Chancellor will study TNInvestco litigation before ruling

Following about two hours of oral arguments by counsel to the parties this afternoon, Davidson County Chancery Court Chancellor Russell Perkins said he would issue his opinion in the Coleman v. Farr-Kisber TNInvestco public-records access lawsuit in about a week, targeting February 23. Although no new major themes seemed to arise during the hearing and Chancellor Perkins acknowledged the need for expedited handling of access requests, the judge said the weighty issues embedded in the case call for ample consideration. Among other things, points of interrelated state and federal laws and common law were raised. At one point in his limited give and take with lawyers, Chancellor Perkins noted the fact that Attorney General Robert Cooper has weighed-in with an affirmation of the need for State confidentiality for certain TNInvestco information. Such an affirmation is required by law. Franklin-based VC Larry Coleman demands access to TNInvestco documents, arguing that disclosure of scoring forms and other data -- with some sensitive information redacted, as necessary -- would serve to illuminate the process of picking TNInvestco winners sufficiently to determine whether or not the commissioners followed state law in executing the program. Much of the discussion today centered around whether TNInvestco scoring matrices, once redacted, would still be confidential tax documents; and, whether by mentioning their use of the matrices in selecting TNInvestco winners the commissioners had somehow waived any privileges they might enjoy related to non-release of the scoring documents. Today's hearing was in Metro Nashville's historic courthouse (pictured above). Our preliminary report on this, earlier today.

TCPR weighs-in on TNInvestco

Tennessee Center for Policy Research Interim Executive Director Clint Brewer (left), formerly editor of The City Paper in Nashville and a former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, weighed-in Friday on what he characterizes as the State's efforts to maintain "secrecy" around the TNInvestco program, rather than simply protect the confidentiality of corporate and state information the confidentiality of which they consider crucial to state economic development efforts. Last August, Brewer also raised the spectre of inappropriate insurance-industry ties among some TNInvestco legislative sponsors. Full VNC coverage of TNInvestco here.

TNInvestco redux

Administration officials, lobbyists and members of the General Assembly are slowly swinging into action to expand and otherwise tweak the State's new capital-formation program. The story's here.

TNInvestco, Space Institute in focus

State Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) tells VNC he'd like to see TNInvestco expanded and the mission of the UT Space Institute broadened, and the organization renamed. Read about it here.

TNInvestco spurs ThrottleUp

The ThrottleUp venture forum is part of the Innovation Imperative conference in Knoxville, which appears in our recent Calendar of Venture events. Today's News Sentinel points out that entrants in ThrottleUp 2009 entrepreneurs competition for venture funding should be particularly eager to apply by Sept. 17 because of new funding available the next fews years under the TNInvestco capital-formation program launched by the state.

VC incentives approved by General Assembly

[Update 5:52 p.m.] There's $120MM on tap for Tennessee-based startups...now that both Tennessee House and Senate have approved a new investment-company incentive, dubbed TSBICCA, which has been in debate since January. Pro or con, read about it here.