Elizabethton Star Opinion
February 22, 2002

When the Tennessee Legislature's various members meet, it 
seems that everything possible is done to prevent the public 
from learning of their actions.

Every time a tough decision has to be made, it calls for a 
closed-door session. For all the public knows, the legislators
are simply reading a book, doing their nails or ordering out 
for pizza and watching ESPN. Tennessee has a Sunshine Law 
requiring meetings of deliberative bodies to be held in 
full view of the public. The Legislature has mastered the 
art of creating "study groups" that do the lion's share 
of the bill-making process in complete darkness.

Another sneaky trick is the fact that legislative committees, 
when they do meet openly, allow votes to be taken by voice.

When it comes down to whether the "Ayes" or the "Nays" have 
it, who is saying what needs to be recorded somewhere? The 
people need to know how their legislators vote. This 
not-so-coy posturing behind voice votes allows an inordinate 
amount of fence-straddling and waffling.

When legislators decide to go on the record, it is usually 
for the TV cameras where they are allowed to spew 
political-speak for minutes at a time. They can speak 
whole paragraphs at will that leave you wondering where 
they really stand on any number of issues.

Here's another Tennessee law that discourages the public 
from getting involved: Did you know that if you go to 
check a politician's campaign finance records it is state 
law that the candidate is informed of your inquiry?

Talk about a chilling effect on the electorate!

Perhaps the very reason the Tennessee Legislature is mired 
in lethargy and viewed by most of the public as a body worth 
little attention is its failure to conduct business in a 
forthright and open manner. Only when the public and the 
press are allowed total access to Capitol Hill will some 
measure of confidence return.

As it is, the Legislature treats the citizens of this state 
like so many carefully cultivated mushrooms: They keep us 
in the dark and feed us manure.