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Commission debates sunshine law

By Mac McLean/Bristol Herald Courier
Published: December 18, 2007

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The Sullivan County Commission thought it was agreeing with two state organizations when it passed a resolution Monday calling for changes to the state’s sunshine law.

It wasn’t.

Commissioner James King of Kingsport sponsored a resolution seeking to lessen restrictions in the state’s open meetings law, which currently prohibits two or more members of the same governing body from meeting in private to deliberate public business.

“This [current law] is not practical,” King said as he presented his resolution to the commission at its Monday meeting. “It doesn’t make sense prohibiting two commissioners from talking one-on-one without it being done in a public meeting. It’s just darn good sense to be able to talk about things before we get here.”

King said the Tennessee Municipal League and the Tennessee County Services Association both recommended the use of a quorum standard when it came to changing the state’s sunshine law.

This standard would allow any private meeting of a governing body to take place so long as a quorum – or a majority of the group’s membership – was not present or a part of the discussions. The commission inserted this recommendation into King’s resolution and passed it by a vote of 22 to 1.

“[The commission] wanted the state Legislature to say it takes a quorum or more of any government body to violate the open meetings law,” County Mayor Steve Godsey said, adding the resolution also put the commission firmly behind a position shared by the Tennessee Municipal League and the Tennessee County Services Association.

The problem is that neither organization currently holds that position.

“The quorum standard did not make it out of the committee,” said Tennessee Municipal League spokeswoman Carole Graves. “It’s not on the table right now.”

Graves said the quorum standard was discussed as a possible change to the state’s sunshine law during meetings held by the state’s Joint Study Committee on Open Government at the end of November.

“A quorum standard would absolutely wreck the concept of open government in Tennessee,” said Frank Gibson, executive director of the state Coalition for Open Government.

But the committee rejected the notion and instead voiced its support for a proposal increasing the public meetings requirement to cover only instances where three or more people get together to deliberate county business.

“We’ve only taken the position that we support the committee’s work,” said David Seviers, director of the Tennessee County Services Association.

gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518