The Tennessean reports Jennifer Donnals, spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Haslam, said the state constitution permits the governor authority to veto a resolution to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement. The Senate signed off yesterday on a change that would allow a private law firm to file a suit on behalf of Tennessee if the state attorney general refuses to sue. The House approved the joint resolution (SJR467) Monday. The Associated Press reports Haslam has previously raised concerns about the legislation. 

WPLN reports the state House voted last night to strip roughly $5 million from the University of Tennessee's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The measure (HB 2248) would take the money, which accounts for the agency's total funding, and split it between scholarships for minority students and decals for police cruisers that say "In God We Trust." The move follows two controversial posts on the office’s website. The Senate Education Committee voted in March to remove the office's state funding. 

The state House approved a measure (SJR 0467) last night that would order Attorney General Herbert Slately to sue the federal government over a refugee resettlement program. The Senate previously approved the measure and must now sign off on a change that would allow a private law firm to sue on behalf of the state before the measure becomes law, The Associated Press reports. “The passage of this resolution, and the litigation that will follow, puts Tennessee on the wrong side of history,” said Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. 

J. Ross Dyer was confirmed to the Court of Criminal Appeals last night during a joint session of the Tennessee General Assembly. Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Dyer, who has been the Shelby County Attorney since 2014, to the position in March. He is the first CCA judge to go through the General Assembly’s new confirmation process. Dyer replaces Roger Page, who recently became a state Supreme Court Justice. 

Rep. Susan Lynn delayed action on the transgender “bathroom bill” in the House until next year, citing the purpose of studying it further. The measure (HB2414), sponsored by the Mt. Juliet Republican, would have required students in public schools and universities to use bathrooms of the sex on their birth certificates. "I have learned that our school districts are largely following what the bill says," she told The Tennessean. 

Gov. Bill Haslam today vetoed a bill (SB1108 / HB0615) that would have made the Bible the official book of Tennessee, WSMV reports. “In addition to the constitutional issues with the bill, my personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text,” Haslam wrote. The legislature still has time to overturn the veto. The Tennessean earlier this week highlighted potential lawsuits that could come if the measure is made into law. 

The state House today approved a bill repealing the “spiritual treatment” exemption to Tennessee’s child abuse and neglect statute, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The exemption – approved in 1994 – was intended to shield parents and others from child abuse charges if a child "is being provided treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone” in lieu of medical treatment. The bill (SB1761 / HB2040) won unanimous Senate approval in March. The measure now goes to Gov. Bill Haslam, who is expected to sign it into law. 

An amendment (SJR 0461) aimed at giving state lawmakers more control of public school funding failed to advance yesterday in the Senate Education Committee. The Commercial Appeal reports supporters of the proposal “said it was an attempt to block what they called ‘activist judges’ from ordering the legislature to increase or alter funding for schools.” A House version (HJR 0493) of the legislation is still alive in the House committee system. 

The Tennessean explores the potential lawsuits that Tennessee could face if Gov. Bill Haslam signs off on the Bible as the state’s official book. A handful of legal organizations on either side of the debate have said they will consider legal action if the measure (SB1108 / HB0615) is enacted. “If Tennessee becomes the first state in the nation to recognize the Bible as its official book, it also could become the first state in the U.S. to be sued for it,” the author writes. Haslam has until April 19 to make a decision on the measure. 

J. Ross Dyer, nominated by Gov. Bill Haslam for the Court of Criminal Appeals to fill the vacancy left by state Supreme Court Justice Roger Page, was affirmatively recommend by the House Judicial Ad Hoc Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee today. Action could come as early as Thursday to confirm Dyer in a Joint Session of House and Senate.