April 20, 2006

The "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (SB2471) has been placed on the Tennessee Senate Regular Calendar for Monday April 24. Where does Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey stand on an open and accountable government?

An opinion last week from the General Assembly's top Republican may explain quite a bit about why things are the way they are on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey described legislation that would clarify and strengthen Tennessee's open meetings law as "way too stringent." He told the Tennessee County Services Association, whose members would be impacted by the bill, that he had a problem with fining people and putting the burden of proof on officials accused of participating in a closed meeting. He said he wouldn't support the bill without serious revisions.

The legislation calls for fines of $50 against officials who violate the open meetings law. The TCSA is opposed to the bill and hasn't participated in negotiations over the bill with the group pushing it, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.

Fortunately, Ramsey's opinion isn't shared by all of his colleagues. Ten Republican senators, to their credit, have signed on as sponsors of the bill.
[GOP leader should support openness bill - Tennessean - 03-22-06]