Five Tennessee state representatives and three Tennessee state senators endorsed U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) for reelection to Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
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State Senator Kerry Roberts Explains Why Bill to Increase Penalties for Transporting Illegal Aliens into Tennessee Failed in Committee
State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) said a bill that would prohibit individuals from transporting illegal aliens into the Volunteer State failed in committee because its language was not “exact.”
The bill, SB 2802, would increase the penalty fine for transporting an illegal alien from $1,000 to $5,000.
Read the full storyTennessee State Senator Joey Hensley Explains ‘Present’ Vote on School Choice Bill
Tennessee State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) said he voted present on the State Senate’s version of Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill this week in the education committee because he said he believed there needed to be “more discussion” on the bill before it advanced out of committee.
“I was present, not voting, because I felt like we needed more discussion in the education committee,” Hensley said on Thursday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Read the full storyTennessee Bill Would Prevent Government Spending on Abortions
A bill to prevent local governments from spending taxpayer funds on abortions or travel out of state to get abortions passed a Tennessee Senate committee this week and will soon head to the full Senate.
The bill comes after Tennessee’s law banning abortions went into effect following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Last year, the Metro Nashville council proposed a $500,000 grant to assist women getting an abortion outside of Tennessee but then amended the bill to make it a grant to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi.
Read the full storyBill Would Give Tennessee Teachers $500 Annually for Classroom Supplies
A Tennessee bill would allow every public school teacher in the state to have $500 to spend on classroom supplies.
The bill would be an adjustment on the $200 initially stipulated for each teacher’s use in the new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funding formula, set to begin in the 2023-24 school year.
Read the full storyTennessee Methodically Moves Toward Total Elimination of Professional Privilege Tax
Tennessee lawmakers eliminated another sector of privilege tax this year with the removal of physicians and osteopathic physicians from the $400 annual state licensing tax.
But many are pushing for the remaining professional privilege taxes to end in Tennessee.
Read the full storyTennessee Gov. Bill Lee Remains Silent on Forced COVID-19 National Guard Vaccinations, But Certain Legislators Are Speaking Out
Staff for Tennessee Governor Bill Lee won’t comment on the matter, but State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) said Thursday that members of the Tennessee National Guard should decide on their own whether to vaccinate against COVID-19. Tennessee National Guard officials said in November that their troops must take the COVID-19 shot or face discharge. This, per a mandate from the U.S. Department of Defense and President Joe Biden.
Read the full storyTennessee Officials Can Penalize Nashville Schools for Not Complying with New Law on Transgender Athletes, Legislator Says
Metro Nashville School Board members won’t update their policy on transgender athletes to comply with a new Tennessee law, but a state legislator says state government officials could penalize the school district for disobeying. State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Howenwald) helped get the original bill through the Tennessee General Assembly.
Read the full storyPumping Even More Money into Tennessee’s Public Schools Won’t Resolve Lingering Issues, State Senator Says
People who attended regional town halls this fall to discuss Tennessee’s public education funding strategy want legislators to pump even more money into public schools, but one state legislator said that’s not a remedy for improvement. Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) said Wednesday that the state’s funding formula should change but it needs to recognize how many teachers and principals are needed.
Read the full storyTennessee Approves $884M in Funding, Creates Board for $6B Ford Project
The Tennessee Legislature finished its special session on Ford’s $5.6 billion electric truck project Wednesday by approving $884 million in spending and creating a Megasite Authority of West Tennessee board to oversee operations.
“This is the largest single economic investment in rural Tennessee’s history,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “… It is, most importantly, a win for western Tennessee’s workforce.”
Read the full storyTennessee Legislators Likely to Pass Bill Tackling Gender and Interscholastic Sports
A bill in the Tennessee General Assembly would require that middle school or high school students’ biological gender determine whether they may participate in interscholastic sports specifically tailored either for males or females. Supporters of the bill told The Tennessee Star Friday they believe the bill will pass both the state house and the state senate.
Read the full storyBill in Tennessee Legislature Would Give School Boards More Quarantine Powers
Local school boards in Tennessee and people who run charter schools could have more legal powers to create their own quarantine policies and implement those policies in an emergency. This, according to a bill that members of the Tennessee General Assembly filed this month.
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