Tennessee leaders from the state and federal level surveyed storm damage and met with local officials in areas of East Tennessee devastated by Tropical Storm Helene this weekend.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) are speaking out against three gun control measures set to be presented to Memphis voters on the November 5 general election ballot which the Republican leaders say is an attempt by city leaders to “circumvent state law.”
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) was the resounding victor among attendees at the Davidson County Republican Party’s annual picnic event on Saturday who participated in a straw poll weighing candidates running in the August 1 Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
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Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced his office would not pursue a previous diversion plan for felons in possession of firearms after Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said that he intends to file a Senate Joint Resolution immediately following the November election requiring the removal of Mulroy.
Last week, Mulroy announced that his office was considering an “alternative approach” for felons charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by offering diversion to such defendants.
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Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) refused to lead the House of Representatives in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance during Thursday’s session of the General Assembly.
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The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct (TBJC) has sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) recommending Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd be removed from office.
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The Tennessee General Assembly will resume business next week as a winter storm warning and wind chill advisory remains in effect for Davidson County.
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As Tennessee lawmakers investigate the possibility of just saying no to federal education funds and the ties that come with them, the state’s Federal Funding Working Group co-chair told The Tennessee Star that completely letting go probably isn’t going to happen.
“No, I don’t think that’s feasible,” said State Senator Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) in an interview this week with The Star.
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In an in-depth interview on Friday, WTN SuperTalk 99.7 afternoon host Matt Murphy spoke with Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton about the shooting and death of Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig. The Tennessee Star conducted a FACT CHECK of Speaker Sexton’s claim in that interview that Shaquille Taylor, the alleged killer of 18-year-old Belmont University Jillian Ludwig, who was shot in the head on Tuesday and died on Thursday, would have been in custody if the Tennessee State Senate had passed legislation in the August Special Session that the House had passed. The Star determined that Sexton’s claim is FALSE. The transcript of that interview and the corresponding FACT CHECKS conducted by The Star can be seen below. ——————- Matt Murphy: So, obviously, we’ve been covering this very difficult story involving the passing of a Belmont University student by the name of Lillian, or Jillian, pardon me, Jillian Ludwig, who died Thursday, yesterday morning after being shot in the head while walking near campus Tuesday. EDITOR’S NOTE: Prior to allegedly shooting Belmont University freshman Jillian Taylor in the head on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Shaquille Taylor was deemed incompetent to stand trial for aggravated assault with a deadly…
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GOP lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly have signed a joint proclamation expressing their unwavering support of Israel following Hamas’ attack on the country over the Yom Kippur holiday weekend.
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On Monday, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) announced the creation of a new Joint Working Group to study the impact federal funds have on education in the Volunteer State.
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Tennessee’s special session finished Tuesday with an expense of $351,476 to bring lawmakers to the capital for six days of the session on public safety and four bills passed.
Each day, it cost the state $58,576 in stipends and mileage for lawmakers, according to numbers provided by Office of Legislative Administration Director Connie Ridley.
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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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The Cordell Hull Building in Nashville was locked down Thursday following the discovery of a “white powder substance” in mail sent to Republican leaders, in “obvious threats made by a liberal activist,” the House GOP said in a statement. One news outlet is reporting the suspicious mail has the markings of a trans activist.
Officials say everyone is safe and that there have been no injuries reported.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed recovering journalist Clint Brewer in studio to examine what would happen next in fulfilling the vacancies of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson.
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Leftist Eric Holder, former President Barack Obama’s attorney general, is part of a group of attorneys threatening Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton and his fellow Republican members for expelling two Democrats on charges of inciting a riot at the Capitol.
Multiple sources tell The Tennessee Star that Holder is looking at filing lawsuits in the matter.
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During a special meeting called on Monday, the Nashville Metro City Council unanimously voted to reinstate State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) to the Tennessee House of Representatives after he and another Democrat representative were expelled last week.
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A newly amended caption bill, HB1214, that would allow for the establishment of charter schools serving homeschoolers and boarding charter schools has made it out of the House K-12 Subcommittee.
In presenting the bill for the author, House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), on Tuesday, State Representative Mark White (R-Memphis) appeared to be unfamiliar with many of the details associated with the amendment. He acknowledged as much, chalking it up to the “lightning speed” legislators had been operating under.
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Historically, the Federal Government had limited involvement in Public Education. That changed in 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into law.
ESEA doubled federal expenditures for K-12 education and gave the federal government much more input into education. That has been the debate ever since, central control of education versus state/local control.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) is reportedly in talks with state lawmakers, lobbyists, and other leaders to introduce a bill that would stop the state from accepting federal K-12 education dollars, according to a Wednesday report by The Associated Press.
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Tennessee lawmakers will reportedly consider whether to add “exceptions” to the state’s abortion ban, including the “health of the mother,” a phrase that pro-life leaders say has been used by abortionists and their supporters for decades to prop up the entire abortion industry.
Tennessee’s “trigger” law that bans abortion, titled the Human Life Protection Act, took effect August 25, two months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) unveiled a new tool the public can use to track floor calendars, legislation, amendments, and video of all House legislative initiatives in real time.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) announced four new changes to his staff on Wednesday.
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Tennessee State House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), and House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) all reacted to the news that former Speaker of the Tennessee House Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren were indicted by a federal grand jury on Monday and arrested early Tuesday morning by the FBI by issuing public statements.
Sexton said on Tuesday that Tennessee will not “tolerate public corruption, defrauding our state, or bribery at any level.”
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Far-left Democrat State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) joined other Tennessee liberals demanding gun control in the state.
“Yes, I have every intention of bringing back my red flag bill, as well as my safe storage legislation in January,” she tweeted on Wednesday.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to examine the lack of good argument for taxpayers to get on board with a Titan stadium overhaul.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to the newsmaker line to discuss the Titan Stadium upgrades, residency bill, and school funding status.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Caller Carl to the newsmaker line to give his opinion on the Titan Stadium upgrades and cost to the city.
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On Nashville’s Morning News, host Mandis spoke with Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton regarding the proposed $500 million bond for a retractable roof on Titans Stadium and its benefits for Nashville and the state.
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Members of the Tennessee House Government Operations Committee are scheduled to discuss and debate two bills this week that address legislative approval of school textbooks. Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) sponsors one bill, HB 2666. If enacted into law, members of the State Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission would have to provide a copy of the commission’s proposed textbook and instructional materials list to legislators.
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Members of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) on Monday published a report that called for nearly $62 billion in public infrastructure improvements throughout the state. This includes infrastructure for K-12 public school buildings, transportation and utilities, health, safety, and welfare, recreation and culture, general government, and economic development.
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Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly will reportedly create multiple congressional districts to represent Nashville, and this move will likely benefit the GOP. This, as state legislators redraw new Congressional maps to comply with required redistricting.
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Members of the Tennessee State Building Commission last week approved a budget that more than doubles the amount for infrastructure improvements at the Megasite of West Tennessee.
State Building Commission members and the State Building Commission’s staff did not return The Tennessee Star’s requests for comment Monday.
Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) serves on the Building Commission, according to the Office of the State Architect’s website.
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Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton to the newsmakers line to weigh in on OSHA vaccine mandate and its relation to the Omnibus Bill from last weeks special session in the General Assembly.
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New legislation has been discussed in the Tennessee General Assembly focusing on District Attorneys that do not enforce laws. On Wednesday, Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville-25) proposed new legislation.
Sexton’s proposed bill states that:
District Attorneys – As introduced, allows the attorney general and reporter to petition the court for appointment of a district attorney general pro tem if a district attorney general peremptorily and categorically refuses to prosecute all instances of a criminal offense without regard to facts or circumstances; requires the court to appoint a district attorney general pro tem if the court finds the district attorney general has refused to attend and prosecute according to law.
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On Wednesday, former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, traveled to Tennessee to meet with Governor Bill Lee and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton. During the former Vice President’s visit, he complimented the state for having a “fiscally conservative approach” and its commitment to automotive manufacturing, according to House Speaker Sexton.
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The Tennessee House Select Committee on Redistricting held its first of many meetings on Wednesday, starting the process of refitting the Volunteer State’s legislative districts to correspond to population changes.
“Over the course of the next several months, this committee will work together to develop a fair and constitutional redistricting plan for the state House, Senate and Congress,” committee Chair Curtis Johnson (R-TN-Clarksville) said.
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A spokesman for Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) on Thursday shared McNally’s views on whether state legislators should still convene for a special session. “While Lt. Governor McNally is firmly against government vaccine passports, he is extremely reticent to place restrictions on private business,” said McNally spokesman Adam Kleinheider, via email.
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Members of the Williamson County-based Tennessee Stands have said members of the Tennessee General Assembly should still hold a special session. Tennessee Stands Executive Director Gary Humble said in an emailed message to his supporters that Tennesseans and a majority of members of the Tennessee House of Representatives want a special session. This, Humble said, “to address a host of issues currently plaguing our state.”
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has not publicly stated whether he wants the state to take in Afghan refugees, but two of the state’s other top Republicans on Friday made their opinions known. Lee did not return two requests for comment Friday.
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Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and more than 70 other Republican state representatives on Wednesday formally requested that Gov. Bill Lee call a special session of the General Assembly. Sexton said last week he and other legislators want to restrain public school officials who might mandate or have already mandated that students wear COVID-19 masks.
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If Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee favors a special legislative session to fight COVID-19 mask mandates in public schools then he has not yet put out a forceful enough statement saying as much. Lee’s office though, has released the following remarks:
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The Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) Board’s decision to impose a COVID-19 mask mandate upon their students has prompted Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) to, as promised, call for a special legislative session. “We are starting discussions with House members,” Sexton told The Tennessee Star by text Friday.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, guest host Ben Cunningham welcomed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to the newsmakers line to reiterate Monday’s press conference as Tennessee stands united on COVID and education.
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Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said Monday that it’s time for students to put their virtual learning behind and walk back into their classrooms — without a COVID-19 mask mandate. And Sexton also said he and other state legislators have a plan to restrain public school district officials who think otherwise.
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Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton will create a Joint Study Committee on Refugee Issues within the Tennessee General Assembly that will investigate refugee resettlement and immigration in the state of Tennessee.
The establishment of this new committee comes in response to numerous reports of the Biden administration flying unaccompanied immigrant minors through the Chattanooga airport in the early hours of the morning. Many state officials have spoken out against the move by the Biden administration.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) on Monday endorsed Rebecca Paul Hargrove’s tenure as Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL) president. This, on the same day members of the Tennessee General Assembly sent a bill to Gov. Bill Lee’s office that proposes to grant more powers over sports wagering to an entity other than the TEL Board of Directors. Instead, legislators want to give those powers to the Tennessee Lottery Corporation’s Sports Wagering Advisory Council.
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The Tennessee General Assembly passed a series of legislation to reopen schools and improve learning losses and literacy. The measures passed will establish phonics as the primary method for reading instruction, mandate third-grade students read on grade level before graduating to fourth grade, establish tutors and summer learning camps for students who fell behind in certain subjects, and remove accountability for standardized testing results. An additional bill concerning the state budget will fund 4 percent teacher raises.
As reported previously by The Tennessee Star, the General Assembly convened the special session to prioritize the state’s flagging education system due to pandemic-related closures. The session was called per the request of Governor Bill Lee last month.
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State Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) has filed legislation for 2021 that, if enacted into law, would scale back the power of Tennessee’s six independent metropolitan health departments during their response to a county-wide health emergency.
This, according to an emailed press release that Zachary sent out this week.
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Left-wing activist Justin Jones walked into the Tennessee State Capitol Tuesday, more than a year after state officials banned him from the facility for allegedly assaulting then-Speaker of the House Glen Casada.
Various Republican and Democratic officials, as well as those from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, provided no information about how Jones entered the building.
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