Justin J. Pearson easily keeps state House District 86 seat
Pearson easily beat independent candidate Jeff Johnston in the second special general election this year for the seat covering the western edge of Shelby County.
Topic: Tennessee General Assembly
RSSThere are 231 article(s) tagged Tennessee General Assembly:
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August 2023
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July 2023
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Sixth Circuit upholds anti-trans law, but ‘chilling effect’ decreased access months earlier
This weekend’s ruling, allowing SB1 to take effect, isn’t what made gender-affirming care inaccessible for many people. That care had become less accessible in Tennessee — even for trans adults — since the bill was introduced in the General Assembly in November, before the legislative session even began.
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July 1, beginning of state’s fiscal year, brings avalanche of new laws
A huge number of new state laws take effect July 1, with the start of the 2024 fiscal year. But lawsuits and inaction by lawmakers make the absence of some laws as notable as the presence of others.
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Judges block state law banning teacher group from automatically deducting member dues
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May 2023
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Lawmakers 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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Five 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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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. -
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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Tennessee General Assembly approves $350M in Memphis stadium funding
The funding, which is part of Gov. Bill Lee’s budget for the coming year, was approved with an amendment to allow the cash to be used for all city-owned stadiums.
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Opinion: For Johnson, Jones and Pearson, both the facts and the law are against them
“If Johnson, Jones and Pearson think winning the argument means raising their personal profiles and raising lots of money to win safe Democratic seats, then the pounding and yelling seem to have paid off.”
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If Pearson is reappointed, is stadium funding in jeopardy? Probably not
The dispute over reappointing an ousted state legislator doesn’t appear to put Memphis stadium funding in jeopardy.
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Expelled Tennessee House reps retain counsel, including former US Attorney General
Nashville Metro Council returns Justin Jones to the Tennessee House
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Nashville Metro Council returns Justin Jones to the Tennessee House
One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House has been reinstated. Nashville’s governing council voted Monday to send Justin Jones straight back to the Legislature.
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Tennessee House Republicans expel Pearson and Jones but not Johnson
Tennessee Republicans voted to expel two Black Democrats, Justin Pearson of Memphis and Justin Jones of Nashville, on Thursday, April 6, for speaking out of turn during a gun-safety protest a week earlier.
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What happens now that Justin Pearson has been expelled from his House seat
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General Assembly introduces resolutions to expel Justin Pearson, two other Democrats
Tennessee Republicans on Monday, April 3, introduced resolutions to expel state Reps. Justin Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson after their protest in favor of gun-safety legislation last week. They could be voted on as soon as Thursday.
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House Speaker accuses Memphis Democrat, two others of ‘insurrection’
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House Speaker accuses Memphis Democrat, two others of ‘insurrection’
The Democrats — Reps. Gloria Johnson and Justin Jones — could face expulsion, along with Rep. Justin Pearson, who also participated in the protest. Pearson had no legislative committee assignments to be stripped from.
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General Assembly passes Gov. Lee’s $3.3 billion highway expansion plan
A massive protest for gun safety legislation on Thursday, March 30, overshadowed the passage of one of Gov. Bill Lee’s top priorities.
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Judge grants temporary injunction on ‘drag-ban’ law
The new state law, which prohibits drag shows where children might be present, would have gone into effect Saturday, April 1.
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March 2023
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Tennessee transgender legislation: A summary
Members of the LGBTQ+ community show concern as proposed Tennessee legislation targets drag shows and transgender issues.
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Memphis, national advocates rally for transgender youth rights
The rally was hosted by OUTMemphis and the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. Other participating organizations included Choices Memphis and My Sistah’s House Memphis.
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Significantly weakened abortion ban exception moves forward in General Assembly
Tennessee lawmakers are close to amending the state’s total abortion ban to allow doctors to terminate pregnancies to save patients’ lives. But the amended bill is more vague than the original about when abortion would be legal.
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February 2023
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Health care groups and big political donors silent on trans youth bill
None of the health care-related organizations that contribute the most heavily to Tennessee politicians is publicly opposing legislation that bans transgender health care for youth despite support for that care from leading medical associations.
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Tennessee House passes trans youth care ban, Bill Lee expected to sign
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Letter to the Editor: Two things to do to prevent gun thefts from cars
House Bill 1233 and Senate Bill 1029 — requiring people to attend a safety class if they fail to lock up guns in their vehicles or boats or if they don’t report gun thefts from a vehicle or boat within 24 hours — would be a small, but important, first step toward fixing the problem the Tennessee General Assembly created in 2021.
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Report details Tennessee youth mental challenges, access to care
About a quarter of Tennessee’s children suffer from mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral disorders, according to the report.
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Collierville, Germantown support returning more sales tax to municipalities
Both suburbs unanimously passed similar resolutions in their respective meetings Monday, taking a formal yet strong stance on the matter.
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Justin Pearson sworn in as newest Tennessee state representative — in a dashiki
In a General Assembly dominated by Republicans, an incident over the dress code was the first test of how freely Pearson can express his values — without antagonizing colleagues whose help he’ll need to pass legislation.
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‘Critical’ portion of Wolf River Greenway could get state funding
The $10.3 million, if it passes the Tennessee General Assembly, would fund a 5.5-mile stretch of the greenway between John F. Kennedy Park and the west end of Shelby Farms Park.
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