Open government group, newspaper ask judge to unseal state’s opioid lawsuit against Purdue Pharma
Statement from Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
We have filed, along with Jack McElroy, editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, a motion to intervene in the state’s opioid lawsuit against Purdue Pharma to oppose and object to any order restricting public access to records, exhibits, testimony, pleadings and other materials in the case.
Review finds some TN government agencies violating law on open records
A newly-released audit shows some government agencies in Tennessee are making it difficult for citizens to access public records and, in some instances, violating state law, reports the Associated Press. It covered city and county governments as well as school districts.
Open records advocates had hoped that a state law that passed in 2016 would make it easier for people to access information that should be publicly available to citizens. But the audit by the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government found that some agencies had adopted rules that were so rigid that they threatened to slow down or thwart the process of getting records.
UT endowment investing in Cayman Islands; details kept secret under law approved by legislature in 2017
The University of Tennessee’s endowment has pumped millions of dollars into private investment funds in recent years, including many chartered in the Cayman Islands, reports the Commercial Appeal, and UT officials university successfully lobbied the Tennessee legislature to pass a law last year that keeps the details of these and other “alternative investments” secret.
As stated in a note accompanying the article, it is part of an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists project.
GOP legislators spurned renewed Haslam pitch for Medicaid expansion in private meeting
Gov. Bill Haslam asked Republican legislative leaders earlier this month if they would reconsider Medicaid expansion legislation, which was rejected when he initially proposed the idea three years ago, reports The Tennessean. House Speaker Beth Harwell and Senate Speaker Randy McNally were open to discussing the idea but others were not and the notion was dropped.
Randy Boyd releases tax info — $42M income in past two years
Press release from Randy Boyd campaign
Knoxville, Tenn. – During his two years of public service as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd returned his state salary back to the state and personally paid for all of his own travel and other official expenses – including any use of state aircraft and all other expenses while recruiting businesses to Tennessee from around the world.
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On the ‘Hush Fund Elimination Act” and an age discrimination lawsuit against Duncan
While co-sponsoring the “Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act” and enthusiastically supporting its provisions dealing with sexual harassment, the Nashville Post reports that U.S. Reps. Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn are vague on whether it should apply to settlements of other legal claims – such as a payment settling an age discrimination lawsuit brought by one of Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan’s staffers.
Court of Appeals rules for TV station in DA’s libel lawsuit
The state Court of Appeals has unanimously overturned a lower court ruling that would have required Nashville TV station WTVF and reporter Phil Williams to turn over documents related to reporting on Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk, who has filed a libel lawsuit.
Black, Harwell and Fitzhugh release income tax info; other gubernatorial candidates refuse
Four of the seven major candidates for Tennessee governor have turned down a Tennessean request to make public details of their federal income tax returns.
U.S. Rep. Diane Black and fellow Republican state House Speaker Beth Harwell provided financial summaries. Of the other Republican candidates Mae Beavers, Randy Boyd and Bill Lee declined – though Boyd indicated he may reconsider in the future.
On the Democrat side, House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh released a copy of his 2016 return and former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean declined the request, though indicating he may reconsider later.
TDEC hides data on low-level radioactive waste from public
Excerpt from a Tennessean report:
Ten years ago, when Murfreesboro residents learned the state had approved the dumping of low-level radioactive waste at a local landfill, a fierce community backlash swiftly put an end to the practice.
Today, Tennessee citizens have no way to find out how much low-level radioactive waste is going into other landfills.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, or TDEC, has wiped that data from its website and said it is confidential.
Ethics Commission imposes $30K fine on former Rep. Jeremy Durham
The Tennessee Ethics Commission Tuesday voted to impose a $30,000 fine on former state Rep. Jeremy Durham, who already faces $465,000 in penalties imposed by the Registry of Election Finance, reports the Tennessean.
The registry fines were for violation of campaign finance laws. The Ethics Commission penalty is for Durham’s failure to include all sources of income in his conflict-of-interest disclosure filed while he was a legislator.
