With nearly 40% of the state's COVID-19 deaths coming from nursing homes, Tennessee is ready to put sanctions on long-term care facilities if they fail to complete virus testing of staff and residents.

The Lee Administration is projecting COVID-related budget problems that will force the state to trim department budgets by 12% and to push off tax cuts such as phasing out the Hall income tax.

A House subcommittee voted twice Thursday, May 28, to undermine the governor’s authority to place Tennessee in the federal refugee resettlement program.

The Public Health Subcommittee passed Gov. Bill Lee’s legislation severely restricting abortion Wednesday even though it is not set to be heard by the Senate and the governor is not prioritizing it.

Tennessee’s sales tax collections plummeted 6% in April, but while clothing retailers and restaurants took the biggest blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery stores and building material businesses nearly made up for it.

Gov. Bill Lee’s Administration is ending a highly-criticized policy of sharing COVID-positive information with 911 boards and law enforcement agencies across the state, saying plenty of PPE is available and urging first responders to wear it when they interact with people.

Despite the protests of Memphis officials and lawmakers, the House Judiciary Committee has passed a constitutional carry bill that enables “law-abiding” people to pack handguns without a state permit.

Tennessee’s Education Savings Account program drew support in Republican-controlled subcommittees Tuesday, May 26, 2020, with hardly a word.

An effort to tweak the NCAA's nose failed Tuesday in the General Assembly as two Memphis lawmakers' bills allowing student-athletes to be compensated failed to gain traction.

Legislation in the General Assembly’s renewed COVID-19 session could help Democratic state Rep. John DeBerry find his way back on the ballot in 2020 after the Democratic Party took him off.

With the Legislature set to reconvene June 1, the House and Senate are at odds over the scope of legislation to be considered in what is expected to be a short get-together to deal mainly with the budget and COVID-related bills.

Gov. Bill Lee's Office isn't worried about President Donald Trump’s demand for houses of worship to open, saying he never ordered churches to close but did urge alternative services to avoid spreading COVID-19.

State officials are struggling to keep up with an unprecedented number of unemployment claims as residents express growing frustration and desperation.

Gov. Bill Lee said the State Attorney General has filed a request for the Tennessee Supreme Court to take the Education Savings Account case and allow it to move forward while the case is on appeal.

Tennessee’s Education Savings Account program faces a tough road for the coming school year after the state Court of Appeals upheld a decision enjoining the state from executing it until the legal case is decided. Arguments aren't scheduled until Aug. 5, about the time school is expected to start.

The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators is asking Gov. Bill Lee in letter form to end a program allowing personal information of COVID-positive people to be shared with law enforcement. Otherwise, it says people should refuse to give their addresses when tested.

The Memphis Area Transit Authority is getting more than $2.1 million from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for electric buses as part of a Volkswagen settlement.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals rejected the state's efforts to keep working on the Education Savings Account program while it's under appeal and set an Aug. 5 hearing for arguments, which could make it difficult for the program to get the go-ahead in time to start offering vouchers this year.

Tennessee House Education Committee Chairman Mark White agrees with federal guidelines diverting a great share of CARES Act funds to private schools, but Memphis Democrats say the decision creates a wider gap in education resources.

Grappling with finances in the pandemic era, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says the entire budget is up for review, including funds tied to the Education Savings Account, though he favors keeping the program intact as the Legislature gets ready to convene June 1.

When state lawmakers return to Nashville to grapple with the state budget in a flagging COVID-19 economy, they'll have an incomplete picture of the state's economy because state revenue is trickling in and business tax collections have been delayed until July.

With more than 12% of Tennessee prison inmates testing positive for COVID-19, an inmate advocate is raising questions about the cleanliness of facilities while challenging the state's numbers and policies.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit Friday, May 15, seeking to make absentee voting available to all eligible Tennessee voters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the spread of COVID-19 appearing to weaken, the state’s Economic Recovery Group announced Friday, May 15, it will lift capacity restrictions on restaurants and retail in areas not covered by local directives, such as Shelby County.

Shelby County lawmakers who missed the final days of hectic mid-March work when the COVID-19 pandemic started are planning to return June 1 when the public will be allowed in the Capitol and Cordell Hull Building as well.