Governor Bill Lee has issued a proclamation calling for a special legislative session to take up gun-control measures, including a controversial “red flag” bill that many of his GOP allies in the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly say is a non-starter.
The long-expected proclamation was apparently leaked to the liberal Tennessee Lookout late Thursday afternoon before it’s official release.
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Tennessee State Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston) has filed a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly that he said would, if enacted into law, help school districts across Tennessee address ongoing staffing challenges.
The bill, SB 2702, would allow retired members of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) to seek reemployment as a K-12 teacher, K-12 substitute teacher, or as a K-12 bus driver. This, without the loss or suspension of the retired member’s TCRS benefits, Yager said in an emailed statement.
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The Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus on Thursday voted unanimously to renominate Lt. Governor Randy McNally to a third term, among other leadership votes.
The caucus also announced that Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston) will return to their top leadership roles as Majority Leader and Republican Caucus Chairman, respectively. Others elected to caucus leadership positions include Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) as Treasurer, Senator Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) as Secretary and Senator Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro) as Chaplain.
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Tennessee Valley Authority executives reportedly indulged in an excessive amount of spending on luxuries for themselves, according to a new audit.
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A bill going through the Tennessee General Assembly would, for the first time, require a license for certain types of online auctions, according to a legal expert with the Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee. Beacon’s Vice President of Legal Affairs told The Tennessee Star Thursday that people who do these auctions have safely conducted their business over the Internet for years with no state interference. “Everyone has a right to earn a living. There are many Tennessee homegrown businesses that have flourished as online auction businesses. Auctioneering provides a great deal of opportunity, especially in rural communities that oftentimes feel left behind when it comes to economic development,” Boucek said in an emailed statement. “By requiring a license, we will force these businesses to lay off un-licensed people or move out of state. And there is no public reason why we need to require an auctioneer license simply to sell something online. Tennessee’s own auctioneering task force, the one pushing the law showed that there were very few consumer complaints regarding this type of auction format.” State Rep. Kevin Vaughan, R-Collierville and State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, sponsor the bill. Vaughan and Yager did not immediately return The Star’s request…
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Members of the Tennessee General Assembly will consider a resolution to express support for a bill in Congress that would require the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Board of Directors to hold open meetings. This, according to the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. According to the TCOG website, State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, explained Senate Joint Resolution 192 in a Senate committee meeting this month. The resolution won unanimous approval. “We all know, Mr. Chairman, that the TVA is the steward of billions of dollars of ratepayers money,” Yager reportedly told members of the Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee this week. “But they also make rules that govern the lives and affect the lives of everybody else in Tennessee. Not the least of which is the property owners of this state. I just think in the spirit of transparency and open government, that all of their meetings should be open. The Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act is sponsored by U.S. Rep Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, according to the TCOG. “Burchett’s bill would require the board and subcommittees of the board to hold their meetings in public, provide public notice of its meetings no fewer than six days before the…
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For groups like Professional Educators of Tennessee, it is simple. We must advance public education without the divisive tribalism of partisan politics, and we will only get involved in education related issues. The union never stops in its quest for power and control over public education.
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