A bill that would protect intellectually disabled inmates from death sentences was approved by committees in both the House and Senate last week. SB1349/HB1062 is one of several proposals that would give inmates on death row the opportunity to have a court determine if they are intellectually disabled, and if so, to have their sentences altered. The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators has been behind these legislative efforts, motivated by the pending execution of Pervis Payne, whose lawyers say has an IQ in the intellectually disabled range.

The Tennessee Senate, in an act of substantive bipartisanship, yesterday voted unanimously in favor of police use-of-force reforms, the Nashville Post reports. The proposed law would ban chokeholds unless an officer believed deadly force was authorized, require the teaching of chokeholds at training academies, require law enforcement agencies to develop de-escalation policies, require other officers to intervene in cases of excessive force, prohibit firing at moving vehicles unless the officer believes deadly force is authorized and prohibit the issuance of no-knock warrants. Senate Bill 1380/House Bill 1406 sponsored by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, and co-sponsored by some Democrats, will tomorrow be considered by House Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

Some Tennessee lawmakers want control over when the state should challenge the federal government in court, proposing to remove the solicitor general from the attorney general’s office, giving the position exclusive authority to represent the state in federal court, and making the post accountable to the General Assembly. The new solicitor general would be elected by lawmakers and hold a four-year term., the Tennessean reports. The power to file suit currently rests with the attorney general and reporter's office. The proposal, SB350/HB506, passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee after the sponsor promised to amend it to address some of the concerns expressed. The bill has drawn concerns from Democrats, the attorney general's office and legal experts, who argue the measure could be unconstitutional and lead to inefficiency.

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance has assessed a $135,000 civil penalty on former state senator and Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron after he took responsibility for nearly $300,000 in questionable campaign contributions and expenditures. Board members voted unanimously to impose the penalty for violations connected to Ketron’s Senate, Quest PAC and mayoral accounts, Tennessee Lookout reports. The registry dismissed $80,000 in previous penalties for numerous late filings and allowed Ketron to start a payment plan, which would make him eligible to run for re-election in 2022. In the past, the registry has required lawmakers to pay all of their penalties before becoming eligible for election. In this case, the body said it will consider the payment plan as a payment. In other actions, the registry voted unanimously to audit an expense by Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, with a new vendor — Dixieland Strategies — to determine whether it was legitimate and potentially whether illegal coordination was made between the campaign and the Faith Family Freedom Forum political action committee.

A bill that would require police to record interrogations of juveniles was unanimously approved by the Tennessee Senate yesterday, the Daily Memphian reports. Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, and Rep. London Lamar, D-Memphis, sponsored Senate Bill 1435/House Bill 340, which they say would increase transparency and end both coerced confessions and false accusations against police. General Assembly budget analysts estimated the bill would cost about $40,200 for law enforcement agencies across the state to buy equipment in the first year, and $6,700 thereafter for data storage and equipment maintenance. The House Finance, Ways and Means Committee will hear the measure after the legislature handles budget bills.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday advanced a bill to study the potential impact of legalized medical marijuana in the state, WJHL reports. The committee approved SB667 with amendments by a vote of 5-3. The bill would ask the Tennessee Department of Health to study the licensure and regulation of medical cannabis in neighboring states and report back to the General Assembly by Dec. 15. A previously proposed bill that would have directly legalized the use of medical marijuana in the state failed in the Senate in March. The House Health Committee was scheduled to consider its version of the bill today.

The Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider a bill seeking harsher sentences for minors convicted of sex crimes, the Commercial Appeal reports. Under HB0323/SB0220, TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 39, Chapter 13, would be amended to allow judicial discretion on placing juveniles convicted of rape and aggravated rape into the custody of the Department of Children's Services for a period of one year. Sponsored by Rep. Jason Hodges, D-Clarksville, and Sen. Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, the proposed amendment comes in response to a case where the parents of a minor in these lawmakers’ district were forced to endure laughter and lack of remorse from the 13-year-old offenders in a court hearing regarding the recorded rape of their daughter. Rep. Hodges commended the girl’s courage, saying: "being able to come out and talk about (the rape), knowing that it's not going to change her circumstances, but being willing to do it to change somebody else’s ... that just makes her a hero in this story.” The House passed its version of the bill last week by a vote of 91-0.

The Tennessee General Assembly has unanimously confirmed Judge Jill Bartee Ayers to the Court of Criminal Appeals Middle District. Ayers, who was previously a circuit court judge for the 19th Judicial District, was appointed to the role by Gov. Bill Lee in January. She joins 12 Court of Criminal Appeals judges from the Eastern, Middle and Western divisions. Middle District cases are traditionally heard at the Nashville Supreme Court building, but Ayers will likely hear cases from the other divisions as well. Ayers, who says she is “humbled” by the appointment, is the first addition to the Court of Criminal Appeals since 2016. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Gov. Bill Lee is scheduled to present his annual budget amendment this week; a move that usually signals the legislative session is nearing its end, the Tennessee Journal reports. The updated spending plan comes at a time of uncertainty given the influx of federal COVID-19 relief funds and the prospect of even more money from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package. At a speech last week at the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, Lee hinted that a tax cut will be part of his budget amendment though the federal guidance specifies that COVID relief cannot be used to fund tax cuts. State Attorney General Herbert Slatery and his counterpart in Kentucky recently filed a lawsuit seeking to remove the strings attached to federal funds.

Lamar Alexander, who served three terms in the U.S. Senate and two as governor, was set to be honored by a joint convention of the General Assembly this afternoon, the Tennessee Journal reports. Alexander, a Maryville Republican who did not seek re-election last fall, also was in town to tour the new Tennessee State Library and Archives facility. The publication notes that Alexander’s first speech to a joint convention of the House and Senate occurred more than 42 years ago when he delivered his first budget address in February 1979.