Public Records

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about implementation timelines or potential challenges.

Making Some Death Penalty Records Public

This bill changes Tennessee's laws to make certain records related to death sentences more open to the public while keeping some personal information private.

What This Bill Does

• Makes the identity of suppliers who provide drugs for lethal injections public, but keeps their addresses and contact details secret.
• Requires that qualifications and experience of people working with these suppliers be made available to the public.
• Allows records about payments given to suppliers or contractors involved in death sentences to be seen by anyone.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who supply drugs for lethal injections
• Employees and officers working with suppliers
• Contractors hired to prepare or participate in executions

Terms To Know

Confidential

Information that is kept secret and not shared with the public.

Redact

To remove or cover up parts of a document to keep certain information private.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much time departments have to make these changes.
• It is unclear if there will be any challenges in implementing this new law.

Official Summary Text

Present law requires
records identifying an individual or entity involved in the process of executing a death sentence to be treated as confidential and not open to public inspection. This bill clarifies that the identity of a supplier that compounds, distributes, or manufac
tures the drugs obtained and used by the department of correction to carry out an execution by lethal injection is not confidential and must be open to public inspection and discovery in a civil proceeding. Further, the qualifications and relevant experi
en
ce of an officer or employee of the supplier, and a person used by the supplier to obtain equipment or substances to facilitate the compounding, distribution, or manufacturing of the drugs are not confidential and must also be made open to public inspecti
on. However, this bill requires personally identifiable information, including office addresses, to be kept confidential.

This bill provides that records relating to payment to a person or supplier in connection with the person's or supplier's participation in or preparation for the execution of a death sentence are not confidential and must be made open to public inspectio
n. If a contractor is employed to participate in or prepare for the execution of a death sentence, then the amount of the special payment made to the contractor must be reported by the commissioner of correction to the comptroller of the treasury and the
a
mount is not confidential.

However, this bill requires the names of persons directly involved in carrying out a death sentence to be kept confidential and exempt from public disclosure. Further, any information made confidential by this bill must be redacted whenever possible. T
his bill does not limit or deny access to otherwise public information because a file or document contains confidential information.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 2168
By Barrett

SENATE BILL 2308
By Pody
SB2308
012171
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 10,
Chapter 7, relative to public records.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-504, is amended by deleting
subsection (h) and substituting:
(h)
(1) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the names of persons
directly involved in carrying out a sentence of death are confidential and are
exempt from public disclosure.
(2) The identity of a supplier that compounds, distributes, or
manufactures the drugs obtained and used by the department of correction to
carry out an execution by lethal injection is not confidential, is open to public
inspection, and may be subject to discovery or introduction as evidence in a civil
proceeding. The qualifications, evidence of competency, and relevant
experience of an officer or employee of the supplier, and a person or contractor
used by the supplier to obtain equipment or substances to facilitate the
compounding, distribution, or manufacturing of the drugs used by the department
of correction in carrying out a sentence of death are not confidential and are
open to public inspection. However, the residential and office addresses,
residential and office telephone numbers, social security numbers, and tax
identification numbers of officers and employees of the supplier and any person
or contractor used by the supplier to obtain equipment or substances to facilitate

- 2 - 012171

the compounding of such drugs are confidential and are exempt from public
disclosure.
(3) Records related to remuneration to a person or a supplier in
connection with the person's or supplier's participation in or preparation for the
execution of a sentence of death are not confidential and are open to public
inspection. Payments must be made in accordance with a memorandum of
understanding between the commissioner of correction and the commissioner of
finance and administration. If a contractor is employed to participate in or
prepare for the execution of a sentence of death, then the amount of the special
payment made to the contractor pursuant to the contract must be reported by the
commissioner of correction to the comptroller of the treasury and the amount is
not confidential.
(4) Information made confidential by this subsection (h) must be redacted
wherever possible, and nothing in this subsection (h) limits or denies access to
otherwise public information because a file, a document, or data file contains
confidential information.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.