NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that he opposes efforts to water down Tennessee's open meetings law that says no more than two city or county officials can deliberate in private.
The Republican governor told reporters after a speech to the Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce that his previous experience as mayor of Knoxville gave him little reason to think an overhaul was necessary.
"Those rules actually worked, and led to better discussions at city council meetings," Haslam said.
Tennessee lawmakers passed what is known as the state Sunshine Law governing public records and meetings in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal in 1974.
Frank Gibson, public policy director of the Tennessee Press Association, applauded the governor's stance.
"As a former sitting mayor, he sees the value and importance of public trust in government," said Gibson, who is also the founding director of the Tennessee Coalition fo r Open Government, of which The Associated Press is a member.
Haslam's position "reflects the sentiment shared by an overwhelming majority of Tennesseans who don't want to roll back four decades of good government," Gibson said.
Commissioners in Obion, Lewis and Williamson counties have passed resolutions urging state lawmakers to get rid of the current rules and to instead allow officials to meet privately as long as a majority of the government panel is not present.
Similar resolutions have failed in Anderson and Rhea counties, but several more are pending around the state.
"Obviously there are some folks that are convinced that that's a way to maybe be more effective," Haslam said. "But my experience was that it worked pretty well the way it is now."
Haslam acknowledged that it's difficult to explain why local governments fall under the state's open government laws, while the state Legislature does not. But the governor said he doesn't see a n eed for more secrecy in government.
"There is no way that's a politically popular move," he said. "I don't think it's a winning strategy."