Gov. Bill Lee is taking President Donald Trump’s view of the pandemic, saying people should not fear COVID-19 but “respect” the virus and take steps to avoid it, even though the president has downplayed the importance of wearing masks.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton talked about his plan to strip away the autonomy of the Shelby County Health Department during a visit Monday to the county. He says public health officials should advise mayors, who would make the ultimate decision on pandemic and other health-related measures.

House Democrats, including five from Shelby County, are calling for a state Comptroller’s audit of Gov. Bill Lee’s federal-coronavirus-funds spending amid questions about its effectiveness.

The chairman of a committee studying the governor’s emergency authority says the Legislature could increase notification requirements and even put an end the office’s executive powers in a prolonged state of emergency.

Sen. Katrina Robinson, accused of embezzling more than $600,000 from her business, The Healthcare Institute, now has a trial date set for Sept. 13, 2021.

The governor and his education commissioner stand by the presentation of a massive learning loss report even though old data was used to make dire predictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

House Minority Leader Karen Camper criticized plans by House Speaker Cameron Sexton to kill the independence of Shelby County’s Health Department amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton will try to reduce the authority of the Shelby County Health Department and five others operating independently, but could run into opposition from others who believe urban areas need autonomy in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

A federal court has blocked temporarily a state law that forces abortion clinics to tell patients about the potential to “reverse” a medical abortion.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals struck another blow against Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account program, Tuesday, Sept. 29, finding the state violated the Constitution with an effort to use public money to send students to private schools.

Legislators say Gov. Bill Lee is set to extend an emergency order for the state but remove all business restrictions and limitations on gathering sizes.

Republican lawmakers such as state Rep. Kevin Vaughan are irritated by a state report about “learning loss” among K-12 students statewide, with schools on inconsistent footing and different health department directives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Davidson County chancellor ordered the state Friday to update absentee voting guidelines to make sure voters who live with COVID-vulnerable Tennesseans, as well as caretakers, are aware they can cast absentee ballots this fall.

Davidson County chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled Friday, Sept. 25, the Registry of Election Finance violated Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act with a secret email vote in early April approving a civil penalty settlement for state Rep. Joe Towns of Memphis.

Trying to prevent a replay of the Breonna Taylor shooting death from taking place in Tennessee, state Sen. Raumesh Akbari is planning legislation prohibiting police from using no-knock warrants.

Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday he believes the president and Senate have the responsibility to fill the vacancy left by the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just six weeks before the presidential election.

Gov. Bill Lee sounded the alarm Wednesday, saying Tennessee is projecting a massive learning loss by students because of school closings during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for minority students and those with disabilities.

With less than two months left in his final term, the state representative raised concerns about the state’s method for evaluating teachers, urging the House Education Committee to find another way to measure their performance.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn avoided a no-confidence vote Tuesday, Sept. 21 but not verbal criticism from lawmakers during a House Education Committee hearing.

Tennessee superintendents described a litany of problems to legislators Tuesday, Sept. 22, with the worst of the problems being that low-performing students are falling further behind during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related Story: Lawmakers grill education commissioner over ‘missteps’

Gov. Bill Lee says a move to bolster Tennessee’s unemployment insurance trust fund saved businesses $837 million in tax premiums, but some legislators believe the system is structurally flawed.

Tennessee’s senior Senator ended a Sunday of speculation about where he would stand on the move to fill the vacancy with a written statement Sunday afternoon.

Tennessee officials call the state’s 11-year-old TNInvestco program a “sham” that needs to be investigated and ended because of poor return on a $200 million investment.

Gov. Bill Lee ordered the Economic and Community Development Department to go after private Chinese investment, especially in the electric car sector, the state’s commissioner said.

With cases declining statewide, Tennessee will allow nursing homes to lift restrictions for more visitation and activities as long as they show no new cases for two weeks.