The Tennessee Firearms Association says it has had enough of Republican Rep. Beth Harwell as speaker of the state House, the Tennessean reports. The group circulated a lengthy email yesterday criticizing Harwell for not sufficiently supporting President-elect Donald Trump. “The last six years have proven that the establishment Republican perspective and control tactics of Beth Harwell cannot be reconciled with the current trend that the voters have demanded across Tennessee by their overwhelming support of Donald Trump,” the email reads.

State Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, has been reappointed to the Council of State Governments’ Legal Task Force, the Daily Times reports. The bi-partisan legal task force reviews litigation in federal courts that may potentially impact the states and the relationship between the federal government and states. Overbey is first vice chair on the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee and chair of the Ethics Committee.

State Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, says lawmakers should reexamine gun safety in the wake of deaths like MaKayla Dyer, a Jefferson County girl killed last year by her 11-year-old neighbor, reportedly because she refused to show him a puppy. Kyle says she will again attempt to get penalties in place for adults who do not secure their guns and a child gains access to the weapon and shoots someone. These cases are “often 100 percent preventable had the guns been stored safely. Safe storage does save lives,” Kyle said. In Dyer’s case, the young shooter was able to get his father’s shotgun from a closet, Nashville Public Radio reports.

Five Republican state lawmakers have invested in companies owned by “anti-Muslim” GOP donor Andy Miller, the Nashville Post reports. New campaign disclosures reveal that Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Sens. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, and Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, have invested in various companies, including Omed Rx, QMedRx and Diatech Oncology of Franklin. The report comes after news last week that Reps. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, and Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, rented a house from Miller, who also has financial ties to expelled legislator Jeremy Durham and took several legislators on a trip to Europe in 2011.

State Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, who serves as chairman of the House Ethics Committee, tells the Tennessean that he will try to convene committee members late next week to take up a complaint filed against House Speaker Beth Harwell by Rep. Rick Womick, R-Rockvale. The complaint questions Harwell’s handling of a variety of situations, including the case of Rep. Curry Todd, the expulsion of Jeremy Durham and the alleged actions of House Clerk Joe McCord. Womick says these incidents show that Harwell’s leadership has become “unpredictable and vindictive."

The state’s three constitutional officers – Comptroller Justin Wilson, Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Treasurer David Lillard – are all planning to seek new terms in office when the Tennessee General Assembly votes to fill the positions in January, Knoxnews reports. All three were elected to office in 2009 when Republicans first gained a majority of seats in the state legislature and are unlikely to face opposition according to the paper. Under the state constitution, the comptroller and treasurer serve two-year terms while the secretary of state serves a four-year term.

State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, announced Friday he will run for House majority leader, the Tennessean reports. “After much consideration and encouragement from House members across Tennessee, I have decided to formally seek the position of majority leader for the 110th General Assembly,” said Carter, who is an attorney and former county General Sessions Court judge. He will seek to replace Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, who is stepping down from the post after five years. Others still considering a run are House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville. Rep. Sheila Butt, R-Columbia, initially expressed interest in running, but has bowed out of the race citing recent developments with her family. The caucus will vote on leadership races Nov. 17.

A former Tennessean is hoping to change how residents interact with elected officials during this legislative session, Knoxnews reports. The creator of POPVOX, a for-profit, nonpartisan startup that connects users with bills coming before Congress, went live last week with a beta project in Tennessee. The pilot project allows voters to let their state representatives know what they think with a few clicks of the mouse. POPVOX/TN currently allows residents to weigh in on select legislative issues, including criminal justice reform, gas tax, medical marijuana, rural broadband and expansion of TennCare. The company hopes to roll out a similar service in other states throughout 2017.

House Democrats today called for the resignation of a lawmaker, who they say is accused of firing a staff member in retaliation for interactions with expelled lawmaker Jeremy Durham, the Tennessean reports. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart and Rep. Bo Mitchell, both D-Nashville, said they believe the actions of Rep. Jane Doe #33, as she is referred to in the attorney general report on Durham, show she fired her staff member as a direct correlation to that staff member being sexually harassed by Durham. Stewart said she needs to confirm or deny the allegations.

Lawrence McKinney’s legal team is getting help from State Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, who has offered to meet with Gov. Bill Haslam about McKinney’s application of exoneration, the Tennessean reports. Pody also said he will consider asking Haslam to hold off on a decision about McKinney while he drafts legislation that addresses the exoneration process. Pody says he felt Tuesday’s Parole Board hearing was “looking to retry the case” rather than considering the exoneration request. McKinney’s 1978 rape and burglary conviction was overturned and his record was judicially expunged, but he needs an executive exoneration to be able to seek compensation for his wrongful imprisonment.