Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) claimed on Thursday that his Democratic colleagues are “bought and paid for” by House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) in a now-deleted post to social media.
Jones wrote in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “Speaker Sexton has bought and paid for Dem leadership in the Tennessee House.” He accused Sexton of directing Democratic “silence and performance based on what’s best for him.”
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) unveiled the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, which will offer education savings accounts (ESAs) for students in all 95 counties in the state, in a Tuesday event that featured Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and included state lawmakers and school choice advocates.
Lee said the legislative proposal will establish statewide universal school choice, stressing at his Tuesday press conference that “a high quality education has the power to change a trajectory of a child’s life forever.”
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A Democrat member of the Tennessee House of Representatives has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in the District of Tennessee Nashville Division claiming that House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) violated his constitutional rights when he was expelled from the General Assembly earlier this year.
“Today my attorneys filed a federal lawsuit to hold Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton responsible for his unconstitutional and discriminatory actions. The people of District 52 deserve to have their voices heard without the threat of undemocratic silencing and retaliation,” said State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) on X, formerly known as Twitter, attaching a photo of the lawsuit.
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The Williamson County GOP has issued a medical rights resolution refusing to “blindly submit” to any effort by the federal government to reinstate COVID-19 mandates and urging state lawmakers to do more to protect Tennesseans’ medical freedoms.
“We, as the Republicans of Williamson County, as Americans, as God-fearing Conservatives, will refuse to blindly submit, and we thank our State Legislators for the protections they have already enacted and beg them to do far more to protect our Medical Freedom and to prevent such a horrific overreach from ever happening again; and we ask for Governor Lee to task our state’s Attorney General to investigate violations of the Tennessee Constitution and other Covid-19 crimes,” the resolution reads.
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After a song recently released by country music star Jason Aldean sparked controversy, local, state and federal lawmakers are weighing in.
Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” which has conservative undertones, has been deemed “racist” by some on the political left, has cause a firestorm for the artist.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will be facing a decision on whether to sign several key pieces of legislation this week that were sent to him May 9, following the end of the legislative session.
That legislation includes a change to the way the state’s sportsbooks are taxed, how the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority board members are appointed, an increase in teacher pay in the state, lowering the airplane corporate fuel tax cap and a bill related to posting rules related to partisan primary Election Days.
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A flurry of legislative action before Tennessee closed its session April 21 has left a stack of passed bills either on Gov. Bill Lee’s desk or headed there.
Once a bill is passed, it needs to be signed by both House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally before it heads to Lee’s desk. Then Lee has 10 days, not counting Sundays, to either sign or veto a bill or it will become law without his signature. Since the Legislature is not in session, bills are then sent to the Tennessee’s Secretary of State.
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Tucker Carlson Thursday night ripped Tennessee’s governor for what he sees as soft-on-crime policies in the wake of a murderous rampage that left four dead in Memphis.
“So this happened in a city that is collapsing due to violence,” Carlson said on his show “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “Memphis set an all time record for homicides last year. Earlier this week, a woman called Eliza Fletcher, as you know, was kidnapped and murdered while she was out for a jog in her neighborhood. Her killer had just gotten out of jail on a kidnapping charge. He was let out years early. So, he got out and committed the same crime, this time with murder.”
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The Tennessee Right to Life announced this week its list of endorsees for this year’s statewide elections.
“Tennessee Right to Life exists to promote public respect for the dignity of every human life especially those threatened by abortion, infanticide, partial-birth abortion, assisted suicide, or euthanasia,” according to the organization’s website. “TRL advocates the protection of human life without regard to age, handicap, condition or social position.”
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The anticipated sales tax revenues associated with proposed upgrades to Titans Stadium could be a good idea, says JC Bowman, executive director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, but whether such a plan is “sustainable” in the long term remains a question.
In an interview with The Tennessee Star, Bowman assessed recent statements by Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton about the state investing in upgrades to Titans Stadium with the expectation that sales tax generated from major events could be invested in K-12 education, particularly in the state’s rural areas.
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The Tennessee House Select Committee on Redistricting made public Friday its plan for new state House legislative districts.
The committee heard several publicly submitted plans and responses, along with the House Democrats’ plan, during Friday’s meeting before committee Vice Chair Rep. Pat Marsh, R-Shelbyville, introduced the committee’s plan.
The House must approve the plan during the General Assembly’s upcoming legislative session, which begins in January, before sending the plan onto the Tennessee Senate and Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to the newsmakers line to discuss the items that will be on the next special session call.
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Ford Motor Company announced on Monday that the Memphis Regional Megasite will be the location of a new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility.
The decision by the automobile manufacturer will invest a total of $5.6 billion in the area, as the group builds a 3,600-acre campus called Blue Oval City.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) on Thursday announced that he will create the first-ever bipartisan House Select Committee on Redistricting, as state legislators prepare to draw new legislative districts.
The committee, which will be tasked with navigating the process of analyzing state data to help draw new maps, will feature a total of 16 House members: 12 Republican and 4 Democratic members.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) announced on Monday that he will name Sammie Arnold his new chief of staff.
Most recently, Arnold served as Assistant Commissioner of Community & Rural Development for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD). In his position, he was appointed by Governor Bill Lee to serve on an economic recovery group aimed at getting Tennessee’s economy going after the coronavirus pandemic.
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Henry County Schools on Tuesday followed a trend of Tennessee schools that will require students and staff to wear a mask during the upcoming school year.
Metro Nashville Public Schools, Shelby County Schools, Hancock County, and Williamson County Schools have implemented similar measures.
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While speaking to state lawmakers at a committee hearing on Wednesday, commissioner for the Department of Tourist Development Mark Ezell apologized for the sudden rollout of the ‘Tennessee on Me’ tourism initiative.
The program, introduced by Governor Bill Lee, awards $250 of taxpayer funds to out-of-state visitors who book a two-night stay in one of Tennessee’s five largest cities.
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Certain counties may see the roles of their health boards change in the event of another public health emergency. According to a bill making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly, county mayors should retain the exclusive authority to establish health-related mandates and regulations, while health boards and committees should only serve to advise them. The proposed measures would only apply to counties with certain population counts. Accordingly, the bill would affect Shelby, Knox, Davidson, Hamilton, Sullivan, and Madison counties.
State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) introduced the bill in November, as Chris Butler with The Tennessee Star reported previously. In a press release, Zachary explained that only elected representatives are accountable to those they serve – therefore, only elected representatives should have the final say in public health emergencies.
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Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton to the newsmakers line to discuss the expediency in which special session is moving bills through.
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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles is calling on the Tennessee General Assembly to dump any state-held equity and debt in the Big Tech companies over their “war on freedom of speech.”
Ogles made the announcement on his Facebook page Wednesday, available here. It is addressed to Governor Bill Lee, Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and the other members of the Legislature.
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The FBI on Friday reportedly raided locations tied to former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) and Republican allies over allegations of possible public corruption.
Current Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) issued a statement about the raid that took place at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville.
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Scott Golden, chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, condemned the violence in Washington, D.C., and said the GOP is the party of law and order, a sentiment expressed by several state leaders.
Golden made the statement Wednesday in an email as well as on Facebook, which is available here.
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed PJTN’s Laurie Cardoza-Moore to the newsmakers line to discuss her new position on the Tennessee Textbook Commission.
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When state lawmakers return to Nashville next January, one topic for consideration will be what to do with Tennessee’s $741 million surplus funds from a welfare program for the working poor – a larger surplus than any other state in the nation.
The surplus of funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program, also known as Families First, was first reported by the Beacon Center of Tennessee and the Tennessean last year. The program is administered by the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS).
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Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to the show to discuss a bill ridding the state of independent health boards and General Assembly priorities moving forward.
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Legislation that would add Tennessee’s right-to-work law to the state constitution was filed Thursday by Sen. Brian Kelsey, preparing the proposed constitutional amendment to advance through the Tennessee Legislature for the required second time.
“This amendment will guarantee future generations of Tennessee workers their right to work regardless of whether they choose to join a union,” Kelsey (R-Germantown) said of SJR 2.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to the newsmaker line to discuss his barnstorming tour and defeating socialism.
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Tennessee legislative leaders, as well as Gov. Bill Lee, plan to stage a number of bus stops around the state for much of the rest of October to get out the vote.
The statewide Road to Victory bus tour is meant to encourage citizens to vote and to elect Republican candidates, according to a press release from the Tennessee Republican Party.
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Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Cameron Sexton and other members of the Republican leadership of the Tennessee House have written a letter to Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson and asked him to investigate the spending of federal and state COVID funds by Metro Nashville government. “We worked with him [Comptroller Wilson] over the last couple of days,” Sexton told host Michael Patrick Leahy on The Tennessee Star Report, broadcast on TalkRadio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC, Friday morning. “We expect to receive the results of the review in about two weeks,” Sexton added. “We went with a review because it can be conducted more quickly than a complete audit,” he noted. If the review suggests further investigation is necessary, Speaker Sexton said a full and complete audit could follow. Here’s the letter:
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On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report, Leahy and all-star panelist Carol Swain were joined on the newsmakers line by Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton.
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As the 111th Tennessee General Assembly is set to enter its second session, newly elected Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton gave an exclusive interview to The Tennessee Star to discuss legislative priorities and current issues.
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