While in Nashville asking the Legislature for support for the Rock ’n‘ Soul Museum, Priscilla Presley was given the highest civilian award Tennessee can bestow.

A couple of bills that would completely eliminate the 4% sales tax on groceries were introduced to the 114th General Assembly — and they have bipartisan support.

Tennessee currently has no law on the books that deals explicitly with gun switches.

The bill requires TDOT to work with local communities to create a policy regarding the collection and disposal of personal property used for camping near or around state and interstate highways.

A bill requiring Tennessee school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting students from using cellphones and other “wireless communication devices” during instruction time passed in the state House of Representatives Monday.

Two bills seeking to restrict the sale and manufacture of hemp-derived cannabinoids in Tennessee passed through the state House of Representatives Criminal Justice subcommittee last week.

The legislation, filed Thursday, Feb. 27, comes after the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted in October to begin the process of giving final say to the residents in a 2026 referendum.

The appointment of Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Valerie Smith is one of two announced Friday by Gov. Bill Lee. They are effective upon confirmation by the Tennessee General Assembly.

Eighty-six members of the Greater Memphis Chamber traveled to Nashville to meet with state legislators, officers and cabinet heads to advocate for issues relevant to the local business community.

Brian Kelsey is now an inmate at FCI Ashland in Kentucky, according to a federal Bureau of Prisons database.

A large volume of court-reform bills filed by Shelby County legislators will appear in Tennessee House of Representatives and Senate committee hearings in coming weeks.

The bill comes as a separate bridge — America’s River Crossing — is slated to begin construction by the fall of 2026. 

The operator of the last charter schools in the Tennessee’s turnaround district asks to continue managing them under Memphis-Shelby County Schools before state takeover.

Tennessee Rep. Mark White, the House Education Committee chair, has been working on the legislation for at least the last month.

The former state senator’s most recent attempt to stay out of prison alleged government misconduct and that his legal counsel was ineffective.

“All we have is our voice, and you’ve restricted that by saying, ... ‘We don’t want to hear your voice,’” state Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, said during a Jan. 14 rules committee hearing on bill limitations.

Gov. Bill Lee is pushing for a major revision to Tennessee charter school law to create ways for operators to bypass their local elected school boards.

The first resolution proposes an amendment to expand the rights of crime victims, and the second would remove a defendant’s right to bail for certain violent offenses.

While the $447 million initiative has been touted as a “universal” program for anyone interested, Republican leaders included a key provision: Students living in the country illegally will be prohibited from participating.

In a letter to representatives of both the Board of Judicial Conduct and the Board of Professional Responsibility, state Sen. Brent Taylor asked for investigations into both Steve Mulroy and Judge Paula Skahan. 

State Rep. John Gillespie, R-Memphis, and state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, have proposed a bill allowing Shelby County to ask voters if they want to raise the local-option sales tax from 2.75% to 3.75%.

Gov. Bill Lee’s inclusion of a proposed Downtown safety program comes as the city has embarked on a plan for hardening security on FedExForum game nights.

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State of the State: Gov. Lee proposes $1B toward $30B road projects backlog

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Monday proposed more than $1 billion into road projects financed by a one-time use of general state tax money and a plan to shift $80 million annually from the sales tax on tires.

The legislation would directly challenge a more than 40-year-old precedent that ensures all children access to a free public education regardless of immigration status.