Gov. Bill Lee's decision to allow high school contact sports such as football and girls' soccer is drawing incredulity and support as the season nears.

Gov. Bill Lee Monday, Aug. 3, called a special legislative session for Aug. 10 at which legislators will focus on adopting COVID-19 liability immunity legislation designed to protect small businesses and schools from an outbreak of coronavirus lawsuits.

The recent indictment of state Sen. Katrina Robinson isn't a first for local members of the state legislative delegation, though it is different in that the charges are not connected to her duties as a state senator.

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against state Sen. Katrina Robinson on charges of theft and embezzlement involving government programs and wire fraud.

The FBI searched state Sen. Katrina Robinson's home Tuesday for a second time. Authorities provided no details about why they were searching the home. 

Gov. Bill Lee outlined the contingency plan the day after Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray said a safe reopening of in-person classes was "largely a myth" with the number of COVID-19 virus cases growing. The Memphis and Nashville school systems are the only two in the state starting the school year with online classes only.

Despite calls from a White House task force leader for Tennessee to take stronger steps to curb the coronavirus spread, Gov. Bill Lee reiterated he doesn't plan to close down the state economy again and resisted the call for a statewide mask mandate. 

State Rep. London Lamar is hoping a new emergency powers committee she is joining will look at the governor’s executive authority and decisions affecting everything from business closings to education amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even though Republican governors are mandating masks and President Donald Trump has begun calling them "patriotic," Gov. Bill Lee continues to decline requiring face coverings statewide.

Hargett called for more federal funding for election procedures in the pandemic without Washington putting any conditions on state election officials in the process. Lawmakers questioned him closely on the state's opposition to expanded absentee balloting even after it was ordered by a state court. 

State Sen. Brian Kelsey’s law firm is inserting himself into the state's legal affairs again, getting involved in an absentee ballot battle with a legal brief arguing the Legislature, not the court, should determine the state’s voting laws.

The Lee Administration is making $115 million in federal funds available to local governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Bill Lee is willing to pay the cost, no matter how high, in the legal battle over Tennessee’s new law to block abortions after a Republican-appointed judge stopped the measure from taking effect.

Tennessee leaders are weighing the prospects for a special session to consider a COVID-19 liability immunity bill and several other issues in early August.

Tennessee parents who stay home with children for virtual education are eligible for unemployment and cash assistance, Gov. Bill Lee said this week. But the Department of Labor was unclear on the question.

Gov. Bill Lee is not considering making a statewide mask mandate or shutting down parts of the economy again to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, even as cases surge.

Three people working in the Legislature have tested positive for COVID-19, possibly including one lawmaker who has tested positive. Plus, a former lawmaker who gave the House prayer June 18 was released from the hospital after testing positive.

Just moments after Gov. Bill Lee signed an abortion ban into law Monday, July 13, a federal judge blocked the measure from taking effect and set up a court battle with the ACLU-Tennessee.

Gov. Bill Lee continues to call the COVID-19 pandemic a crisis, but some Memphis lawmakers question his strategy as cases spike. They say he needs to be prepared for another round of spending to help families as the school year starts.

The Tennessee Black Caucus is preparing to challenge the assertion that Nathan Bedford Forrest is a "military hero," which was part of the vote to shift the Confederate general's bust to the State Museum.

With protesters shouting in the halls of the Tennessee Tower, the State Capitol Commission narrowly voted Thursday, July 9, to relocate the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust to the State Museum.

Gov. Bill Lee is expected to tell the State Capitol Commission he believes the monument should be moved to the State Museum.

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance confirmed a $22,000 settlement penalty of campaign reporting violations for state Rep. Joe Towns in an effort to avert an open meetings lawsuit.

The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators is only “cautiously optimistic” the State Capitol Commission will vote Thursday to remove the monument of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

The state is doling out $81 million in grants to K-12 schools, colleges and universities to prepare for a safe reopening this August in the COVID-19 climate.