NASHVILLE – The Legislature adopted Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher legislation to use public dollars to send children to private schools in a hotly-contested compromise report despite doubts raised about its long-term financial implications.

The state Senate approved a $38.6 billion budget for fiscal 2019-20 with a variety of tax cuts while adding $220 million to bolster the rainy day fund and give teachers pay increases totaling $71 million.

Legislation setting up an online gambling sports network in Tennessee passed the Senate on Tuesday, potentially bringing in $50 million in wagering revenue annually, a measure that will become law without the governor's signature.

Responding to an increase in distracted-driving crashes, the Legislature is outlawing the handling of cell phones by motorists.

NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account bill is headed for a conference committee where House and Senate members will try to hammer out differences, mainly over immigration verification and homeschooling.

NASHVILLE – The state Senate is restoring $2.5 million to a Tom Lee Park improvements project and earmarking $2.5 million from a different source for a Germantown Performing Arts Center amphitheater.

NASHVILLE – House Finance, Ways & Means Committee Chairwoman Susan Lynn said Monday she expects the House to accept a Senate voucher bill Monday afternoon.

Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools – targeted by Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings accounts bill – are threatening a lawsuit against the state, contending the legislation is unconstitutional.

With major sticking points between the House and Senate on Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account bill, the legislation is likely headed for a conference committee, lawmakers say, where even a compromise plan’s result is unpredictable.

The Tennessee Senate approved legislation Thursday penalizing paid voter registration drives that turn in large numbers of incomplete forms and fail to train workers, legislation spurred by a 2018 Tennessee Black Voter Project drive.

The state Senate passed Gov. Bill Lee's education savings account bill Thursday after a 20-13 vote, enabling public dollars to be used for private education.

The state House of Representatives approved a nearly $38.6 billion budget Wednesday, including $27.3 million to fund a TennCare program for severely disabled children and $18 million in pork barrel money, which could be a hurdle in Senate budget talks.

The House pushed an online sports betting bill to the finish line Wednesday, enabling people to use a computer or phone app to wager on sporting events.

Rather than go home for the year without passing substantive abortion legislation, the House and Senate on Monday both adopted bills banning abortions if federal law is reversed.

NASHVILLE – The House of Representatives barely passed Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher legislation after a historic 40-minute deadlock Tuesday that saw one member flip his vote to push the bill to passage by the narrowest of margins.

With a vote set for Monday, Shelby County Democratic lawmakers are castigating a bill from the Secretary of State’s Office penalizing paid voter registration drives for failing to undergo training and for turning in incomplete forms.

State Senate candidates would be able to collect nearly a half-million dollars from political action committees under legislation sponsored by state Sen. Brian Kelsey and approved Thursday in the Senate.

Senate and House pass subpoena guidelines for community oversight boards mirroring Memphis’ rules requiring its Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board to go through the city council.

The state Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation Thursday carried by state Sen. Brian Kelsey establishing a charter commission with authority to overrule local school boards and run charter schools.

House Republicans amended Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account bill to move money into rural districts with Priority schools before it was approved Wednesday night by the Finance Committee, shifting a portion of it from urban districts such as Shelby County Schools that might lose students to private schools.

State Rep. Mark White pushed Gov. Bill Lee’s state charter commission through the House Wednesday, saying it will create a better system for overseeing charter schools in Tennessee.

Worried about the “threat of litigation,” Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s office is declining to issue a legal opinion to state Rep. G.A. Hardaway about the constitutionality of Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account bill.

Gov. Bill Lee is putting $10 million of his $66.8 million supplemental budget into a Memphis riverfront development grant, though the scope of the funding is unclear. Mayor Jim Strickland said the money is specifically for Tom Lee Park.

The Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee approved legislation Tuesday setting up a charter school commission with authority to overrule local school boards, even though it could cost nearly $1 million next year and continue to tap the state budget.

Despite protests, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Monday for legislation penalizing voter registration drives that produce large numbers of “incomplete” forms.