Russ McBee

This certainly speaks volumes: Sen. Randy McNally, chairman of the Legislature's Open Government Study Committee, says he is undecided about whether to sponsor a bill revising the state's Open Meetings Law as recommended by the panel. Traditionally, chairmen of such study groups often sponsor the resulting legislation, but McNally, R-Oak ...

Contempt seems to be a common theme in today's news cycle: Josh Bolten and Karl Rove have been held in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas in the US attorney firing scandal. The White House and the obstructionist Senate Republicans are showing nothing but contempt for renewable energy; they're also showing contempt toward ...

I've blogged previously about the ongoing efforts to eviscerate Tennessee's Open Meetings Law (see here, here, and here, all of which was prompted by this mess) from the standpoint of an ordinary citizen. I'm not a journalist, nor do I have any connection to politics or elected officials; I'm just an ordinary citizen concerned about what my ...

The Tennessee state Legislature's Open Government Subcommittee recommended several changes to Tennessee's sunshine law this week, including a provision which would allow up to three members of County Commission to deliberate in secret. If even two members are allowed to deliberate away from public scrutiny (which the law presently forbids), the ...

(Cross-posted here.)  The ''Open'' Government Study Committee was empowered by the Tennessee state Legislature to study and recommend any needed changes to Tennessee's open records law and its open meetings law. Yesterday, the committee punted on the open meetings law until its meeting today. Sure enough, today's meeting resulted in ...

So, let me see if I have this correct: Knox County Commission flagrantly, obscenely, and blatantly violates the Open Meetings Law, thumbing their collective noses at the people who elected them. They get smacked down by a jury for doing so, and the judge threatens them with criminal contempt for future violations. A state legislative committee ...

(Cross-posted here.)  Greg Mackay, the Knox County Administrator of Elections, sent out an email this afternoon asking folks to help explain Tennessee's primaries and how they work. Here's the body of Greg's email (which I'm posting with his permission). The emphasis is mine: The February election is a primary election. In Tennessee, we ...

The Tennessee state Constitution carries some interesting relics of the past. Article IX is particularly fascinating: ARTICLE IXDisqualifications. Section 1. Whereas ministers of the Gospel are by their profession, dedicated to God and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions; therefore, no ...

Yesterday, the Tennessee state House and Senate voted unanimously to ignore the REAL ID Act. This makes Tennessee the 16th state to do so. If it were implemented, the REAL ID Act would force the states to issue what amounts to a national ID card. The database behind it would be more susceptible and attractive to hacking, putting ...

The state Senate passed a state constitutional amendment today, sponsored by Rosalind Kurita (DINO-Clarksville) which would make certain Tennessee officers elected rather than appointed: The state Senate on Monday voted for a constitutional amendment to hold statewide elections for five new offices: lieutenant governor, attorney general, ...