County Public Records Commission

In 1959, the Tennessee General Assembly first made provision in the Tennessee Code for the creation of a county public records commission.^[1]Although the creation of the commission was optional at the time, the organization and responsibilities of the commission under the 1959 law were very similar to what one finds in the state law today. The express purpose of the commission is “to provide for the orderly disposition of public records created by agencies of county government.” ^[2]While minor revisions and additions to the statutes regarding this commission have occurred over the last few decades, the most significant change in the county public records commission occurred in the mid-1990s, when the legislature amended the law to mandate the creation of this body.^[3]Ever since 1994, every county in Tennessee has been required by law to have a County Public Records Commission.