In gun law push, Tennessee governor’s office memo says NRA prefers to ‘round up mentally ill people’
June 2, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's administration accused the National Rifle Association of wanting to use involuntary commitment laws “to round up mentally ill people and deprive them of other liberties,” according to documents drafted by the Republican's staffers as part of their initial attempt to pass a gun control proposal earlier this year.
Bill Lee, jazz musician who worked with Bob Dylan and on son Spike Lee’s early movies, dies at 94
May 24, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Bill Lee, a well-regarded jazz musician who accompanied such artists as Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel and Harry Belafonte as well as scoring four of his son Spike’s early films, including the hit “Do the Right Thing” and two songs for "Jungle Fever," has died.
Tennessee governor signs off on eliminating community boards with police oversight power
May 18, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed off on legislation that will gut Tennessee's community oversight boards and instead replace those panels with review committees that have no power to investigate police misconduct allegations.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday signed into law legislation designed to place more school resource officers in Tennessee public and private schools, funnel additional money into school security upgrades, and require every school to submit annual safety plans to the state.
Tennessee governor schedules special session to address guns
May 8, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Monday announced that he would call lawmakers back to the state's Capitol on Aug. 21 for a special session after the Republican-led Legislature adjourned earlier this year without taking on gun control.
Lee: Tennessee education commissioner leaving at end of year
May 1, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn is leaving the state department at the end of the school year, Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday.
Schwinn will be succeeded by Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, who currently serves as vice president for ExcelinEd — an education think tank founded by former Republican Florida Gov.
Tennessee Gov. Lee says session on guns likely after July 4
April 28, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that a special lawmaking session dedicated to possible changes to the state's gun laws in the wake of a deadly school shooting last month would likely have to take place after July 4.
Tennessee governor signs narrow abortion exemption bill
April 28, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's abortion ban, known as one of the strictest in the United States, will now include an extremely narrow exemption under legislation signed into law by Republican Gov.
Tennessee Legislature wraps up; will reconvene on gun reform
April 22, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's Republican-led Legislature finished its annual session Friday without taking action on a gun control plan offered by the GOP governor in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Christian school in Nashville.
Tennessee gun-control push at crossroads as proposal stalls
April 21, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chances are shrinking fast for a key gun-control proposal to make it through the Tennessee Legislature in the wake of a deadly school shooting, as GOP lawmakers push back against the Republican governor’s proposal to keep firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others.
Tenn. nears voucher growth, teacher dues limit with pay bump
April 19, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Tennessee on Wednesday put themselves a step away from expanding a school voucher program from two counties to four and raising the minimum teacher salary in a bill that also bans educators from deducting dues for professional organizations from their paychecks.
As shootings hit close to home, govs wrestle with next steps
April 11, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two weeks after one of his wife's closest friends was killed in a Nashville school shooting, Gov.
New Tennessee law allows police officers in private schools
March 31, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday signed a law allowing private schools to contract with local law enforcement so they can hire school resource officers, days after a Nashville shooting at a private Christian school left six dead, including three children.
Tenn. advances push to allow express toll lanes, hike EV fee
March 20, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A roads funding push by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee that would allow express toll lanes to be built on some highways and would increase fees on drivers with electric or hybrid vehicles cleared a key hurdle with state lawmakers on Monday.
Tennessee eyes 18+ gun-carry age with court or Capitol deal
March 16, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two years after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee led the charge to allow residents 21 and older to carry handguns in public without a permit, younger adults could soon have the same privilege, with or without the governor's signoff.
Paid express lanes grow more popular in once-reluctant South
March 4, 2023 GMTTrucker Tim Chelette has been making the same twice-daily drive for 16 years hauling empty whiskey barrels from Louisville, Kentucky, to the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee, yet his workday keeps getting longer due to time lost in Nashville traffic.
As Tennessee, others target drag shows, many wonder: Why?
March 2, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — “If I hadn’t been a girl, I’d have been a drag queen.”
Dolly Parton has uttered those words famously and often. But if she really were a drag queen, one of Tennessee’s most famous daughters would likely be out of a job under legislation signed into law by Republican Gov.
Tenn. governor vows to sign anti-drag bill as photo surfaces
February 28, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Lee says it would be “ridiculous” to conflate a recently surfaced yearbook photo of him wearing women's clothing in high school to drag show performances currently under attack in Tennessee and other GOP-led states.
Tennessee advances bill to narrowly loosen abortion ban
February 15, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s GOP-dominant Statehouse on Tuesday took a first step toward loosening one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, advancing a narrow exemption bill over threats from anti-abortion advocates that doing so would come with political retribution.
Tennessee closes in on trans youth care ban; lawsuit pledged
February 14, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's Republican-led Senate approved a measure Monday that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, spurring civil rights groups to promise an immediate lawsuit if and when it becomes law.
Tennessee House speaker mulls rejecting US education money
February 9, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One of Tennessee's most influential Republican lawmakers says the state should stop accepting the nearly $1.8 billion of federal K-12 education dollars that help provide support for low-income students, English learners and students with disabilities.
Roads, parks, tax breaks: A look at Tenn. Gov. Lee’s budget
February 7, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Monday unveiled a $55.6 billion state budget proposal stocked with cash for roads, state parks, tax cuts for businesses, state employee pay boosts and more.
Tennessee Gov. Lee proposes $100M for anti-abortion centers
February 7, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brushing aside calls to tweak one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States, Tennessee Gov.
Full text of Gov. Bill Lee’s State of the State address
February 7, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Thank you very much. Lieutenant Governor McNally, Speaker Sexton, Speaker Pro Tem Haile, Speaker Pro Tem Marsh, Members of the 113th General Assembly, Justices, Constitutional Officers, cabinet members, staff members, friends, family:
Gov. Lee appoints Dwight Tarwater to Tennessee Supreme Court
February 2, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday announced that he's selected his predecessor's one-time lead legal counsel, Dwight Tarwater, to serve on the state's highest court.
Tarwater will replace outgoing Justice Sharon Lee upon her retirement on Aug.
Tenn. first lady to get bone marrow transplant for lymphoma
February 2, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's wife is preparing to undergo a bone marrow transplant in the next phase of her treatment for lymphoma.
In a statement Thursday, the Republican governor said the initial phase of first lady Maria Lee’s treatment has gone well following her diagnosis in August.
Tenn. GOP lawmakers block questions on cuts to HIV funding
February 1, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Tennessee on Wednesday continued to block Democratic lawmakers from questioning the newly appointed health czar's contentious decision to forgo nearly $9 million in federal funding designed to prevent and treat HIV.
2 Tenn. officials fired after lethal injection errors noted
January 19, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Correction has fired its longtime top attorney and another employee following a scathing independent report on failures within the state's lethal injection system.
Tennessee offering grants to rescue squads
January 17, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —
Tennessee officials are encouraging rescue squads to apply for grant money to purchase lifesaving equipment.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office said in a news release $2 million has been set aside to help rescue squads across the state.
Abortion, roads, trans youth top Tennessee lawmaking session
January 9, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As Tennessee lawmakers head into an annual legislative session on Tuesday, some fights are already underway — over whether the state's strict abortion ban needs exceptions, if express toll lanes and electric vehicle fee hikes can help solve roadwork needs, and how restrictive Republicans want the law to be regarding transgender youth health treatment.
Tennessee Gov. Lee’s 2nd term inauguration set for Jan. 21
January 9, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The inauguration for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s second term is set later this month.
The Republican’s office says he will take the oath of office on Jan. 21 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville in a joint convention of the state House and Senate.
Judge: Tennessee must release consultant COVID response docs
January 6, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge has ordered Gov. Bill Lee’s administration to release consultant reports that recommend how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic — documents the state argued should remain secret under public records law.
Tennessee names Arizona official as Correction commissioner
January 3, 2023 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee announced a new Department of Correction commissioner on Tuesday.
Frank Strada is deputy director for the Arizona Department of Corrections, where he oversees prison operations, inmate programs, public affairs, facilities management and financial services, according to a news release from Gov.
Report shines new light on execution secrecy in Tennessee
December 29, 2022 GMTNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When multiple pharmaceutical companies objected to Tennessee using their drugs to kill death row inmates several years back, the scramble to find lethal injection chemicals needed to carry out state-sanctioned executions grew frantic.