Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act of 2025
The Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act of 2025 would require the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board to operate with greater public openness. Specifically, it would mandate that the TVA Board meet at least four times per year and treat a broad scope of board deliberations as “meetings” under the federal Government in the Sunshine Act (FOIA, section 552b). This means not only official votes but also deliberations by the full Board, its committees, and subcommittees would be subject to public access when appropriate. The bill also requires TVA to make meeting notices and related information publicly available on the Board’s website. It allows for emergency meetings to bypass the usual one-week notice requirement if designated by the Board chair, and it mandates ongoing publication of information that must be publicly disclosed under 5 U.S.C. 552b. However, the bill preserves certain exemptions: information about power availability requests and certain contract negotiations (including labor relations and procurement actions) could be withheld if disclosure would jeopardize TVA’s competitive position.
Key Points
- 1The Board must meet at least four times per year.
- 2The term “meeting” is expanded to include all deliberations by the Board, its committees, and subcommittees, even if not scheduled to take action.
- 3Public notice: meetings must be publicly announced, with notices published on TVA’s Board website.
- 4Emergency meetings: the standard one-week public notice can be bypassed if the Board chair designates an emergency special meeting.
- 5Exemptions: certain sensitive information (power availability requests and contract negotiations that could compromise competitive position) may be withheld from public disclosure.