Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Valerie Smith has been confirmed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Bills targeting the taking and distribution of unauthorized intimate photos and expanding rights for such victims were not only passed but received a standing ovation in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Amid a national measles outbreak, the Tennessee Department of Health says a Middle Tennessee resident is the state’s first confirmed measles case this year. 

U.S. Rep. John Rose announced Thursday his candidacy for Tennessee governor in 2026, putting him on a likely collision course with U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who also appears set on running.

The comptroller’s report calls for greater transparency regarding criminal justice data. 

A proposal in Tennessee that would require educational institutions that house students overnight to separate bathrooms “by immutable biological sex” is headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his approval.

The proposal would transfer authority to a state-appointed board for at least four years.

Memphis Republican Rep. Mark White, the bill’s sponsor, has yet to file his proposal as a legislative amendment, meaning the concrete details aren’t yet available to review.

The bill gives local education agencies the ability to deny enrollment to students unlawfully present in the United States.

The proposal, aimed at removing juvenile access to vaping products and decreasing the industry’s reliance on China, would also pull many vapes off Tennessee shelves. 

The proposed legislation would allow public school districts to charge thousands of dollars in tuition if students can’t prove they are U.S. citizens or are in the country legally. 

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.