Republican lawmakers in Tennessee advanced a proposal Tuesday to allow some teachers to carry handguns on public school grounds.

The state’s push to remove two judgeships in Memphis faces resistance locally and from some Tennessee legislators who say Shelby County still needs the seats, particularly Division 9 of the Criminal Court.

Nine women and two doctors have launched a legal battle alleging current law violates pregnant patients' right to life as guaranteed by the state’s constitution. They want the judicial panel to clarify the circumstances that qualify patients to legally receive an abortion.

The bill says the video, produced by an anti-abortion group, must be shown as part of a school’s family life curriculum.

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Black lawmakers and community leaders said state leaders, a majority of whom are white, are unfairly targeting Tennessee State University.

Bill Lee signed a law that nullifies a Memphis ordinance that banned pretextual stops, which was passed in 2023 after Tyre Nichols’ death.

Polling by Voices for a Safer Tennessee suggests most Tennesseans support the moderate gun laws they are proposing, like universal background checks.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd, who had been out on a $5,000 bond since Dec. 13, was taken into custody Wednesday.

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Vote on embattled judge’s removal set for April

The bill that would help fund FedExForum renovations by allowing Shelby County to reallocate hotel-motel tax dollars to the project cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, March 27.

“We kind of have a volume problem,” OUTMemphis executive director Molly Quinn said of the at least 18 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly this year.

The Volunteer State is just one of three states where name, photographs and likeness are considered a property right rather than a right of publicity.

The local government audit unit of the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office issued its report Thursday, March 21, on incorrect revenue figures from the Shelby County Clerk’s office after a three-week investigation that included a week in Memphis.

At issue are concerns that the state’s franchise tax violates a U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause provision, which bans states from passing laws that burden interstate commerce.

State lawmakers advanced legislation Tuesday that would put fewer fourth graders at risk of being held back this year under Tennessee’s 2021 reading law.

State Sen. Brent Taylor told The Daily Memphian Monday morning that he is working on a bill allowing Shelby County to reallocate hotel-motel tax funding to cover the public financing gap for the Downtown Memphis arena’s renovations. 

The weighted caseload study could impact the amount of resources or number of judges Shelby County’s judicial district could have.

The bill comes amid heightened scrutiny of Shelby County’s criminal justice system by Republican lawmakers and the Board of Judicial Conduct.

Tyre Nichols’ parents have released a letter asking to sit down with Gov. Bill Lee before he signs a bill that would ban traffic stop ordinances like the one passed by the Memphis City Council.

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Tyre Nichols’ parents furious after meeting with state Sen. Brent Taylor

The vote comes as Boyd, who was elected in August 2022, faces felony charges of coercion and harassment, in addition to professional discipline for an ethical lapse and addiction to drugs and alcohol.

A state House subcommittee has rejected a bill for this session that would have given Shelby County residents an opportunity to vote for a sales tax increase to fund a new jail.

“When local governments restrict police officers from carrying out their sworn duty to uphold our laws, we make every community in Tennessee more dangerous,” said State Rep. John Gillespie, who sponsored the law.

A proposed bill could change how local hotel and motel tax is distributed; any reallocation of the existing hotel-motel tax would likely mean Memphis Tourism losing revenue. 

Shelby County Circuit Court Division 7 Judge Mary Wagner, who was appointed to the court last month, was confirmed with a majority vote in the state House and a unanimous vote in the Senate. 

No one at the state level has endorsed the concept of separating the court system in Memphis from the suburbs and unincorporated areas. It would be complicated, with issues both political and constitutional.