Gov. Bill Lee bumped up the starting annual salary for corrections officers from $32,500 to $44,500.

State Rep. Torrey Harris said the boundaries of state Rep. London Lamar’s district were extended by several blocks, just enough to include his home at South McLean Boulevard and Union Avenue, according to a tentative map House Republicans allowed him to see.

The Tennessee Department of Education would be prohibited from providing funding for undocumented students under a new Republican proposal, the legality of which was immediately questioned by immigrant advocates.

The decision doesn’t declare a statewide mask mandate, nor does it force school districts to require universal masking. But it does prevent students from opting out of mask mandates if their schools have them.

“(Dozens of) other states don’t have to do a single thing for FedEx, and yet we’re doing almost $150 million worth of tax breaks,” state Sen. Todd Gardenhire said Tuesday.

The coronavirus Omicron variant isn’t in Tennessee yet — or, at least, no cases have been identified — but state Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said Monday, Dec. 6, that she expects it to arrive within a few weeks.

Andre Mathis spends a great deal of time on service, much of it to the Memphis neighborhoods where he was raised. He could be the first Black man from Tennessee confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Jeffrey Wayne Hughes’ hearing signals the likely end to his case against the Board of Parole, since a hearing is what he wanted. The board won’t be able to win similar cases in the future with the Nashville judge’s decision on the books.

Chancellor Anne Martin of the Davidson County Chancery Court ordered the Board of Parole to redetermine one man’s release eligibility date, writing the board’s actions were “inconsistent with all principles of due process.”

Early reaction among the city’s representatives in Washington the day of the House vote approving the $2 trillion Biden adminstration domestic agenda focused on a provision that would expand TennCare coverage that the Tennessee Legislature has refused to expand.

Gov. Bill Lee tweeted at 8:30 this morning he would not renew Tennessee’s state of emergency after it expires tonight.

Germantown Municipal School District reverses course, returns to masking Tuesday. 

Schools throughout Shelby County will likely continue masking despite sweeping COVID-19 laws that went into effect late Friday afternoon.

Gov. Bill Lee Friday, Nov. 12, allowed widespread bans on COVID-related mandates to become law — some with his signature and some not.

Memphis Regional Megasite of West Tennessee: The Haywood County site no longer includes a reference to the city of Memphis. Now, it’s officially the Megasite of West Tennessee.

TennCare could owe the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars, according to an audit. But at a budget hearing last week, neither Gov. Bill Lee nor any members of his panel asked about it.

At a week of budget hearings, Gov. Bill Lee’s cabinet officials said they can’t compete in the labor market.

Shelby County Commissioners also reacted Monday to the pandemic legislation that came out of a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly. 

State Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) surrendered his passport and pleaded not guilty to five counts of campaign violations and fraud in federal District Court in Nashville.

Tennessee Republicans are firmly anti-mandate today. But in 2013, they supported a requirement that college students get vaccinated against meningitis.

Legislators voted to allow, but not require, partisan school board elections. The legislature also reviewed a number of bills related COVID-19 measures.

Related story:

Legislators approve bill limiting Health Department autonomy

Tennessee has been under a governor-issued emergency declaration since pandemic began.

The bill amending the Health Department’s power is headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.

Related story:

Partisan school board elections approved among COVID-19 bills

The bill would give the Tennessee health commissioner the authority to determine uniform quarantine guidelines for the state and appoint county health directors.

Earlier this month, a federal grand jury in Nashville handed down a five-count indictment against Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey and a Nashville social club owner.