examples he's been made aware of where someone had difficulty obtaining a legislative record.
"In practice, reporters and the public don't have a lot of problems getting records in the legislature, but no agency or part of government should have an exemption that lets it decide at its convenience what to withhold and what to release," he said.
Ketron, who introduced a similar bill last year, said the language of his bill would "absolutely" apply to sexual harassment records.
The Public Records Act says all state, county and municipal records are to be available for inspection by anyone unless the record is specifically exempt. The state code includes hundreds of such exemptions, including medical records, sensitive military documents and investigative records of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Last year's legislative open records bill stalled in the Senate's State and Local Government Committee, a committee controlled by former Memphis Democratic Sen. Steve Cohen.
"We conduct the business for the state of Tennessee, and while we're conducting that business I don't see why the records shouldn't be available," Ketron said.
The proposal is one of several related to the opening and closing of records. Others seek to make state budget and other financial information publicly available on the Internet and requires local government officials to provide open records law information to any employees who handle open records.
Last week, Gov. Phil Bredesen said he plans to include money in his budget for an open government ombudsman who can help people who are refused access to public records. u
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