Mr. Hobbs,

Addressing these ridiculous claims you have made today, I have one thing to say: patience is a virtue. Have you ever worked in state government, or do you, for that matter? Either way, let me clue you in on something that is no secret. Everything takes time. I would love to see if you could input,some, ninety or so, representatives and their requests into a database while the press are constantly hounding you for information that has not even been compiled yet.

Being involved in the government, I am sure that Mr. Fitzhugh and his assistant are well-aware and are familiar with the open-records laws. I am also confident that they are doing all they can to comply with these laws. Furthermore, your request was utterly absurd. It would be an IMPOSSIBLE task to make copies of these hundreds of pages of information for EVERY press person who comes through their door.

Please realize that when the information becomes available, I am confident that they will make it available to you and other members of the press. There is NO reason to hide this information, so your claims are completely erroneous.

Representatives and their assistants have very difficult jobs. They deal with many different situations and types of work on a daily basis, and you and your tactics are not making their jobs any easier, and you definitely are not making them more effective (if that was your intention).

Thank you for your time and opportunity to respond.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 22, 2007 8:32 PM

Issues-based wikis

"Government taps the power of us: Officials turn to blogs and wikis to share information and achieve goals"

http://www.fcw.com/article102750-5-21-2007

Need I add: Vote Technotarian!

Posted by: Ed Dodds at May 23, 2007 6:00 AM

Anon - I didn't ask them to compile a database or input anything other than to take a stack of pieces of paper - the "community grant" request forms turned in by each legislator - and stack them in the fax machine, enter my 11-digit toll-free fax number, and hit the "send" button.

We're talking, at most, 2 minutes of work.

They have refused to do that. They also have refused to forward me the emails between Rep. Fitzhugh and the various legislators related to the community grants, and have refused, period, to release any grants requests there were submitted and later withdrawn, even though those are public records that I am entitled to.

Posted by: Bill Hobbs at May 23, 2007 11:25 AM

Mr. Hobbs, on the 22nd of May you were stating that your rights had been violated by Mr. Fitzhugh and Ms. Golden by them not adhereing to the FOIA.
Mr. Hobbs it seems to me that you need to know your rights before they can be violated. Let's do some investigating before you start crying.
The FOIA does not require any agency to do research for you, to analyze data, to answer written questions or to create records in order to respond to your request.Request must be handwritten or typed, your request may be faxed, however the FOIA does not recognize e-mail request.
This is all stated in section IV FOIA reference guide.
The fact that this information will be made available to you outside Rep. Fitzhugh's office is more than what the FOIA states is required by law.
If in fact you are so concerned about what each Representative is requesting, let me make this suggestion.
Arm yourself with a legal pad and a supply of pens, go to lp33, write down each request that is provided for you ( FOIA)and visit each representatives office.
Would this not provide you with the opportunity to interview each representative.
It appears to me Mr. Hobbs that all you really want is for someone else to do your leg work.
As you stated Tuesday " we the tax payers provide Ms. Golden paycheck and Mr. Fitzhughs salary" your correct and I want them working for me not you.

Posted by: Taxpayer at May 23, 2007 9:19 PM

"Taxpayer" - your comments re FOIA would be relevant if FOIA applied to state governments. It doesn't - FOIA is a federal law that applies to the federal government.

I'm talking about state government and the state's open records laws.

You also assert that I am trying to get Fitzhugh and his staffer to do work they don't have to do. Not true. First of all, the documents already exist. And they have compiled them into a stack and made a copy of them.

All I am asking is that they fax me a copy.

They are refusing to do so. Why? To make it more difficult for me to get the records. I live 25 miles from Legislative Plaza. I could drive there, but I have not guarantee that when I get there they will let me copy the document. And what about citizens or media members who live 225 miles from Legislative Plaza? They also would have to drive - and a long distance - to see the records.

My insistence that they fax them to me is not for my convenience, but for a principle: that in the modern age of digital technologies such as the Internet, email and fax machines, a member of the public wishing to see copies of a public record should not have to physically go to where the record is. The public official or state employee who has that record should use the available technology to give the citizen easy access to the records.

It's a principle that is, I believe, a part of the state's open records law.

Tennessee Code Annotated 10-7-505 (d) expressly states that Tennessee's open records act "shall be broadly construed so as to give the fullest possible public access to public records."

Making one copy available at Legislative Plaza and refusing to make it available via fax does not give the public "the fullest possible" access.

I'm also asking for copies of certain emails - records that I am entitled to under state law. Surely you don't believe I should have to go to Fitzhugh's office and log on to his PC and read his emails. So, naturally, in order for his office to comply with that portion of my open-records request, they will have to copy the emails. I would be happy if they printed them and sent me the printed copies, but it would be easier for them and me if they just hit the "forward" button and emailed them to me.

Either way, they are required by state law to
(TCA 10-7-505 (d), referenced above) to give me "the fullest possible public access to public records," including the emails.

Posted by: Bill Hobbs at May 23, 2007 10:52 PM

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