Tag: Randy McNally

Tennessee Agency Calls for $62 Billion in Infrastructure Spending, But Higher Taxes Unlikely

Chris Butler

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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Angry Tennessee Residents, Burdened by COVID-19 Policies, Rally for Special Legislative Session, Without Delay

Chris Butler

NASHVILLE — Hundreds of Tennesseans said their displeasure with COVID-19 mandates has intensified and it’s time for Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) to relent and allow a special legislative session so the state can fight back. Those angry residents, along with several state legislators, rallied at Beth Harwell Plaza, near the state capitol, on Thursday.

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Tennessee State Senator Dawn White Seeks Special Session on President Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

Kaitlin Housler

On Monday, Tennessee State Senator Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally asking for a special session in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order on vaccine mandates.

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Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally Believes Special Legislative Session Is Unnecessary

Chris Butler

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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Tennessee Legislators Must Convene Special Session to Address Urgent Issues, Williamson County-Based Group Says

Chris Butler

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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Bill Lee Won’t Say Whether He Wants Afghan Refugees in Tennessee, but Other Powerful GOP Politicians Have Spoken

Chris Butler

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 Lt. Gov. McNally Warns Davidson and Shelby Counties on Mask Opt-Outs: General Assembly ‘Will Not Allow Lawful Orders to be Defied’

Chris Butler

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s executive order granting public school students the right to opt out of COVID-19 mask mandates has prompted Nashville and Memphis school administrators to announce they will not comply with Lee’s latest directive. That, in turn, prompted a response on Tuesday from Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge). On Facebook, McNally said Metro Nashville Public Schools’ (MNPS) and Shelby County Schools’ (SCS) officials’ apparent defiance against Lee left him “appalled and alarmed.”

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Tennessee to Use Taxpayer Funds to Pay Out-of-State Tourists to Visit

Cooper Moran

In an attempt to continue the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the state of Tennessee will utilize an unprecedented marketing effort — paying out-of-state tourists to travel to the state.

The program, initiated by Governor Bill Lee and dubbed “Tennessee on Me,” will grant $250 airline vouchers to any individual who travels to Tennessee’s largest cities and stays at least two nights.

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Tennessee Legislature Committee to Probe Migrant Relocation

Cooper Moran

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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Governor Bill Lee Extends Stay-at-Home Order, Announces Plans to Reopen Tennessee’s Economy Soon

Chris Butler

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday he will extend the state’s stay-at-home order through April 30, but he also said government and private-sector officials are working to reopen the state’s economy in May.

Lee said this at a televised press conference, adding “we are not out of the woods yet, and it could be some time [before we are].”

“Until a vaccine or a therapy is widely available to Tennesseans, this virus will be a present reality to us to manage and consider whenever we are making decisions,” Lee said.

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Governor Lee Issues Executive Order Requiring Residents to Stay Home

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Bill Lee announced Thursday that he will sign an executive order requiring Tennesseans to stay home unless they are engaging in essential activities.

Lee issued an executive order Monday that urged, but didn’t require, residents to stay at home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Under his new order, staying at home isn’t “an option – it’s a requirement for the swift defeat of COVID-19,” said Lee.

The governor said data from the Tennessee Department of Transportation indicated that travel started trending upwards again on March 30 after traffic patterns showed a steep drop-off in vehicle movement between March 13 and 29.

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Governor Bill Lee Orders Tennessee Residents to Stay Home, Except for Essential Business

Chris Butler

To limit the spread of COVID-19, Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee on Monday issued an executive order telling state residents to stay home unless they are engaging in essential activities.

According to the order, businesses or organizations that do not perform essential services cannot remain open for public access. Lee’s order encourages those businesses to provide delivery, including curbside delivery, to the greatest extent possible. Lee also ordered that Tennesseans limit their essential activity to the greatest extent possible.

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Tennessee State Lawmakers Eye Penalties for Shelby County Defiance of New Law on Illegal Aliens

Chris Butler

Tennessee’s top political leaders are reportedly rebuking Memphis for not going along with a new law to detain illegal immigrants for federal officials. As The Tennessee Star reported, Shelby County officials say they won’t cooperate with a new Tennessee law that helps federal officials detain and deport illegal aliens. The…

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