Gov. Bill Lee worked with the state attorney general and comptroller on an executive order to put electronic government meetings rules in place after legislation failed Thursday in the final hours of the General Assembly session

Facing the biggest state and national emergency in decades, the Tennessee Legislature adopted a $39.8 billion budget Thursday night, March 19, and vacated the State Capitol as COVID-19 continued to spread.

With COVID-19 spreading statewide, the governor signed an executive order Thursday to expand the state’s health care capacity and give people more time to renew driver’s licenses and car tags. It even allows the Parole Board to hold closed meetings.

House Republicans met secretly Thursday and agreed to cut nearly $1 billion from the state budget but leave education voucher funding in place. Teacher pay raises would be cut by half. 

Gov. Bill Lee issued a disaster declaration Wednesday, enabling small businesses to seek federal loans as coronavirus cases are expected to rise amid increased testing.

Gov. Bill Lee introduced a “no-growth” budget for the next fiscal year, reducing a 3.1% revenue growth projection to zero and eliminating dozens of spending proposals while spending hundreds of millions to respond to the COVID-19 emergency.

Reacting to the national coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Bill Lee will present an “adjusted” budget by Wednesday containing funds to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and mid-state tornado victims as lawmakers hoped to take a recess of at least two months.

Speculation spreads about the Legislature possibly wrapping up by the end of this week. But Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said it will likely take two to three weeks for the General Assembly to finish its work.

Memphis is home to one of Tennessee's safety net hospitals, which will serve low-income residents in need of health care should they contract the COVID-19 virus.

Tennessee’s political leaders are speeding up work on Gov. Bill Lee’s $40.9 billion budget proposal, which is expected to contain extra funding to deal with COVID-19 and tornadoes that struck the state amid a state of emergency.

With Gov. Bill Lee declaring a state of emergency, Republican legislative leaders are calling for limited visits to the Capitol complex in an effort to stem to spread of the coronavirus, though Democrats say more extensive steps should be taken.

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance cut state Rep. Joe Towns some slack Wednesday, March 11, even though he was 166 penalty days late on mid-year supplemental filing for 2019.

Lawmakers made a move Tuesday toward pay for student-athletes, an effort designed to avert situations like the James Wiseman case at the University of Memphis.

With Democrats criticizing the state’s response to the coronavirus, Republican Gov. Bill Lee is considering declaring a state of emergency after Tennessee confirmed its fourth case, Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said Monday.

A bill filed Monday authorized the governor to start negotiating immediately with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and President Donald Trump to provide primary care “relative to the prevention and treatment of coronavirus” to all Tennesseans.

Medical cannabis legislation could reach a House floor vote this year for the first time, leaders say. But running a gauntlet in the Senate is likely to prove more difficult.

The Shelby County mayor contends the proposed rule changes will stop “onerous” permitting requirements while still protecting the Memphis Sand Aquifer, a move he believes will stop legislation designed to undermine county rules.

Democrats say Tennessee’s controlling Republicans took care of Gov. Bill Lee’s permitless carry and anti-abortion initiatives even though a terrible tornado killed people across the state and left a path of destruction.

Hours after Tennessee officials confirmed the state's first case of the coronavirus, one Memphis lawmaker said the state is “absolutely not” prepared to deal with a potential health crisis stemming from COVID-19.

Legislation designed to reduce Shelby County’s control over landowners’ drilling of water wells – a move some believe could threaten the Memphis Sands Aquifer – is being put off for at least a year.

Gov. Bill Lee is forming a Coronavirus Task Force to bolster the state’s efforts to prevent and treat cases of COVID-19, a viral scare sweeping the nation.

A Senate committee recommended passage of legislation enabling people to carry handguns without a state permit, despite hearing from police officers and the parent of a woman whose son was gunned down at an Antioch Waffle House.

With the backing of state Rep. Kevin Vaughan, medical cannabis legislation passed a House subcommittee Tuesday. The measure would set up a state system for clinical treatment and research, according to the bill's sponsor.

Responding to Cyntoia Brown's case, legislation by state Rep. London Lamar of Memphis has passed in the House enabling victims of human trafficking to use it as a self-defense in criminal cases.

Bartlett Republican state Rep. Jim Coley and East Memphis Republican Mark White are two Shelby County GOP lawmakers likely to oppose Gov. Bill Lee's "constitutional carry" legislation, which could put them in the minority among the Legislature's supermajority party.