Child abuse costs Tennessee billions each year, report estimates
Shelby County has among the lowest rates of confirmed first-time victims of abuse, while Stewart and Cocke counties log the highest.
Ian Round
Ian Round is The Daily Memphian’s state government reporter based in Nashville. He came to Tennessee from Maryland, where he reported on local politics for Baltimore Brew. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in December 2019.
There are 432 articles by Ian Round :
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June 2023
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State Government Laws make adoption easier and faster but raise questions
Tennessee leaders anticipate the end of legal abortion will lead to more children in foster care and say a package of adoption bills will speed the placement of kids in permanent, stable family situations.
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May 2023
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State Government TennCare to resume cuts in June after end of COVID public health emergency
Tennessee’s Medicaid agency expects to cut hundreds of thousands of people over the next year. Find out how to renew your coverage.
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State Government Gov. Lee signs executive order creating nuclear energy advisory council
But opponents of nuclear energy say harm to the environment and public health — including from mining and nuclear waste — outweigh the benefits of it being a low-carbon energy source.
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State Government Judge rejects Brian Kelsey’s request to withdraw guilty plea
Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey’s criminal campaign fraud case will not proceed to trial after a Middle Tennessee judge Tuesday rejected his request to withdraw his two guilty pleas.
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State Government‘Important first steps’: Department of Children’s Services begins to rebuild with higher pay, new housing
DCS Commissioner Margie Quin reported that no more children were sleeping in offices and the department has had success hiring since a state government-wide salary overhaul.
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State Government Special legislative session on gun safety scheduled for August
The announcement comes more than two weeks after lawmakers concluded their annual session without passing significant gun-safety legislation.
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State GovernmentLawmakers cut FedEx’s jet fuel tax duty from $32M to $1M over 10 years
State Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said the state’s lack of a cap on jet fuel taxes is part of the reason the Memphis International Airport doesn’t have more daily flights.
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State GovernmentFive proposed state laws on sentencing delayed or defeated
Among those were two bills introducing blended sentencing for juveniles, two bills creating harsher sentences for adults and one making it easier to transfer kids to adult court.
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April 2023
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State Government DOJ sues Tennessee to block trans youth health care ban
The DOJ Civil Rights Division argues SB1 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment in part because it “denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are.”
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Public Safety Brian Kelsey to appear in court May 16 for evidentiary hearing
Following his attempt to back out of a plea deal, former state Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) will appear in federal court in Nashville May 16 for an evidentiary hearing in his campaign fraud case.
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State Government Justin J. Pearson, Tennessee Three visit White House
“It’s just tragic to see what’s happening — in your state in particular,” Biden told state Reps. Justin J. Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson. “There’s nothing guaranteed about democracy. Every generation has to fight for it, and you all are doing just that.”
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State Government Tennessee General Assembly ends legislative session
The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned for the year on Friday, April 21, after a session defined by the short-lived expulsion of two young Black Democrats as well as a loud — and ultimately fruitless — effort at gun reform. -
State Government Lawmakers end session before Lee files red-flag bill
The General Assembly chose to end this year’s legislative session before Gov. Bill Lee could find someone to sponsor — or even file — his “temporary mental health order of protection” bill.
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State Government Tennessee General Assembly passes $56.2B fiscal year 2024 state budget
The budget includes Lee’s Transportation Modernization Act, a $3.3 billion infusion to the Tennessee Department of Transportation and local governments to build roads and expand highways with voluntary toll lanes.
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State Government TBI will not be required to analyze rape kits within 30 days as some hoped
Lawmakers put on ice a bill requiring the TBI to test rape kits in 30 days after bureau officials said it would be “exorbitantly expensive” to meet that goal.
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State Government Anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers’ funding cut from $100M to $20M
Gov. Lee proposed $100 million for the centers, which provide limited medical care and urge people not to terminate pregnancies. A Daily Memphian analysis found those centers’ revenue was about $20 million in 2020.
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State Government Governor proposes ‘extreme risk protection order’ bill for gun access
Lee said his proposal, which expands a law that applies to cases of domestic violence, balances the need to restrict gun access for people deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others with the need to protect the rights of gun owners.
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State Government Prosecutors call Brian Kelsey’s request to reverse guilty plea ‘meritless’
“There is no indication that the defendant did not understand his plea,” prosecutors wrote in documents filed Friday, April 14. “The defendant identifies no case in which a court has permitted a defendant so sophisticated to withdraw a valid plea so late with so little justification.”
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State Government Permitless carry bill for 18-year-olds delayed
A General Assembly bill allowing 18-year-olds to carry guns without permits was pushed to next year, but the state is already treating it as the law under a settlement that ended an age-discrimination lawsuit.
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State Government General Assembly kills red-flag bill days after Lee asked for one
Two days after Gov. Bill Lee asked lawmakers to pass an “extreme risk protection order” bill, one such bill sponsored by Democrats died without receiving a committee hearing.
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State Government Justin J. Pearson sworn back into Tennessee House of Representatives
Pearson was sworn in at the legislative plaza next to the State Capitol by Nashville General Sessions Judge Rachel Bell in front of a small group of gun safety advocates.
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State Government Gov. Lee proposes ‘red flag’ gun law
It’s the first gun-safety proposal Tennessee Republicans have made in the weeks following the Covenant School shooting, and follows a school-safety plan Lee offered last week.
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State Government Expelled Tennessee House reps retain counsel, including former US Attorney General
Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, whom Republicans expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives last week, have lawyered up.
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State Government Notable quotable: #TennesseeThree Nashville hearings
Some memorable moments from the Thursday, April 6 expulsion hearings against Justin Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, plus a bonus quote from country singer Margo Price.
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