Bill > HB1640

This bill designates records of the Tennessee office of homeland security related to critical infrastructure as confidential, meaning they are exempt from public records requests. This includes information about protected critical infrastructure facilities and the security of such infrastructure, as well as records concerning the identification, analysis, prevention, and mitigation of acts of terrorism or criminal threats against this infrastructure. The bill also makes confidential records detailing vulnerability or security assessment information for specific locations, such as risk assessments, schematics, and cybersecurity configurations, though video footage of alleged crimes would still be public unless it contains such protected information. Additionally, records involving intelligence sharing with partners that reveal security capabilities or specific threat indicators, and records regarding threats against public officials or other protected individuals, are also to be kept confidential. However, this confidentiality does not apply to investigations of alleged misconduct by law enforcement officers, excessive use of force, or violations of department policies, nor does it require redaction of information from judicial records like warrants. The bill clarifies that costs associated with private-sector partners are not confidential, but the identity of those partners is. Finally, basic information about arrests and crimes, including offense descriptions and incident narratives, will still be released unless otherwise confidential by law.