Open Meetings - As enacted, permits a court to award the reasonable court costs and attorney's fees to a petitioner successfully proving that a governing body knowingly and willfully violated the public meetings laws in this state. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 4, Part 6 and Title 8, Chapter 44, Part 1.

This bill allows Tennessee courts to order government bodies to pay the legal fees and court costs of citizens who successfully prove that a public meeting was knowingly and willfully conducted in violation of state open meetings laws. Under the new provision, a judge has the discretion to award these expenses to petitioners who demonstrate that a governing body intentionally refused to follow public meeting requirements. The law also directs courts to consider guidance provided by the Office of Open Records Counsel when deciding if a violation was willful. By shifting the financial burden of enforcement to the violating entity, the measure aims to strengthen compliance with existing transparency rules without changing the core requirements for holding public meetings.