AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504, relative to public employees.
Summary
This bill amends Tennessee’s public records law, specifically Tennessee Code Annotated § 10-7-504, to expand the category of residential information that is exempt from disclosure for public employees. Under the amended language, the street address, city, state, and zip code of any state, county, municipal, or other public employee are treated as protected information. The measure is framed as an update to the confidentiality protections already in place for certain personal information of public employees.
In practical terms, the bill limits access to public employees’ home-location details in records requests and other public disclosures governed by the Tennessee Public Records Act. It applies broadly across levels of government, covering state, county, municipal, and other public employees, and it changes the statute governing records that agencies may withhold from public inspection.
Impact
The bill narrows public access to residential contact information for public employees by adding explicit statutory protection for street address, city, state, and ZIP code. This affects agencies responding to public records requests and strengthens privacy protections for employees whose personal residence information might otherwise be disclosed in government records. It amends an existing exemption in Tennessee’s public records law rather than creating a new standalone privacy regime.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill was received favorably, with the Senate State & Local Government Committee recommending passage by a 9-0 vote. No committee transcript is available, but the unanimous committee vote indicates broad support and little visible opposition in the recorded proceedings. The bill was ultimately enacted as Public Chapter No. 280, reflecting a generally positive reception among lawmakers.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials, and there are no committee transcript excerpts showing debate. The main policy tension inherent in the bill is between public transparency and employee privacy: supporters appear to favor shielding public employees’ home addresses and related location data from disclosure, while any potential critics would likely be concerned about limiting access to information in public records. However, the recorded vote suggests that any such concerns did not generate significant opposition in committee.