A bill that reforms Tennessee’s drug-free school zone law passed through the state House and Senate last week, but advocates of the reform say it doesn’t completely fix the problem. The drug-free law, which dates back to 1995, adds mandatory minimum sentences for drug sales that take place near schools, daycare facilities, public libraries, recreation centers and parks and upgrades convictions to the next felony grade. Under the new legislation, HB2517/SB2734, drug-free zones shrink to 500 feet, judges are allowed more flexibility in sentencing and those convicted under the law will now be eligible for parole. However, the bill is not retroactive and about 400 people who were sentenced under the old law will remain in prison. Nashville attorney Daniel Horowitz, who has already helped free one client and is working to free another, wants Gov. Bill Lee to commute the sentences of those serving time under the old law. WPLN has the full story.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill last week requiring jails and prisons to provide healthy meals and medical care to women both before and after they give birth, WPLN reports. The legislation, SB1839/HB1651, passed unanimously through the House and Senate. The Tennessee Department of Correction already has policies in place to provide special diets for pregnant inmates, but pregnancy-related care is not uniformly administered in the correctional system, especially among the dozens of county jails. The bill is meant to standardize access at both prisons and jails.

House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, and Gov. Bill Lee today confirmed that, while a special session is still possible, it is unlikely to happen before the August mid-term election, the Tennessean reports. Lee said last week he was considering calling lawmakers back for a special session after a bill aimed at providing businesses, schools and others protections from litigation related to COVID-19 failed. Faison and Lee both said today that a special session could not occur until the House and Senate reach an agreement. A special session could be called either by the governor ordering lawmakers to return for a specific reason, or the legislature signing on to an effort, which would require two-thirds of the members in both chambers, or 88 of the General Assembly’s 132 seats, to sign on to a petition for a special session.

Memphians are now required to wear face coverings in most public places and businesses to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Commercial Appeal reports. The Memphis City Council approved an ordinance this week that requires both employees and the public to wear masks in places of business, public buildings and medical care facilities, and when waiting for or using public transportation or waiting to be seated at a restaurant. Masks are not required after being seated at a bar or restaurant or if the employee works in a room separate from others. Following the vote, state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, asked the Tennessee attorney general for an opinion on the constitutionality of the ordinance.

Hours after the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned today, Gov. Bill Lee's office confirmed he is considering calling legislators back for a special session after COVID-related liability and telemedicine bills failed to clear both chambers, the Tennessean reports. Though a liability immunity bill did pass the Senate, the House declined to adopt one of its provisions making the legislation retroactive. A bill to expand telemedicine privileges to specialized care providers also died due to failed negotiations.

A “bizarre” legislative session cut short by the COVD-19 pandemic came to a close in the early hours of Friday, the TN Journal reports. A last-minute deal to pass restrictions on abortions in certain cases caused House and Senate leaders to drop disagreements over the budget and wrap up their business. “The surprise nature of the decision to take up the bill after midnight (and behind closed doors) in the Senate, where leaders had earlier declared it would not be taken up this year, is only likely to fuel legal questions about the measure,” the paper reports. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a challenge to the law today. The Tennessean has more about the abortion bill while the Nashville Post looks at the budget deal.

After a joint resolution passed unanimously in the state Senate to recognize Ashanti Nikole Posey — a basketball player and senior at Hillsboro High School in Nashville who was killed last spring — the measure ran into opposition in the House. After Majority Leader William Lamberth said he could not vote in favor of the measure because police said Posey had been involved in the sale of a small amount of marijuana prior to her death, the measure failed 45 to 1 with 39 members present but not voting, WPLN reports. The vote left a tense situation on the House floor. Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, shouted an expletive, then left the chamber after being threatened to be removed. Minutes after the House defeated the resolution, a group of demonstrators were forcefully removed from the chamber’s gallery.

Rep. John DeBerry announced yesterday that after 26 years of serving as a Democrat, he will file to run as an independent in the next election, the Commercial Appeal reports. Earlier this year, the state’s Democratic Party Executive Committee voted to remove DeBerry from its ballot for the Aug. 6 primary after taking issue with his voting record and his history of accepting donations from GOP-aligned political action committees. The party removed him from the ballot after the filing deadline had passed, preventing DeBerry from filing again under another party. DeBerry’s announcement comes after legislation (HB1278/SB1009) passed through the General Assembly amending state election law to allow an incumbent to file on the opposing party’s ballot at least 90 days before the primary election or 90 days before the general election if running as an independent.

State House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, yesterday moved to amend a law to make camping outside the state Capitol a felony, the Tennessean reports. Sexton’s move comes days after a small campsite was set up outside the Capitol and reports began to circulate that a group of individuals intended to establish an “autonomous zone” there. The autonomous zone movement began in Seattle where organizers made a temporary encampment covering multiple blocks of the city in an effort to demonstrate a society without law enforcement. The current law, passed in 2012 after the Occupy Nashville protest, makes it a misdemeanor to camp on certain state properties that aren’t marked for doing so. Sexton’s amendment, in addition to making camping on most state property a felony, also clarifies that merely erecting a tent would qualify as camping.

A record 800 lawyers have signed up for the TBA’s 2020 Virtual Convention, which kicked off today with sessions about the recent legislative session, including the effects of the pandemic on the current and future work of the General Assembly, the status of budget negotiations and the fate of policy proposals such as elimination of the professional privilege tax. Attendees heard from House Judiciary Committee Chair Michael Curcio and committee member Bill Beck, Sen. Raumesh Akbari, TBA lobbyist Brad Lampley and Berkley Schwarz, director of public policy and government affairs. A smaller group enjoyed a morning exercise session while law firm managing partners gathered in the late afternoon to share their challenges and successes. Don’t forget to tune into tomorrow for another a great day of free programming.