Legislative

  In December, Governor Bill Lee announced a special session at the Tennessee General Assembly, which will being on January 19th and deal with education. Lawmakers of the 112th General Assembly will return to Nashville to address urgent issues facing Tennessee students and schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the General Assembly convenes in…

In November, the general election in Tennessee lacked much of the drama experienced in other states, as the Republicans generally maintained dominance on election night. Bill Hagerty scored a landslide victory in the race to replace the retiring U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander with more than 62% of the vote, and political newcomer Diana Harshbarger will now…

In October, Tennessee lawmakers and candidates alike continued to fundraise in anticipation of the November election. President Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty remain frontrunners in the Volunteer State and are expected to win by hefty margins. All 99 House seats are up for re-election this year, as are half of the Senate seats,…

This month, lawmakers at the Tennessee General Assembly worked and campaigned from their districts and continued fundraising. In November, half of the Senators and all of the Representatives are up for reelection. In September, Governor Lee (R-Franklin) announced an extension of the state of emergency, indicating that such a measure would stay in place as long as…

August was a busy month in the primary season in Tennessee and with the special legislative session called by Governor Lee.  In a U.S. Senate primary race, Bill Hagerty scored a surprisingly resounding victory over challenger Manny Sethi, in the race for the Republican nomination to succeed retiring Senator Lamar Alexander.  While the U.S. Senate…

In late June, Governor Bill Lee announced that he will call a special legislative session to take up a legislative measure to protect Tennessee businesses and schools from lawsuits associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. On the last day of session, the General Assembly failed to pass a comprehensive COVID-19 immunity bill, with the effort stalling in…

The 111th Tennessee General Assembly adjourned sine die just after 3 a.m. on June 19th with agreements on the budget, but the two chambers failed to come to terms on major legislative initiatives such as COVID-19 protection for businesses, certificate of need legislation, and telemedicine. This month’s adjournment lacked much of the pomp and circumstance…

The Cordell Hull Building came back to life in May as lawmakers reconvened in Nashville for committee meetings in advance of this week’s floor session.  In late May, the House was particularly busy, kicking things off with subcommittee meetings last week, following the long Memorial Day weekend.  Each of the House subcommittees generally took up…

This month, Governor Bill Lee announced that his safer at home order – which imposed a blanket closure of most businesses across Tennessee – will expire on April 30th and will not be renewed, thus opening the door for a majority of businesses in 89 of the state’s 95 counties to reopen on Friday, May…

On Thursday, March 19th, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a dramatically revised budget and recessed until June 1, 2020, following a series of unprecedented events in Tennessee’s history. In all, the month of March has been one Tennesseans would soon like to forget. The areas struck by the deadly tornadoes of March 4th are still early…