There are 425 article(s) tagged Bill Lee:

• May 2025

  • I-55 roundabout partially opens to traffic, new bridge next

    The $111 million roundabout near Downtown separates Interstate 55 traffic from local traffic and has been discussed for more than 15 years.

    By Bill Dries May 07, 2025

• January 2025

  • House speaker talks state’s ‘nuclear options’ if MSCS board fires Feagins

    “You cannot accept anymore that the lowest performing school system in our state is in Shelby County,” State House Speaker Cameron Sexton said while in Memphis. “There’s too many people. There’s too many new jobs coming in. It’s too important for our success.”

    By Bill Dries January 09, 2025

  • Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee tours Memphis’ xAI facility

    Lee was joined on the tour by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton — but not xAI founder Elon Musk. 

    By Bill Dries January 09, 2025

• December 2024

  • Gov. Lee pardons 43 including Memphis software engineer

    All of those pardoned by the governor have been out of prison for at least five years.

    By Bill Dries December 20, 2024

• November 2024

  • Tennessee’s new universal school voucher bill has GOP leaders on the same page

    The governor said he looks forward to delivering on his promise for more education choices for parents.

    By Marta W. Aldrich November 06, 2024

• October 2024

  • Two Memphis judges up for Tennessee appeals court seat

    Six finalists will be interviewed in November by the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments, which will then select three finalists to submit to Gov. Bill Lee.

    By Aarron Fleming October 25, 2024

  • Gov. Bill Lee touts Tennessee funding for Memphis-Arkansas Bridge

    Following a stroll down the narrow pedestrian walkway of the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, Bill Lee and other elected leaders got a briefing Tuesday, Oct. 22, on plans for the $800 million bridge to be completed in 2030.

    Related content:

    Memphis-Arkansas Bridge’s political history goes back to Boss Crump

    By Bill Dries October 23, 2024

• September 2024

  • Memphis Mayor Young, Tennessee Gov. Lee not happy with gun-control referendum

    Mayor Young says he still thinks the referendum is not the best approach, but told The Daily Memphian he understands the sentiment. Gov. Lee says the referendum is about finding a way to “circumvent the law.”

    By Bill Dries September 19, 2024

  • Bill Lee: Memphis fighting state is ‘last thing we need’

    “You can’t have 50 different cities with 50 different laws,” Lee said as the Memphis City Council pushes to put local gun-control measures on the November ballot. “Trying to override that is just picking a fight.”

    By Samuel Hardiman September 10, 2024

• July 2024

  • Gov. Lee touts ‘school choice’ at Republican convention

    Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who is chairman of the Republican Governors Association, also endorsed Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump as he talked about political unity by the nation’s Republican Governors in resisting Democratic policies.

    By Bill Dries July 16, 2024

• June 2024

  • Gov. Lee says state not part of Memphis’ pursuit of xAI

    The governor also discussed education after the passage of the third-grade retention law during a Wednesday, June 12, visit to Winchester Elementary School’s summer-learning academy.

    By Bill Dries June 13, 2024

• April 2024

  • ‘A real hodgepodge’ — local leaders react as education voucher bill stalls

    Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee campaigned on vouchers in both 2018 and 2022, but the bill’s chances of becoming law appeared in jeopardy last week. Lawmakers questioned the cost, the effect on private schools and the changing nature of the legislation.

    By Abigail Warren April 22, 2024

• February 2024

  • Gov. Lee proposes 2025 budget in sixth State of the State address

    “The state of our state is strong, resilient and ready for the future,” Gov. Bill Lee told the audience of state lawmakers and other officials within the House chamber at the Tennessee State Capitol in Downtown Nashville.

    Related story:

    Gov. Lee proposes $1.2 billion in business tax refunds, $410 million annual cut

    By Ian Round February 06, 2024

• January 2024

  • On education, Gov. Lee has gotten everything he’s asked for

    Bill Lee has held office as a “conservative education revolution” has swept states controlled by Republicans.

    By Ian Round January 01, 2024

• December 2023

  • Gov. Lee and Speaker Sexton defend expanded school vouchers in Frayser

    Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton say the fine print of a new, expanded school-voucher bill will include accountability standards for private schools and home-schooled students.

    By Bill Dries December 13, 2023

• November 2023

  • Bill Lee pushes for statewide school voucher expansion, no income limits

    State lawmakers narrowly approved the so-called education savings accounts initiative for the three counties in 2019.

    By The Associated Press November 28, 2023

  • With revenue ‘returning to normal,’ state talks fiscal year 2025

    Economists say the days of massive budget surpluses are over, but the state remains in a solid financial position. And the economy is not in a recession.

    By Ian Round November 12, 2023

• October 2023

  • Kustoff and Lee urge support for Israel in visit to Margolin Hebrew Academy

    U.S. Rep. David Kustoff and Tenneessee Gov. Bill Lee visited the East Memphis school to also look over new security measures funded with state and federal grants since a July incident on campus.

    By Bill Dries October 31, 2023

• August 2023

  • Lee calls for narrow look at gun control measures

    Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a formal call for a special session of the Legislature to begin Aug. 21 in the Capitol. It includes mental health orders of protection, with a lot of conditions, among the topics to be considered.

    By Bill Dries August 09, 2023

  • HVAC manufacturer to invest $18M in Memphis expansion

    RedDot said Tuesday that the new project will result 50 new jobs in Shelby County. 

    By Rob Moore August 08, 2023

• July 2023

  • Manufacturer to invest more than $790M in BlueOval supplier facilities, create 1,300 jobs

    One of the world’s largest automotive suppliers will build the first two supplier facilities at Ford’s BlueOval City supplier park in Stanton, Tennessee.

    By Rob Moore July 21, 2023

  • Memphis’ state technical college gets $89 million for new campus

    Tennessee officials approved just under $718 million to rebuild the state’s technical colleges on Thursday.

    By Ian Round July 13, 2023

• June 2023

  • Gov. Lee asks schools, law enforcement to apply for school safety grants

    Gov. Bill Lee announced Wednesday the rollout of $194 million in grants to fund armed guards in every public school and security upgrades at all schools.

    By Ian Round June 22, 2023

  • I-55 bridge will close this weekend

    The multi-year project includes the construction of a new roundabout and is designed to allow I-55 traffic to avoid the “cloverleaf” at Crump. 

    By Rob Moore, Bill Dries June 05, 2023

  • Gov. Lee talks drag law court ruling, Sen. Hagerty talks debt ceiling vote

    Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty talked about several topics, including the federal court ruling declaring the state’s ban on drag shows unconstitutional and the federal debt ceiling.

    By Bill Dries June 05, 2023