Tag: Lt. Governor Randy McNally

Governor Bill Lee Participates in Groundbreaking of Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy in Nashville

Hannah Poling

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) participated in Wednesday’s official groundbreaking for the Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy (MALETA) in Nashville’s Cockrill Bend.

The $415 million site campus will have housing and dining facilities for cadets and in-service employees, local and state law enforcement training facilities, and a new administrative headquarters building for the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security and the Tennessee Department of Correction.

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Lt. Governor Randy McNally: ‘Hopeful Our State Will Take Any and All Steps’ to Save Tennessee National Guardsmen Jobs

Aaron Gulbransen

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Lt. Governor Randy McNally issued a statement to The Tennessee Star in support of saving the jobs of the Tennessee National Guard members who are scheduled to lose their jobs on June 30 due to their refusal to comply with the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

“The mission of our National Guard is the defense of our state and our homeland, not political correctness. The Biden administration is once again putting left-wing woke politics ahead of our national interest. While COVID-19 is still with us, it has moved past the pandemic phase and become endemic,” he said.

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Tennessee Senate Expels Democrat Senator Convicted of Wire Fraud

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee State Senate voted on Wednesday to remove Democrat Senator Katrina Robinson. The vote was 27-5 to expel her from office.

Senator Robinson was convicted of wire fraud charges. The Tennessee Star previously reported that Robinson was convicted by jurors of four of five counts of wire fraud and that federal officials accused her of using federal grant money awarded to a health care school, The Healthcare Institute (THI), which Robinson operates. She was accused of using $600,000 from the school to pay for her wedding, a political campaign event, and other personal expenses.

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Patriot Group Members Grill Lt. Governor Randy McNally over Governor’s Executive Orders and Call for Special Session

Laura Baigert

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) was grilled at a Tuesday evening meeting by a large conservative grassroots group in his district that wants the state senate speaker to call a special session to deal with Governor Bill Lee’s executive orders.

McNally said that “a special session is one of the options on the table” and that he wouldn’t rule it out.

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Lt. Governor McNally Issues Revised Protocols for Accessing Tennessee’s Senate

Laura Baigert

Lt. Governor Randy McNally has decided that effective Monday new protocols will go into effect that will allow greater access to the Senate areas within the Cordell Hull Building.

The revised protocols are due to the increased availability of the vaccine and the overall decline in the spread of COVID-19, according to a late-day email Friday from McNally’s chief of staff addressed to Senate members and staff.

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Calls for Tennessee to Dump Any State-Held Equity in Big Tech Companies Over Censorship

Jason M. Reynolds

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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Tennessee Legislature Re-Elects Randy McNally, Cameron Sexton as Speakers of Senate, House

Jason M. Reynolds

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) on Tuesday was re-elected for his third term as Speaker of the Senate, while State Representative Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) returned as House Speaker.

The Tennessee House Republican Caucus tweeted, “The 112th General Assembly convened today in Nashville! Congratulations to our re-elected Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, newly elected Speaker Pro Tem Pat Marsh, and all our members as they were sworn into office. @CSexton25 @marsh4tn”.

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Gov. Lee Considers Calling Special Session of Legislature to Pass Bill Giving Businesses Protection From COVID-19 Lawsuits

Jason M. Reynolds

Gov. Bill Lee is thinking about calling the Legislature in for a special session to pass a bill to provide retroactive COVID-19 legal protection for businesses, the Chattanooga Times Free Press said.

The General Assembly ended their session on Friday without the House passing the Tennessee Recovery and Safe Harbor Act. It received 46 of 50 votes needed. House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) questioned whether the measure was legal under Tennessee’s Constitution regarding the impairment of contracts. (The Senate had approved the bill.)

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State Lawmakers Will Have to Reconcile the House Budget Proposal That Gives Tax Dollars Back to Citizens and Makes Deeper Cuts Than the Senate Version

Laura Baigert

As the second session of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly winds down, the House and Senate will need to reconcile their two different budget proposals to close out the current fiscal year and for the upcoming fiscal year 2021.

The Senate version passed with a vote of 27 Ayes, 1 No and 2 Present and Not Voting during the June 11 floor session.

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Tennessee Lt. Governor Suggests Annual Sales Tax Holiday May Be Off the Table This Year

Laura Baigert

Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) suggested that the annual sales tax holiday is one of the things that would not be done this summer to help compensate for the state’s revenue shortfalls.

The revelation by the lieutenant governor was included in a WBIR 10News report in conjunction with adjustments the Tennessee General Assembly expects to make to the fiscal year 2021 budget.

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Governor Bill Lee’s Second State of the State Continues His Priorities in a $40.8 Billion Budget

Laura Baigert
Bill Lee on the State House floor

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee – At his second annual State of the State Address, Governor Bill Lee continued to prioritize education, criminal justice reform, care for the most vulnerable, and rural Tennessee in his $40.8 billion budget for the upcoming 2020-2021 fiscal year. The next fiscal year’s budget reflects a 3.7 percent increase over last year’s $39.3 billion budget and is the first time that the state’s budget has exceeded $40 billion. Providing the General Assembly information on the state of the government is an Article III requirement of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee for the state’s chief executive and was set for Monday, February 3 at 6 p.m. in the chambers of the State’s House of Representatives in the State Capitol. Prior to delivering the State of the State Address, Governor Lee gave a preview in a 5 a.m. release of excerpts from the Address to the governor’s office webpage. Monday evening, legislators, Governor Lee, guests, and other attendees were met – starting at 5:30 p.m. – by a regular protester standing in front of the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest located between the Senate and House chambers shouting, “Remove the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest,” and “Remove…

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Fetal Heartbeat Bill Summer Study Schedule Set

Laura Baigert

  The schedule for the Senate Judiciary Committee summer study of the Heartbeat Bill was announced Thursday via email to committee members and staff. The scheduled dates just announced – Monday and Tuesday, August 12 and 13 – are changed from the original dates set during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on April 9 when the bill was sent to summer study. Originally, the dates set by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Mike Bell (R-Riceville) for the summer study were Tuesday and Wednesday, August 13 and 14. However, those dates created a conflict with the 46th American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) 2019 Annual Meeting scheduled for August 14 through 16 in Austin, Texas, which is attended by many members of the Tennessee General Assembly. The email, sent by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Research Analyst stated that the summer study meeting on SB 1236 has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, August 12, and from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Tuesday, August 13, although it may go into the afternoon if more time is needed.  A specific location, while assumed to be within the Cordell Hull Building, was not identified. The Fetal Heartbeat Bill, which prohibits abortions…

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State Rep. Matthew Hill Seeks House Speaker Position

Admin

  State Rep. Matthew Hill (R-TN-07) said he will seek the Republican nomination for Speaker of the Tennessee House. The Jonesborough Republican, who is the Deputy House Speaker, made the announcement Wednesday at a legislative breakfast hosted by the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce, WJHL said. State Rep. Mike Carter (R-TN-29) also has announced a desire to run for the position, multiple media outlets reported. One day after the Tennessee House Republican Caucus met and voted “no confidence” in his continued leadership by a margin of 45-24, Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) released a statement announcing he intends to resign as Speaker at a date to be determined in cooperation with the Caucus leadership, The Tennessee Star reported Tuesday. Casada did not indicate whether he would continue to serve as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing parts of Williamson County. The entire Republican House leadership, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, and Gov. Bill Lee have all called on Casada to resign, The Star said. WJHL reported that Hill told them he voted “no confidence” in Casada and also spoke to him. “I spoke with the speaker privately about that and he knows of…

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House Speaker Casada’s Former Chief of Staff Accused of Bugging Legislative Committee Rooms, The Tennessean Says

Jason M. Reynolds

  A newspaper claims that House Speaker Glen Casada’s former chief of staff once bragged to a reporter that he had bugged legislative committee meeting rooms and now a Democratic leader is calling for an investigation. Joel Ebert of The Tennessean reported last week that the ex-chief of staff, Cade Cothren, told a reporter earlier this year that he could view and listen to people in the rooms whenever he wanted. The story is available here. Last week, Cothren denied the comments as well as his ability to eavesdrop. Also, The Tennessean said that white noise machines, which hamper the ability to eavesdrop, were located in the ceilings of the hallways inside and outside of Casada’s office. The newspaper says several lawmakers had expressed concern someone might be recording their conversations in private meetings, but the publication did not name names other than Casada. Ebert, the statehouse reporter for The Tennessean, now says State Rep. Mike Stewart (D-TN-52), chairman of the Democratic House Caucus, has called for a federal investigation. On Wednesday, Ebert tweeted, “Here is a copy of the letter that @RepMikeStewart sent to the US Attorney’s office today, asking for a probe into the information I wrote about…

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Tennessee House And Senate Committees Undergo Major Shakeups

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – On the third day of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly, leadership announced committee assignments in the House and Senate, upsetting the status quo before recessing from their organizational sessions until January 18. During the House Republican caucus elections in November, Glen Casada (R-Franklin) made a commitment that, as Speaker, he would restructure the subcommittee system to expand up on it as well as use the composition to capitalize on subject matter experts. After his election as Speaker earlier this week, Casada, who garnered votes from Democrat Representatives John DeBerry (Memphis), Johnny Shaw (Bolivar) and John Mark Windle (Livingston), promised partnership rather than partisanship. In the final moments of the two-hour floor session of the 3rd organizational day of the House during which the House Permanent Rules of Order for the 111th General Assembly were debated and voted on and mandatory Ethics and Workplace Discrimination & Harassment training were conducted, Speaker Casada announced the House committees, committee members and subcommittee chairs. Keeping to his previous promises, Speaker Casada increased the House standing committees and subcommittees to a total of 43, from the previous 28. All but two committees had one subcommittee previously, but with Speaker Casada’s restructuring, some…

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Jack Johnson Elected State Senate Majority Leader by GOP Caucus

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – At the State Senate Republican Caucus meeting held Monday afternoon in an eighth floor conference room of the Cordell Hull Building, there was no obvious drama in the selection of its six leaders for the upcoming 111th General Assembly. The elections held off until Governor-Elect Bill Lee, after making his rounds greeting each of the Senators individually, made scheduled opening remarks that lasted about five minutes. He was introduced by Lt. Governor Randy McNally, who said Lee, elected by an overwhelming majority in both the primary and general is a man of faith and a conservative, concluding “I think we’re going to get along just fine.” Lee said it was an honor and humbling to be there with a remarkable group of public servants, many of whom he has built relationships with. Lee was complimentary of the leadership by those in the room, as well as the state House and the Governor, which has made Tennessee a remarkably good place to be by creating and laying a foundation that can be built upon so that all Tennesseans can enjoy a good job, good school for their kids and a safe neighborhood. From there, Senate Speaker Pro Tempore…

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