by Justin Owen After the recent appointment of Governor Phil Bredesen’s top aide to head the state university system, much attention has been turned on the board that made the selection. The Tennessee Board of Regents is an 18-member board that oversees 45 universities, community colleges, and technical schools across the state. It is the [...]

In a show of what could only be described as abject thuggery, elected members of the Tennessee House yelled down and ultimately bullied Associated Press reporter Erik Schelzig from the House floor’s media area. Schelzig’s transgression was attempting to take a picture with his cell phone of House Speaker Kent Williams who collapsed while presiding over a live session of the State House.

The Bredesen administration – with some complicit Republican sponsors in the legislature – is trying to expand the scope of the Tennessee Small Business Investment Company Credit Act, also known as the TNInvestco program. A closer examination of the law, an amendment offered by Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) and the Bredesen administration’s process to award $120 million in tax credits under TNInvestco all suggest an agenda that is as much about doing government business with taxpayer dollars in secret as it is about creating jobs.

Download Davidson County Chancellor Russell T. Perkins’ ruling in the TNInvestco open records lawsuit by clicking this link, courtesy of Tennessee Watchdog.

Here at Tennessee Watchdog, we believe bringing our readers primary documents from the public record is an important part of our job. Perhaps there is not a court case going on in Tennessee right now with more relevance to the future of government transparency than the suit to open the files on the TNInvestco program.

A day after Gov. Phil Bredesen unveiled a start new budget proposal in the State of the State address, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey delivered a message that Tennessee needs to “live within its means” during his First Tuesday appearance today

In an age where government regulation seems to be in vogue — and possibly inevitable — for both of America’s major political parties, the land’s highest court finds that even corporations have the right to free speech.

As promised, State Senator Mae Beavers put hearings on the practices of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary (COJ) at the front of her committee’s legisaltive agenda this week.

In what is a very poor use of tax payer funds, Metro Nashville’s Codes Department in their neighborhood e-newsletter devoted an entire page to pushing the Music City Center project – the largest public building project in the city’s history.

A damaging audit of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission came out today, listing seven different findings. The audit was a followup to a previous inquiry as to whether the ABC had control of its finances and was performing simple tasks like criminal background checks on applicants for a state liquor license. Overall, it seems the [...]