Tennessee Democrats Say Lawmakers Are Once Again Holding Off-The-Books Meetings

WPLN | By Chas Sisk

Published March 10, 2016 at 5:22 PM CST

Democrats complain lawmakers are meeting too often outside session and without giving them notice.

Democrats in the Tennessee House of Representatives are complaining about off-the-books meetings of state legislators.

These are called "pre-meetings," informal sessions in which lawmakers discuss bills with each other and lobbyists before they're presented in formal committee meetings.

Questions were raised last year about pre-meetings. That prompted Republican leaders to promise to announce them on the House floor and open them to anyone who wants to attend.

But Democrats, including Nashville state Rep. Bo Mitchell, say they've been left out of pre-meetings — even ones that included members of their own committees.

"It's outside the public eye," Mitchell says. "And anything you're doing behind closed doors, outside the public eye, for the most part is usually not good."

A spokeswoman for House Speaker Beth Harwell says the schedule for pre-meetings was announced in January, and they continue to be open. She says reminders are given periodically.