Evaluation of Tennessee state website
 B
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Contents |
TN.gov is the website for the state of Tennessee.
[edit] Website evaluation
In 2011 Tennessee earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.
- Main article: Evaluation of state websites or see sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
This website was reviewed on January 24, 2012.
[edit] The good
- The site has a search function and is fairly easy to navigate.
- The state has a transparency website.[1]
- Elected officials are listed, with links to pages with contact information.[2]
- Agencies are listed with contact information.[3]
- Budgets are posted.[4]
- Audits are posted.[5][6]
- Information, forms, and contact are provided for public records requests.[7]
- Bid opportunities are posted.[8]
- Statewide contracts are posted.[9]
- Tax information is available.[10]
- Ethics information is available.[11]
- Lists of lobbyists and their reports are available.[12]
[edit] The bad
- No information is available on Taxpayer-funded lobbying.
- Aside from statewide contracts, contracts are not posted.
[edit] U.S. PIRG rating
The U.S. PIRG rated the state website a "D-" on providing online access to government spending data, with a score of 51 out of 100.[13]
The scorecard that U.S. PIRG uses has 13 items and focuses on a separate state website that is searchable at the checkbook level. Sunshine Review, on the other hand, focuses on the availability of separate spending-related items; they do not need to be in a central database.
| Item | Possible points | Notes |
| Checkbook-level website | 30 | Detailed expenditure information, including individual payments made to vendors. |
| Search by vendor | 8 | Ability to search checkbook-level expenditures by contractor or vendor name. |
| Search by keyword of activity | 8 | Ability to search checkbook-level expenditures by type of service or item purchased, category, or government fund. |
| Search by agency or departments | 8 | Ability to search checkbook-level expenditures by branch of government. |
| Contract or summary information | 10 | A copy of the contract or detailed summary information is included for the expenditures. |
| Historical expenditures | 5 | Checkbook-level expenditure data from previous fiscal years. |
| Grants and economic development incentives information | 10 | Awardee-specific grants and/or economic development incentives are included in the checkbook tool or elsewhere with specific award amounts. |
| Downloadable | 3 | Information can be downloaded for data analysis. |
| Tax expenditure reports | 10 | The state's tax expenditure report is linked on the website. |
| Off-budget agencies | 2 | Expenditures from quasi-public agencies are included on the website. |
| City and county budgets | 2 | Financial information for some local governments is accessible. |
| ARRA Funding | 2 | A link is provided to the state's website that tracks funding related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. |
| Feedback | 2 | Website users are capable and encouraged to give feedback about the site. |
There are several similarities between the checklists. For both checklists, the searchability of information factors in to how usability is rated. Both checklists have an item relating to contracts, tax information, and the budget. The U.S. PIRG requires information for quasi public entities; Sunshine Review requires information on lobbying, which includes quasi public entities lobbying activity.
Unlike the Sunshine Review checklist with each check worth one point, different items on the U.S. PIRG checklist merit more or fewer points, depending on the item.
[edit] State Integrity Investigation
The 2012 State Integrity Investigation graded state ethics laws according to an "Integrity Index." The index was created by researching 330 "Integrity Indicators" across 14 categories of state government. The report assigned grades based on what laws are on the books, and whether or not they were effectively enforced. The report was a project of The Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity, and Public Radio International.[14]
Tennessee received an overall grade of C, or 76%. It ranked 8 out of the 50 states.[15]
| Category | Grade |
| Public Access to Information | C |
| Political Financing | C- |
| Executive Accountability | B- |
| Legislative Accountability | B- |
| Judicial Accountability | B |
| State Budget Processes | C+ |
| State Civil Service Management | C+ |
| Procurement | B+ |
| Internal Auditing | A |
| Lobbying Disclosure | C- |
| State Pension Fund Management | C+ |
| Ethics Enforcement Agencies | D- |
| State Insurance Commissions | B- |
| Redistricting | F |
[edit] General Assembly website
The General Assembly website earned a Government-to-Citizen Achievement Award from the Center for Digital Government in 2009 and 2010. According to the Center for Digital Government, the site has been noted for it's amount of educational material, being well organized, nice design, and streaming video clips with agendas and bill information.[16]
[edit] Transparency Legislation
[edit] Resources
| Resource | Run by | Includes | Year | URL |
| Recovery Tennessee | State | Stimulus tracking | 2011 | http://www.tnrecovery.gov/ |
| Online Campaign Finance | State | Campaign finance and lobbyist disclosure | 2011 | https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/ |
| Live Video | State | Video coverage of House and Senate | 2011 | http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/livevideo/ |
| Tennessee Ethics | State | Disclosure of Interests | 2011 | https://apps.tn.gov/conflict/ |
| Open Tennessee | State | Vendors, salaries, audits, budgets | 2011 | http://tn.gov/opengov/ |
| Follow the Money | National Institute on Money in Politics | Campaign contributions | 2010 | http://www.followthemoney.org/database/state_overview.phtml?y=2010&s=TN |
[edit] Salaries
[edit] State and Local Employees
In June 2010 the state's total payroll has been projected at nearly $2.8 billion. At that time there were about 44,000 state government jobs paid for through the general fund, averaging $41,000 in salary and benefits. Another 23,800 people work in higher education.[17]
According to 2008 Census data, the state of Tennessee and local governments in the state employed a total of 369,578 people.[18] Of those employees, 306,328 were full-time employees receiving a net pay of $1,043,980,357 per month and 63,250 were part-time employees paid $51,602,338 per month.[18] More than 52% of those employees, or 192,840 employees, were in education or higher education.[18]
[edit] Unions
Protests at the state Capitol at times included thousands of those opposed to the collective-bargaining bill and to other measures in the legislature that would limit the power of unions. On March 15, 2011, seven protesters were arrested at the state Capitol.[19]
Companion bills are pending in the Tennessee House and Senate that would end collective bargaining by teachers, making it so that Tennessee school districts no longer have to negotiate with teachers' unions.[20] The Senate Education Committee approved Senate Bill 0113 along party lines by a vote of 6-3 on Feb. 16, 2011.[20]
Supporters of the bills note that none of Tennessee's neighboring states require collective bargaining with teachers, and that the teachers' negotiating rights are unique among public employees.[20] Arguing against the bill, a lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association said that the legislation unfairly targets teachers.[20] Opponents also say the move takes away the assurance that teachers are compensated at decent levels,noting that Tennessee teachers own salaries below the national average.[21] <math>Insert formula here</math>
[edit] State Employee Benefits
[edit] Paid Time Off
Holidays State employees receive the following 11 paid holidays:[22]
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Presidents' Day
- Good Friday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
Annual Leave Full-time employees earn annual leave each month at a rated based on years of service as follows[23]:
| Years of Service | Annual Leave Earned per Month | Maximum Allowable days |
|---|---|---|
| 0 up to 5 | 1 day | 30 days |
| 5 up to 10 | 1 and ½ days | 36 days |
| 10 up to 20 | 1 and ¾ days | 39 days |
| 20 or more | 2 days | 42 days |
Sick Leave All full-time employees accrue 1 day (7.5 hours) of sick leave per month, provided they work the major portion of that month.[23]
Bereavement Leave Leave with pay is granted for three days in the event of the death of an employee's spouse, child, stepchild, grandchild, parents, grandparents, siblings, stepparents, foster parents, or parents-in-law without charge to the employee's leave time. Two additional days of sick leave may be granted to provide a total of five days absence for this purpose.[23]
[edit] Insurance
Employees can select among three health insurance plans: a PPO, a POS, and an HMO.[24] For each plan, the state pays $430.48 for an employee who has individual coverage and $1074.75 for an employee with family coverage.[25]
Dental insurance is available to employees, and employees pay the full cost of the premium.[25]
The state provides, at no cost to employees, $20,000 of basic term life insurance and $40,000 of basic special accident coverage. For employees who elect health coverage, the amount of coverage increases as the employee's salary increases, with premiums for coverage above $20,000/$40,000 deducted from the employee's paycheck. The maximum amount of coverage is $50,000 for term life and $100,000 for accidental death and dismemberment. The amount of coverage declines when the employee is older than 65.[26]
Eligible dependents of employees enrolled in health coverage are covered for $3,000 of basic dependent term life coverage. Dependents are eligible for basic special accident insurance, with the amounts of coverage based on salary and family composition.[26]
Optional Supplemental Coverage Long-term care coverage is an optional benefit available to employees, who pay the full cost of the premium.[25] Optional special accident coverage is available to employees, as is universal life and term life insurance.[26]
[edit] Other Benefits
- Longevity Pay - Beginning with the completion of 36 months of creditable state service (1,600 hours or more worked in a fiscal year), employees receive an annual payment of $100.00 for each year of creditable state service to a maximum of 30 years of service ($3,000).[23]
- Flexible Benefits Plan[23]
- Higher Education Fee Discounts and Waivers - A 25% discount on undergraduate tuition at any state operated institution of higher learning in Tennessee is available to children 23 years of age or under of full time state employees. In addition, full-time state employees with six months of continuous service are eligible to have tuition fees waived for one course per semester at a state institution.[23]
- Employee Assistance Program is a confidential counseling and referral service for all employees and their dependents. All services are strictly confidential and can be accessed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.[23]
[edit] Pensions
All full-time state employees are covered by the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, a defined benefit pension plan.[27]
[edit] Contribution Rate
The State contributes 13.64% of an employee's salary.[27]
[edit] Funding Levels
The state's pension liabilities can be calculated in a variety of ways, which yield different numbers. Below are the numbers as calculated by to the Pew Center on the States,[28] the American Enterprise Institute[29] and Professors Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Chicago and Joshua Rauh of Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management.[30]
| PEW (2008) | AEI (2008) | Kellogg (2009) |
| $1,602,802 | $30,546,099 | $23,200,000 |
Other information from the Pew Center on the States Feb. 2010 publication "The Trillion Dollar Gap":
| Latest liability | Latest unfunded liability | Annual required contribution | Latest actual contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| $32,715,771 | $1,602,802 | $838,259 | $825,259 |
| Latest liability | Latest unfunded liability | Annual required contribution | Latest actual contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,746,879 | $1,746,879 | $167,787 | $63,140 |
| Number of pension plans | Pension assets ($bn) | Stated liabilities ($bn) | Funding status (% of tax revenue) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25.8 | $34.7 | -284% |
This data is based on projected data from 2008 census data.[32] In 2008, $1.94 trillion was set aside for pensions, but it is estimated that states have $5.17 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
[edit] Rate of Return
Tennessee presumes a 7.50% return rate on its pension investments.[31]
[edit] Public Records
The Tennessee Public Records Act (Tennessee Code Annotated 10-7-101 et seq.) is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Open Meetings Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
To learn more about how to make a public records request in this state, please see: Tennessee FOIA procedures
[edit] Recent news
- See also: Tennessee transparency headlines
Transparency blocking
- Tennessee not putting some public records online 2009-06-17 17:58:19
- Johnson: General Assembly seeks to close inboxes to public 2009-06-17 17:48:19
- Lawmakers Dispute Closed Gun Records 2009-06-17 16:21:22
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
Litigation
- Tennessee judiciary and legislature struggle for power over the Court of Judiciary 2011-06-13 17:55:36
- OH activist sues TN over residency restriction on open records 2010-08-27 08:14:59
- Judge To Examine Anderson Legal Billings To East Ridge 2009-06-17 18:04:55
More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
Legislation
- Secrecy finds backers in Legislature 2009-06-17 18:08:34
- Keep gun permit information open 2009-06-17 18:06:41
- Meeting in online forums? Officials should stick to in-person sessions 2009-06-17 18:02:24
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
Sunshine Guardians
No recent news. If you have news add it here
Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
[edit] External links
- TN.gov
- Tennessee Legislature
- Tennessee General Assembly
- Attorney General
- Contact the Governor
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
- Tennessee on State Budget Solutions
