Government contractors safe from transparency after bills killed

Two Chamber of Commerce-opposed bills were defeated in the state House Wednesday with an outraged Rep. Ben West, D-Nashville, leading the charge against the proposals.

A House State and Local Government subcommittee refused to force limited liability companies (LLCs) to disclose the names of principals in their businesses if they contract with the government. A few minutes later, a bill to require Chambers of Commerce to hold open meetings if they receive public funds also was defeated on a voice vote.

Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, introduced both bills and came under attack by the Knoxville chamber this week for it. In a news release, the chamber said Niceley’s sponsorship “demonstrates his unfriendly position regarding business and economic development, particularly in the local area.”

The law now allows LLCs to keep secret the true owners of the company, and Niceley told the subcommittee that’s “recipe for corruption.”

If an LLC does business with government, “we need to know who really owns that LLC,” Niceley said. “This is an open government bill. I can’t see anything wrong with it. The only people who would fight it would be people who have something to hide.”

West angrily replied that he owns three LLCs with his wife and “we don’t fall in that category of corruption, I will assure you.”

West also opposed the bill to open Chamber of Commerce meetings to the public. He successfully amended it to exempt Nashville before the measure was defeated anyway.