Using a decidedly anti-Washington stance, 3rd District Congressman Zach Wamp told Nashville Republicans Tuesday that cuts to state employee rolls and an agenda of transparency in government were two key issues he would pursue as governor. He also took some thinly veiled shots at his opponents while trying to distance himself from questions about his [...]

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 law to expand the controversial TNInvestco program has another State Senator saying they will vote against the bill without amendments for more transparency and a revolving door provision on TNInvestco companies for members of the Bredesen administration.

The mounting head count in the Senate and continued push back in the House against the legislation comes as administration officials mustered an unusual press conference with Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce leaders to show support for the amendment.

A heavily criticized expansion to a state funded venture capital program is becoming a divisive issue in the Tennessee Republican Party, including the crowded GOP primary for the open 6th Congressional District seat.

Government officials say they will be seeking federal assistance to help Tennessee cope with what is likely the worst flooding in the state’s history.

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.

Tennessee Watchdog has learned that a key organization mandated by the law to aid in the selection process of venture capital firms under TNInvestco held deep misgivings last year about the lack of an “independent” board in the process used to choose the companies, including the allegation that the process had been “subjugated to political influence.”

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

Davidson County Chancellor Russell T. Perkins issued a ruling minutes ago that records for the controversial TNInvestco tax credit program can be sealed for a period of five years by Tennessee Economic & Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber.

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.