Tenn. bill would allow public records requests bans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennesseans determined to be using public records requests as a form of harassment could be banned from filing them for one year under a new bill that would allow courts to punish people for making too many inquiries.

The move has alarmed open government advocates worried about the potentially chilling effects the bill might have.

Under the proposal — introduced this month — harassment would be defined as person who makes three or more public records requests in a year where:

The requester submitted each inquiry in a threatening or abusive manner.

The requester’s conduct was abusive or intimidating during each request.

All three requests were not made in “good faith or for any legitimate purpose.”

A public agency would then have to ask a court to ban the person from making records requests, and if successful, that person could not make a request for a year unless they prove to a court any future inquiry over that 12-month time does not constitute harassment.

“We put a very high bar on this. I do not want any city or public entity abusing this opportunity to simply block someone from getting a public record,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth, the proposal’s co-sponsor.

Local and state agencies have long spoken out against a handful of individuals who flood their inboxes with records requests, clogging up the system and wasting limited resources.

The challenge particularly has come to a head in Gallatin — a city just north of Nashville — where officials say they’ve been bogged down by one particular individual known for making extraordinary public records requests for the past several years.

Last year, the city received more than 400 public records requests but 130 of those came from just one private citizen. According to Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown and other city officials, the man frequently asks to view hours of police body and dash camera footage.

And because this person’s request is just to view — not for copies of the records — the city can’t charge him for the hours of work needed to vet law enforcement records.

Brown said the city spent at least 80 hours on one request only for the man to come in and spend just three minutes looking through the records.

However, when asked if she believed Lamberth’s bill was the appropriate response to one problematic person, Brown said she had some concerns.

“Yes, the bill would help. But I can’t tell you if it’s appropriate because we’re all having trepidations about limiting public access to public records,” she said. “I just think our current system isn’t fair to the taxpayer.”