NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The state department that oversees the plaza where Occupy Nashville members camped out for months has filed new rules for the use of that space.
The rules from the Department of General Services allow free public use of the War Memorial Plaza and Courtyard, next to the state Capitol, but prohibit camping there overnight.
That prohibition has little practical impact since the General Assembly already passed a bill earlier this year prohibiting camping on state land not specifically designated for the purpose. That bill established a legal basis for removing Occupy protesters from the plaza after a federal judge ruled that a hastily drawn-up curfew policy violated protesters rights.
The new rules go into effect on November 20.