§ 11-1-102 — Records and equipment of various divisions kept by department

(a) All records, equipment and properties of the division of geology and the former Tennessee state park and forestry commission shall be kept in the department of environment and conservation. (b) All records, equipment and properties of the division of forestry shall be kept in the department of agriculture. (c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the following records as defined by § 10-7-503 of any division of the department of environment and conservation shall be confidential and shall not be open for inspection by members of the public: (1) Concerning radioactive materials regulated by the United States nuclear regulatory commission or by a state under an agreement with the nuclear regulatory commission pursuant to § 274(b) of the Atomic Energy Act ( 42 U.S.C. § 2021(b) ), that are not available to the public under federal law, regulation, or guidance, or nuclear regulatory commission regulatory issue summary; provided, that records made confidential pursuant to this subdivision (c)(1) may be redacted whenever possible and made open for inspection and copying; (2) Disclosing the specific location of threatened, endangered, or rare species that would not be available to the public under the federal law or regulation; (3) (A) Relating to a guest's use of state parks, including a state park guest's: (i) Name; (ii) Home or mobile telephone number; (iii) Address, including the street address or post office box number, city, state, and zip code; (iv) Social security number; (v) Email address; (vi) Reservation, rescheduling, and cancellation information; (vii) Transaction information, including but not limited to purchases of goods or services; provided, however, that this subdivision (c)(3)(A)(vii) does not apply to aggregated statistical information that does not contain personally identifying information; (viii) Payment and refund information, including, but not limited to, bank account, credit card, and gift certificate or gift card information; (ix) Driver license information; (x) Vehicle registrations, including, but not limited to, automobiles, boats, and off-highway vehicles; and (xi) Emergency contact information; (B) Nothing in subdivision (c)(3)(A) limits: (i) Access to information made confidential pursuant to subdivision (c)(3)(A): (a) By law enforcement agencies, courts, or other governmental agencies performing official functions; (b) When a guest expressly authorizes the release of such information; or (c) By a person seeking a report of a motor vehicle accident in accordance with § 10-7-504(a)(31)(B) ; or (ii) The creation and release of an internal investigation report to persons identified within the report, unless the report is subject to a legal privilege against disclosure; or (4) Containing information regarding the specific location of a site or artifact if the commissioner or the commissioner's designee determines that disclosure of such records would create a substantial risk of damage to or destruction of either the historical value of such site or artifact or private property. For purposes of this subdivision (c)(4), "site" and "artifact" have the same meaning as defined in § 11-6-102 .

Legislative History

Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 26, Secs.s 1, s 2eff. 3/10/2023. Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 630, Secs.s 1, s 2eff. 4/2/2018. Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 125, s 1, eff. 4/12/2017. Acts 1937, ch. 33, § 70-a; 1949, ch. 283, § 1; C. Supp. 1950, § 255.64 (Williams, § 255.74); impl. am. Acts 1959, ch. 9, §11; impl. am. Acts 1963, ch. 169, § 3; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 11-102; Acts 1992, ch. 693, §10; 2007 , ch. 198, § 1.