Demand for child care far exceeds supply in Tennessee, but a bill passed Monday, March 8, by the state Senate could give state employees more options.

A resolution with nearly unanimous House GOP support is calling for proceedings that could remove Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle.

Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty pushed the narrative that Republican-led states were getting less money in the relief bill at the expense of Democratic led states. 

A proposed constitutional amendment will let Tennessee voters choose the secretary of state rather than legislators — but not until 2030. 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services visitation guidance provides reasonable ways to safely facilitate in-person visits.

Business owners would be able to vote in elections where the business property is located, even if the owner doesn’t live in the same place as the business, under a bill being considered by the Tennessee General Assembly.

A Tennessee Senate committee on Tuesday, Feb. 23, advanced a right-to-work constitutional amendment, one step in a long process to place the amendment on the November 2022 ballot for final approval by voters.

A Tennessee Senate committee on Tuesday, Feb. 23, advanced a bill preventing cities and counties from requiring police officers, firefighters and emergency medical professionals to live where they work.

School superintendents and local public health officials may lose some of their power under a bill that passed by a party-line vote in the Tennessee Senate Monday, Feb. 22.

Democratic lawmakers proposed a package of legislation Thursday, Feb. 18, that would increase teacher pay and bring more nurses, counselors and social workers into Tennessee schools.

Here’s a review of some of the bills that would change elections in Shelby County and Tennessee. Some of them have been proposed before and others are new in the wake of the 2020 presidential election year.

The state’s two Republican Senators telegraphed their votes for acquittal in former President Trump’s second impeachment trial days ahead of the Saturday vote to acquit that ended the trial.

In a luncheon speech to the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the secretary of state highlights a smooth Tennessee election and the problems facing businesses during the pandemic.

The measure could move to a vote before the full Senate if it passes through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, which is scheduled to meet on Feb. 16.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee defended his government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic—as well as conservative principles more generally—in his third State of the State address Monday evening.

Lee defends his administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Democrats including Raumesh Akbari of Memphis say the state has not invested in what is important to Tennessee families. 

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Full text of Gov. Bill Lee’s State of the State address

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s budget proposal for 2021-22

Proposed budget includes money for teacher and school worker raises and $63.2 million for 4% salary increases in higher education.

Gov. Bill Lee touted progress on the economy, COVID-19, the Medicare block grant and other goals of his administration.

What do the changes to the state’s TennCare program mean? Here’s a breakdown of the changes. 
Related story:
Lee to deliver State of the State, with focus on economic recovery

Gov. Bill Lee’s third State of the State address Monday evening, Feb. 8, is already getting reaction from Democrats in the Legislature who say his response to the pandemic has been “too late, ended too early and did too little.”

Tennesseans will be vaccinated against COVID-19 faster beginning early next week after President Joe Biden announced a massive purchase of doses, an increased weekly allocation to states and other moves to manage the pandemic.

Appointments at big-box stores will be made through the Health Department.

Dr. Jon McCullers, a Memphis infectious disease expert, says greater ‘central control’ was needed at both the federal and state levels for a more effective response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The move wrapped up the legislature’s four-day special session on education, called by Gov. Bill Lee to address learning disruptions for students during the coronavirus pandemic, plus perennial challenges with teacher pay and literacy.

Intent on returning kids to classrooms, reversing months of “learning loss” and improving literacy, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a handful of bills Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21-22, and $110 million in spending.