Democrat State Rep. Justin Jones Admitted He Walked ‘Across the Border’ with an Illegal Alien

Justin Jones

State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) admitted on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday that he walked “across the border” with an illegal alien named Javier after visiting a migrant caravan camp in Mexico last week.

Jones made the admission while speaking in opposition to a bill, HB 2124, on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday.

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Tennessee State Senator Joey Hensley Explains ‘Present’ Vote on School Choice Bill

Joey Hensley

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.

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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor Sponsors Several Crime-Related Bills in Effort to ‘Make Memphis Matter’

State Senator Brent Taylor

Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) announced he is sponsoring several crime-related bills this legislative session in an effort to fight crime and “Make Memphis Matter.”

In a letter to his colleagues in the Tennessee State Senate, Taylor detailed 13 pieces of legislation he is sponsoring and asked his colleagues to consider sponsoring the bills as well.

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Co-Founder of AbleChild Sheila Matthews Details Work on Tennessee Bill to Help Determine Link Between Psychotropic Drugs and Mass Shooters

Sheila Matthews

Sheila Matthews, co-founder of the national non-profit parent organization AbleChild, detailed her work on crafting an “outstanding” bill recently filed in the Tennessee General Assembly that is focused on reforming the process medical examiner’s offices must follow in terms of testing for psychotropic drugs when performing autopsies on the bodies of mass shooters.

HB 2933, if enacted, would require a medical examiner’s office or regional forensic center to determine and document current both psychotropic and prescription drug use from the past 10 years by a deceased individual who died under “suspicious, unusual, or unnatural circumstances.”

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Aaron Gulbransen Analyzes the Tennessee General Assembly’s Current Session

Aaron Gulbransen

Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly is “pretty normal” despite state lawmakers still reeling from last year’s events by the “Tennessee Three” Democrats and the special session.

“It’s kind of normal, to be honest with you. Now, I will say, I think everybody has a little bit of PTSD after last year with all the shenanigans that Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson pulled and then the contentiousness of the special session and the lead up to that and right after that. But it’s relatively normal,” Gulbransen explained on Tuesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.

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Tennessee State Rep. Susan Lynn Awaits Final Version of Universal School Choice Bill, Notes Funding of Budget Is Issue This Year

Tennessee State Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet) joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the General Assembly’s legislative session this year, specifically concerning its approach to Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act.

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State Senator Mark Pody Shares Insights on Franchise Excise Tax Issue and Legislative Timelines

Mark Pody

State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) told listeners on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy that legislative timelines could be impacted after lawmakers were sent home for the week due to severe winter weather. Pody added that the new bill filing deadline could be extended, but it currently stands on February 1.

The Wilson County-area state senator also offered an update on his newly introduced school safety measure and noted that its funding would be included in the current budget.

Pody also confirmed that the possible constitutional issue concerning out-of-state companies threatening legal action over the franchise excise tax is being studied and added that the fiscal fallout may cause some programs to be delayed by a year.

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TN House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett: There Is Discussion About the Constitutionality of Our Franchise Excise Tax Law

Johnny Garrett

Majority Whip Johnny Garrett joined the newsmaker line on Monday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to share his insights on the new legislative session as it begins its second week at home as snow continues to blanket the region.

Garrett expressed optimism about Governor Bill Lee’s proposed education freedom scholarships, though he said he does anticipate some opposition to the proposal.

The conversation then turned to the potential constitutional issue regarding the franchise excise tax law that could leave taxpayers on the hook for as much as $1.2 billion. Garrett noted Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is evaluating the claims to see if tax relief for the companies in question would address constitutional concerns.

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State Rep. Jody Barrett Takes on Red Flag Laws, Education Freedom

Jody Barrett

As the Tennessee General Assembly prepares to gavel back into session next week, State Representative Jody Barrett appeared on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to reflect on the lessons learned during his first term in the Tennessee General Assembly and discuss his key legislative matters including red lag laws and school choice reform.

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Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy Radio Show Moves to 760 AM, Nashville’s Only ‘America First’ Newstalk Station

The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, the radio show produced by the state’s leading conservative media company, begins broadcasting Monday, December 11 on Nashville’s newest conservative talk station 760 AM WENO “The Flame,” Nashville’s only America First newstalk station.

The Tennessee Star Report moves to its new home after a five-year run on TalkRadio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC. The show is produced by Star News Digital Media, the parent company of The Tennessee Star conservative news website.

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Tennessee Juvenile Judges Announce ‘Full Support’ of Supreme Court’s Effort to Raise Compensation for Court-Appointed Attorneys

On behalf of the juvenile court judges and magistrates of Tennessee’s 98 juvenile courts, the executive committee of the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges announced this week its “full support” of the current efforts to increase the state’s judicial system’s budget for it to increase the compensation rate for court-appointed attorneys.

“Juvenile court is where the many problems facing our state’s children are addressed… Private attorneys are crucial for abused or unwanted children. Unfortunately, many attorneys do not accept appointments in juvenile court due to the inadequacy of the reimbursement,” the council said in a statement. “Simply stated, many court-appointed attorneys lose money taking these cases. They are hard cases and often last for years. There is absolutely no financial incentive for lawyers to take these cases.”

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Tennessee Far-Left Gun Control Activist Announces Race Against GOP Whip

A far-left gun control activist announced earlier this week that she will run against Tennessee House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) in the state’s 45h House District. 

“I’m a mom, former teacher, and gun violence prevention advocate who is ready to fight for our kids. Join the movement today,” said Alison Beale Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, imploring followers to visit her website to donate to her campaign. 

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State Lawmaker Plans to Introduce Bill to Help Math Retention Rates for Tennessee Students

State House Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) told The Tennessee Star that he plans to introduce a new bill that closely resembles Temnnessee’s existing third-grade retention bill for literacy.

Tennessee implemented new policies last year to address low literacy rates among third-graders. This coming year, Tennessee lawmakers intend to turn their focus to mathematics.

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Republicans Praise Bold Proposal Which Could Lead to State of Tennessee Rejecting All Federal Money from U.S. Department of Education, Democrats Whine Plan is ‘Misguided’

The creation of a new joint working group by Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) to study the impact federal funds have on education in the Volunteer State is eliciting a mixed response.

State Senator Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) and State Representative Debra Moody (R-Covington) will lead the new group. The state senator welcomes the opportunity to discuss using federal money in education.

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Gulbransen: The First Step to Stopping Modern Day Slavery in Tennessee Is to Pass This Bill

Attorney and newest all-star panelist Braden Boucek joined host Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report to discuss to administrative overreach and bizarre secrecy surrounding the Covenant Killer Manifesto and how lawmakers convening in the special session could obtain and review those materials today.

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Knoxville Mayor Urges General Assembly to Pass Red Flag Laws During Special Session

Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon released a statement on Thursday in support of Governor Bill Lee’s call for a special session in the General Assembly, set to convene on Monday.

“As Mayor of Knoxville, public safety is my top priority. I support the Governor’s call for a Special Session to consider legislative measures to make our communities safer,” Kincannon’s statement said. “While there are many perspectives on how to accomplish these goals, the conversation must continue to include all parts of our state and all communities.”

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Michael Patrick Leahy: Bill Lee’s ‘Laundry List Red Flag Law Special Session’ Is a Dramatic Break from the Modern Political Tradition of Tennessee

Host Michael Patrick Leahy lays out why Gov. Bill Lee’s “Laundry List Red Flag Law Special Session’ breaks with modern political tradition in Tennessee.  He also explains the surprising reason his ‘Red Flag’ law is doomed to fail in court on Friday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report.  TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: Well, we’re looking at this special session call Governor Bill Lee had – his ill-advised call [for a special session that will convene on Monday, August 21.]It’s going to be an opportunity for the Left wing to descend upon the capital on Monday and try to intimidate Tennessee General Assembly members to adopt gun control measures and a Red Flag law. We’ll get to those details here in just a minute, but let’s talk about the history of special sessions. It’s supposed to be on extraordinary occasions. The modern political tradition here in the state of Tennessee is to take care of the business of the state during the general session of the Tennessee General Assembly, which convenes in January and typically runs to April or May. And when you have an opportunity for committee hearings and for more deliberate consideration of a wide array of laws…

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Crommentary: The Runaway Left Wields Power Through the Tyranny of the Minority

On Friday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report, original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael noted three seemingly unrelated stories in the news today to illustrate how the Left is effectively dominating critical sectors of life across across the country.  TRANSCRIPT Crom Carmichael: Michael, like so many of my recent commentaries, it’s kind of a theme – pulling from a bunch of different stories on seemingly unrelated topics. But this is a headline from the Wall Street Journal, James Freeman, “Has the Bay Area Hit Bottom?” and what it goes on to point out is just how terrible things are in San Francisco and in Oakland. And there’s one there’s one quote in here. It’s by Mr. Chachas acquired Gump’s department stores following a chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. And here’s what he wrote – and it was published in the local paper there. San Francisco now suffers from a tyranny of the minority behavior and actions of the few that jeopardize the livelihood of the many. The ramifications of COVID policies advising people to abandon their offices are only beginning to be understood. Equally devastating had been a litany of destructive San Francisco strategies, including allowing the homeless to occupy our…

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Open Government Expert: Any Tennessee General Assembly Committee Has the Legal Authority to Obtain the Covenant Killer Manifesto

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Executive Director Deborah Fisher joined all-star panelist and author Carol Swain in-studio on Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the provisions in current law that would make the Covenant Killer Manifesto available for review by Tennessee lawmakers.

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Tennessee Department of Education Releases Data on Third-Grade Retention Appeals

This week, the Tennessee Department of Education(TDOE) released final data on third-grade retention appeals.

In 2021, Tennessee lawmakers passed the Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act. It set forth key academic supports for third-grade students who did not score proficient on the English language arts (ELA) portion of their TCAP assessment. It further updated requirements for students to move to the next grade via multiple pathways for fourth-grade promotion.

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New Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds Sworn Into Office

Tennessee officially has a new State Commissioner of Education. Lizzette Reynolds, a Texas native, was sworn in last week as the latest head of the Tennessee Department of Education. She replaces Penny Schwinn, who resigned effective June 1.

“I am excited and humbled by having the opportunity to serve Tennessee’s families to ensure they get the best possible education for their children,” said Commissioner Reynolds. “I look forward to meeting with educators, families, elected officials, and stakeholders throughout the state and continuing the great work already happening on behalf of kids in Tennessee.”

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Commentary: The Left Fights Against Children, We Must Continue to Fight FOR Them

The Marxist Left, dedicated to undermining the liberties, traditions, and values that make America unique and exceptional, is waging a war on children – both born and unborn – in the United States and even right here in Tennessee.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marxist Left fought to keep schools shuttered and to forcibly mask our kids, resulting in an anxious, confused, and undereducated generation.

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Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition Meets with Lee Administration on Concerns Regarding August Special Session

Members of the Lee administration met with the Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) Board of Directors on Wednesday after the group sent a letter urging Governor Bill Lee to cancel his proposed August 21 special session of the Tennessee General Assembly.

“In response to our letter asking Governor Lee to cancel plans for an August Special Session of the Tennessee General Assembly due to public safety concerns as well as constitutional concerns, Chief of Staff Joseph Williams emailed us and requested a meeting with our Board of Directors. We took him up on that offer and on Wednesday, had a meeting with Chief of Staff Williams and Lee Administration Special Advisor Michael Hendrix,” the TNFFC disclosed in a Friday statement emailed to The Tennessee Star.

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TN Faith & Freedom Coalition Calls on Gov. Lee to Cancel Special Session on Gun Control ‘In the Interest of Public Safety’ Due to Danger from Far Left Activists

The Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) called on Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) Monday to cancel his proposed August 21 special session of the Tennessee General Assembly.

“We are writing you because you have made it clear that you are planning to use your authority to officially call an ill-advised special session of the Tennessee General Assembly on August 21st to address gun issues in the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting tragedy, a heinous and despicable act committed by a mentally ill individual who claimed to be on the transgender spectrum,” the TNFFC said in a letter sent to the governor. A copy of the letter was also sent to all members of the Tennessee General Assembly.

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State Freedom Caucus Network Expresses Support for Tennessee Legislators Rejecting Governor’s Special Called Session

Representatives from the State Freedom Caucus Network issued a statement of support Wednesday for the Tennessee House members who publicly rejected Governor Bill Lee’s call for a special session to pass gun control and red flag laws.

Earlier Wednesday, Tennessee State Representatives Bryan Richey (R-Maryville) issued an open letter to the governor, signed on to by Representatives Ed Butler (R-Rickman) and Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), urging the abandonment of the special session scheduled for August 21.

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