(a) There is established within the office of the comptroller of the treasury an office of research and education accountability, which shall conduct research, analyses, evaluations, and other projects as may be assigned to it by the general assembly or the comptroller, or that the office may determine to be necessary to inform discussions and decisions in the general assembly.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 4-3-308
Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The office of research and education accountability shall be accorded access to and may examine any information, records, books, data, or reports maintained by any agency of this state, whether or not the information is subject to public inspection. Each agency shall fully cooperate with the office of research and education accountability in providing such access in the performance of the duties of the office. The office of research and education accountability shall maintain inviolate any privileged or confidential information so acquired and any record or writing so defined by law.(c) The office of research and education accountability shall report its findings annually to the general assembly.(d) As used in this section, “agency” means:
(1) Any department, board, commission, institution, office, or agency of state government; and(2) Any county, county having a metropolitan government, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, including any school district, school system, or special school district, and the state board of education acting on behalf of any special school listed in § 49-50-1001.
