Tag: Tennessee State Senate

TN Democrat State Senator Heidi Campbell Vulnerable to Challenge from GOP’s Wyatt Rampy

Kaitlin Housler
Heidi Campbell MPL

Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, said Republicans have an opportunity to gain a seat in the Tennessee State Senate by flipping District 20, currently represented by Democrat Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville).

Campbell, who was elected to the Senate in 2020, is up for reelection this year and will face Republican nominee Wyatt Rampy in the November 5 general election.

Read the full story

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

Kaitlin Housler
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.

Read the full story

Tennessee Star Editorial: Lt. Governor McNally Must Resign from Leadership Now

Michael Patrick Leahy

It is painfully obvious to anyone who has watched the confused public responses of 79-year-old Tennessee Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) to the controversy surrounding his inexplicable social media postings that he has lost a step mentally.

McNally also faces health and physical challenges not unusual for a man of his age. In February he underwent a medical procedure to install a heart pacemaker.

Read the full story

Tennessee Supreme Court Strikes Down Lower Court’s Redistricting Injunction That Would Have Required Drawing New State Senate Districts

Cooper Moran

The Tennessee Supreme Court struck down a temporary injunction issued by a three-judge panel that would have mandated drawing new state Senate districts.

Originally, a ruling from the lower court forced the legislative body to “fix” the boundaries within 15 days of the decision, or the judicial branch would have created its own map.

Read the full story

Tennessee Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Bill Requiring High School Students to Learn Virtues of Capitalism

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee State Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill, 25-6, that requires high school students to be taught the virtues of capitalism and the constitutional republic form of government in comparison to other economic systems and governmental systems.

The Tennessee State House of Representatives approved the House version of the bill on March 28, 68-21. Prior to the final vote, the Senate voted to substitute and conform to the House-approved version.

Read the full story

Tennessee Senate Scheduled to Vote on Bill Requiring High School Students to Learn Virtues of Capitalism

Aaron Gulbransen

The full Tennessee State Senate will vote on Tuesday, April 12, considering a bill that requires high school students to be taught the virtues of capitalism and the constitutional republic form of government in comparison to other economic systems and governmental systems.

The Tennessee State House of Representatives previously approved the House version of the bill on March 28, 68-21.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

Tennessee Senate Approves Balanced Billing Legislation

Chris Butler

Members of the Tennessee State Senate this week unanimously passed legislation that ends the practice of surprise or unexpected medical billing in Tennessee, also called balanced billing. Surprise Medical Billing happens when a patient receives out-of-network care without his or her knowledge – either in an emergency or during a visit to an in-network facility. Weeks later, insurance companies send bills demanding patients pay money for services they assumed insurance would cover.

Read the full story

Legislation Targeting Organized Street Racing Gets Additional Co-Sponsors

Aaron Gulbransen
John Gillespie and John Stevens of Tennessee

A Tennessee General Assembly bill targeting organized street racing continues through the legislative process.

It was previously reported that State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis-HD97) and State Senator John Stevens (R-Huntingdon-SD24) have teamed up to introduce identical bills, HB1661 and SB1673. There are now fourteen co-sponsors in the state House, including two Democrats.

Read the full story

Tennessee Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Redistricting Releases Its Plan

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Redistricting released their plans and maps for congressional and state senate redistricting.

The Senate version of congressional redistricting is substantially similar to the House plan, which was released on Wednesday. These plans split Nashville amongst three congressional districts. Under the current district lines, Nashville is in the 5th Congressional District and is represented by Congressman Jim Cooper. The current 5th District consists of all of Davidson and Dickson counties, and part of Cheatham County.

Read the full story

Tennessee General Assembly Primary Results

Laura Baigert

While there were 115 Tennessee General Assembly seats open for Thursday’s primary, most went uncontested.  In fact, there was just a fractional 36 primaries yielding some surprising results.

In the Senate, all of the incumbents won their primary bid.

In the House, Representatives Micah Van Huss and Matthew Hill both lost their primaries.  Coupled with Representative Timothy Hill leaving the House to run in the U.S. House District 1 Republican primary, which he also lost, the representation of the northeast corner of the state will undergo dramatic changes.

Read the full story

Memphis Entrepreneur Jeff Webb Discusses His Endorsement of Dr. Manny Sethi for the U.S. Senate

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed the Memphis Entrepreneur Jeff Webb to the newsmakers line.

During the third hour, Webb discussed his motivation for the recent endorsement of Tennessee Senate candidate Dr. Manny Sethi. He described his decision as being one based on the fact that Sethi embodies the American dream, is a political outsider and would be an advocate for small businesses.

Read the full story

Senator Kerry Roberts Discusses the Reconvening of the Tennessee State Senate and the Traditional Salute to the State Flag

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) to the studio.

During the second hour, Leahy and Roberts discussed how the Tennessee state Senate reconvened Monday evening with salutes and prayers before the rioting in downtown Nashville.

Read the full story

BREAKING on The Tennessee Star Report: State Senator Pody Vows to Bring Heartbeat Bill Back for a Floor Vote, Either Through Committee or Rule 63

Julie Carr

State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) vowed on Wednesday morning’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – to bring the Heartbeat Bill back for a floor vote in the Tennessee General Assembly this session, either through the exercise of Rule 63 or through a recall to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which sent the bill to summer study in a 5 to 3 vote (with one “pass” vote) last week. Here is the transcript from the show: Gill: Will the Heartbeat Bill be allowed to come up for a vote in the State Senate? They’ve killed it in committee by “putting it in summer study.” That effectively kills the Heartbeat Bill. That was the intent. It passed overwhelmingly in the House. And if you go to the Tennessee Star.com you can see results of our new Tennessee Star Triton Poll. Over a thousand Republican likely voters. And it tells you something about where Republican primary voters see Bill Haslam, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Lee, Lamar Alexander. It also tells you how Republican primary voters view the Heartbeat Bill. They like it, they love…

Read the full story

Lt. Gov. McNally Announces Committee Appointments for the 111th General Assembly

Jason M. Reynolds

Lt. Gov. and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally (R-TN-05) on Thursday announced state Senate committee assignments for the 111th General Assembly. McNally praised his fellow members in announcing the assignments in a press release. “This Senate is made up of some of the smartest and strongest leaders with whom I have had the privilege to serve,” he said. “Each of our Senators could serve on any number of our committees and do well. I am grateful to have such a strong membership. I am confident we have assembled the best team to do the people’s business.” McNally was re-elected to his second term as Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate on Tuesday. Former Commerce and Labor Chairman Sen. Jack Johnson (R-TN-23) and former State and Local Chairman Sen. Ken Yager (R-TN-12) were elected Senate Majority Leader and Senate Republican Caucus Chairman respectively, leaving two committee chair vacancies. The resulting changes will elevate two Senators to chairman and give five committees new chairmen. McNally also re-appointed Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-TN-18) as the Speaker Pro Tempore and Sen. Janice Bowling (R-TN-16) as Deputy Speaker. The committee chairs are listed below, along with statements by McNally on each. A PDF in…

Read the full story

Nineteen GOP State Senators Endorse Marsha Blackburn for U.S. Senate Over ‘Second Thoughts’ Corker

Tennessee Star Staff

Nineteen of the 27 Republicans in the Tennessee State Senate endorsed Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) on Wednesday for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate over a potential candidacy of Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who said in September he would not seek a third term but has indicated over the past week he is having “second thoughts.” The Tennesseean identified the 19 state senators who endorsed Blackburn: Sen. Paul Bailey, Sparta Sen. Mike Bell, Riceville Sen. Janice Bowling, Tullahoma Sen. Rusty Crowe Johnson City Sen. Mark Green, Clarksville Sen. Dolores Gresham, Somerville Sen. Ferrell Haile, Gallatin Sen. Joey Hensley, Hohenwald Sen. Jack Johnson, Franklin Sen. Brian Kelsey, Germantown Sen. Bill Ketron, Murfreesboro Sen. Jon Lundberg, Bristol Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, Knoxville Sen. Frank Niceley, Strawberry Plains Sen. Mark Pody, Lebanon Sen. Kerry Roberts, Springfield Sen. John Stevens, Huntingdon Sen. Ken Yager, Kingston “Among the initial group of Senate Republicans to not endorse Blackburn on Wednesday were Lt. Gov. Randy McNally of Oak Ridge and Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville,” The Tennessean noted, adding: Later in the morning, McNally posted his endorsement of Blackburn on Facebook, saying, “Marsha Blackburn proved her leadership ability in the House. It’s time to put…

Read the full story