Tennessee House of Representatives 112th House Local Government Committee, 23 Jun 2022

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From YouTube: House - Cities & Counties Subcommittee -January 25, 2022

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House Cities & Counties Subcommittee House Hearing Room 3

A

Welcome to the members and guests of the cities and county subcommittee of local government committee will be in order. Mr hutchinson take the role please vice chairman calfi.

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Representative chisholm chairman crawford leader, gant chairman helton representative miller, uh vice chairman wright, chairman moon president,.

A

Mr chairman, you have a quorum. Thank you, miss hutcheson. uh Do any members wish to recognize any guests at this time?

A

Okay, we'll go ahead and proceed with today's calendar. Our first bill is house bill. 1483 by chair lady littleton. The chairs received an email from the sponsor requesting the house bill 1483 be taken off notice. Is there objection hearing no objection house bill? 1483 is off notice.

A

The next bill is house bill 1450 by chairman doggett. Is there a motion on the bill? We have a motion in a second chairman, doggett you're recognized on house bill 1450, sir. Thank you, mr chairman and committee.

B

uh Last year we brought this bill dealing, it's a it's a local issue that I think there's trying to come up with a creative solution that might be a with a statewide application, we're not ready to proceed at this time. We're still it's it's complex and we need to do a little bit more diligence on this. So if it would please the committee, I would humbly ask that we roll this to the last calendar of this committee, sponsor.

A

Asked that we roll to the last calendar of the committee is their objection.

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C

B

For just for clarification, are we moving it to the last calendar or the final.

A

Final calendar, yes, sir. uh Thank you, mr chairman final calendar and without objection, hearing no objection house bill 1450 is rolled to the final calendar. Thank you, mr chairman.

B

A

Next bill on the calendar is house bill 335 by chairman hicks.

A

I don't see chairman hicks in in the committee. So is there objection to rolling this bill to the heel.

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Motion to roll the hill- second, he just uh he withdraws his motion.

A

Chairman hicks, you are recognized on house bill 335. Sir. Thank you, mr chairman committee. Thank you.

B

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B

Fantastic, thank you all. Just a little bit of context. In 2019, this general assembly or the general assembly passed the barry brady act that created a presumption that any conditions or impairments of full-time firefighters caused by five cancers, and I want to let you know what those are: those five all forms of non-hodgkin's lymphoma, colon cancer, skin cancer and multiple myeloma cancer are covered by workers compensation. This legislation adds leukemia and testicular cancer to the list of cancers which are on that presumptive list for firefighters,.

A

Chairman hicks, do you have a untimely filed amendment sir? I.

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Do sir, I do have an untimely filed amendment and that number is just to make sure everybody's on the same page is going to be zero one, one, nine four, seven.

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One one: nine four, seven one one, nine four, seven uh chairman crawford: how much emotion did we take up done? Motion? Take it up. We have a motion a second. uh This is a technical. It is amendment.

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Are the members ready for the question all in favor of considering the untimely say, aye opposed, say no, the eyes prevail. Now we're on the amendment one one, nine, four, seven. We have a motion on the amendment.

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We have a motion in a second chairman, hicks you're, recognized on the untimely sir. Thank.

B

You, mr chairman, and members and mr chairman, that simply changes and corrects the effective date to july first 2022. are.

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The members ready for the question we're voting on the amendment changing the effective date, all in favor, say aye opposed, say. No. The amendment goes forward now we're back on the bill. Mr chairman,.

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All right and members you've heard the explanation. I stand ready to answer any questions you may have. Members have questions.

A

Question calls or objection the question hearing, no objection. We are voting on house bill, 335 all in favor, say aye aye opposed, say no eyes prevail. Thank you chairman. Thank you, mr chairman of the committee. The next bill is house bill 1677 by chairman sibicki. Is there a motion? We have a motion and a second on the bill. Chairman supiki, you are recognized.

D

Thank you, mr chairman, we'll be working off an amendment that rewrites the bill. It's drafting code zero one one, eight, two, nine.

A

Is there a motion on amendment one one, eight, two, nine. We have a motion and a second chairman supiki are recognized on the amendment, sir.

D

Thank you, mr chairman uh members. This bill is basically to create better open and transparent government and notifications. What it does is, it adds a part of into the section that has to do with posting on social media in the event that a local uh county commission or uh cannot find the ability to meet the time requirement necessary by state law on a special call meeting, and so what this does is add some language there and I'll. Read it to you, mr chairman, real quickly. It gives a brief explanation.

D

It says if a notice of a special meeting under this section cannot be obtained in a newspaper on the county or of the county in a manner timely enough to conduct the necessary business of that special meeting. The county legislative body shall provide notice to the public by posting the notice in a location where a member of the community could become aware of such notice and on the county's website.

D

If the county has a website key point, there, though, is it, has to be a website that is currently maintained by the county and serviced by the county, also, including in the contents of the notice, a reasonable description of the purpose of the meeting or action being taken and posting a notice at a time sufficiently in advance of the special meeting in order to give the citizens an opportunity to become aware of and attend. The meeting, and most importantly, mr chairman of members, is the county.

D

Clerk's responsibility is right now, if it's posted in the newspaper to get that document for future. If anybody has a question on whether or not they met the time time deadline, this would also apply to the county clerk that they have to maintain. If something is posted in an emergency to get a special call meeting on the social media page, the county clerk will be responsible for documenting and time, stamping when that was for for future consideration.

A

Thank you chairman speaker. We do have a request for testimony. Ms debra fischer is with us today if she'll come forward, we'll go out of session and if you'll give your name and organization for the record, please we're out of session.

C

Thank you um thank you and thank you, representative sapiki, for you know amending the bill. We were concerned that the social media requirement of the original bill was too broad.

C

This I just wanted to mention the language in this bill. The three requirements of the special call meeting is consistent with what the court of appeals says is required for a special call meeting under the open meetings act. So it's straight from that inglewood case in 1999, so we're good with that and also importantly, you know.

C

Newspapers have provided a service to their local governments for years, and people know to look in the paper for notices, and this does not take away the requirement to try to get a notice of a special call meeting in the paper. However, the deadline is so far in advance, which is what I understand was the issue here.

C

It gives the county government another way to get their business done and also notify the public in a manner that is consistent with what the open meetings act has said. So we are clear with this bill and good with it, and I hope it solves an issue that they were having in colombia.

A

Thank you miss fisher. Does any of the members of the committee have any questions for uh ms fisher, okay? Seeing then, yes, uh representative miller, you recognized. Thank you, mr chairman, mrs fisher, who are you representing.

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D

I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.

C

I'm uh deborah fisher and I'm the executive director with tennessee coalition for open government, a group that's been around since 2003, advocating on open meetings and public records. Thank you. Thank you.

A

Anyone else, okay, we'll go back into session chairman sapiki you're recognized and I believe we have a question uh chairman crawford.

B

Thank you, mr chairman. I think you covered these uh two questions that I have in in your presentation, but uh the first being that there will be a record kept and it will be time stamped will that be filed with the clerk's office. Chairman spicky.

D

Yes, that that's that's the job of the clerk, yes,.

B

Okay and that's what we do now, so they should be familiar with this process pretty much yes. Okay, second question is.

B

I'm having a senior moment, I can't.

D

B

What I was going to ask you, but.

D

I'm happy to answer it in full committee. For you, sir. Thank.

B

You thank you, mr.

A

Chairman any other any other questions of the sponsor uh representative, calfi and I'll come back to vice chairman. Thank you, sir. I probably know the answer to this, but is it possible in any of the real small counties? Don't have a social media page chairman spicky?

A

I think at this point we need to really clarify that we're talking about a website maintained by the county or under the control of the county in in social media is uh not being considered at all, so it I hope, that's a clarification, uh miss sponsor that I don't mean to butt in on on on your answer, sir, but chairman speaker, you're, recognized.

D

Mr chairman, that that is correct has to his websites. uh There are many people out there that follow county websites for information uh currently right now murray county. Every meeting we have every agenda, we have everything, that's being discussed is posted to our county website, but the key part is it's maintained by the county. There's current information on there. This bill does not does not allow any county to create a website just to skate around.

D

This absolutely not has to be a main, a website that people are familiar with, that they can gain access to and have information easily disseminated back and forth to them. Remember this is for special called sessions that they can't meet the burden of the law to get the newspaper in time.

A

Representative calvi, let me maybe I need to rephrase it. Is it possible that any of the very small counties don't have a county website representative.

D

Hypothetically, possibly, yes, okay! Thank you possibly, yes,.

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Vice chairman right, you're recognized.

B

uh Thank you, mr chairman, uh that clarification is what I was going to ask also.

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Chairman spicy, any other questions of the sponsor. Are the members ready for the question all in favor of the amendment 11829 say: aye aye opposed, say no, the eyes prevail. The amendment is proofed and back on the bill. Mr, mr uh chairman, spicky, not nothing any other questions. All right, we'll be voting on the bill.

A

House bill 1677 as amended all in favor, say aye, both say no. The eyes prevail. This moves on to the next regular calendar of full local committee. Thank you, mr chairman. Thank you. Thank you at this time. This completes today's calendar.

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Are there any announcements at this time?

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Thank you, mr chairman, uh just want to remind everybody at 12 o'clock today in house hearing room one. We will be having a presentation from secretary of state trey, hargett and election coordinator mark goins on election integrity, everyone's invited.

A

Thank you, mr chairman. Well without objection, this meeting is adjourned. Hearing no objection. We are adjourned.

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