The Tennessee General Assembly has fewer women among its members compared to other state legislatures, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The review also found that 92 percent of Tennessee legislators are Protestant, compared to the national average of 38 percent Protestant. Read more from The Knoxville News Sentinel.

House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, and Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, filed a bill Friday that would establish an online voter registration system in Tennessee, Nooga reports. Voters with an unexpired Tennessee driver’s license or personal ID card issued by the state government would be able to go to a state website to register to vote.

The Conference Committee dealing with the implementation of new judicial confirmation procedures (SB1, HB142), today discussed four options for confirming Gov. Bill Haslam's judicial nominations. A dispute over power that prevented a resolution to the process last year remains, as members debate how votes will be cast and counted in the confirmation process to allow the Senate and House to have an equal voice. The next meeting of the conference committee is scheduled for Jan. 19.

The Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act, a bill that says no state agency may enforce the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, could cost the state more than $8.5 billion. The figure, tallied in the bill’s fiscal note, includes federal funding the state receives for programs like TennCare that would be eliminated if the state is noncompliant with federal law. “… Some legislators are endangering billions of dollars in federal funding, not to mention threatening the health insurance, hospital visitation and parenting arrangements of same-sex couples,” said Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project. Read more from The Tennessean.

The Conference Committee dealing with the implementation of new judicial confirmation procedures (SB1, HB142), today looked at four possible options for confirming Supreme Court and Intermediate Court appointments from the governor. With Governor Bill Haslam's appointment of Judge Roger Amos Page to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court earlier this month, the clock is ticking on the 60-day time period given the General Assembly to confirm appointees under the Constitutional Amendment approved in 2014. 

The points of contention among legislators are whether one chamber has more power than the other and how confirmation or rejection is determined. The four options the legislators have on the table are below along with the concerns raised:

1. House and Senate convene a session together and vote together (33 senators; 99 representatives; 132 total legislators). Confirmation requires a majority vote (67 yes votes). (Senators have big concerns that votes by senators would not be needed for confirmation to occur.)
2. House and Senate convene a session together and Senate votes are weighted by a multiple of three to match house votes. (Representatives have big concerns about this as it gives Senate votes more meaning.)
3. Confirmation of appointee occurs with a majority vote in the House and Senate whether the vote takes place in a session together or in respective chambers. If either chamber denies the appointment, the appointee is deemed rejected. (Concerns from House is that it gives Senate has more power as it would only take 17 members of the Senate to reject a House confirmed appointee.)
4. Whether in session together or in respective chambers, a majority House and Senate vote confirms the appointee. In a scenario where the Senate and House differ in majority vote, the 60-day appointment clock continues ticking allowing either chamber time to reconsider its actions. If at the end of the 60-day period, if only one chamber has confirmed the appointment stands. (The same concern from the House is that it gives the Senate too much power.)

The next meeting of the conference committee is Jan. 19 at 8 a.m.

State Sens. Steven Dickerson, R-Nashville, and Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, are working on separate legislation that would allow women 18 or older to obtain contraceptives from pharmacists in addition to physicians, who currently write prescriptions for birth control. “We need to make sure that contraception purchased over the counter doesn’t in any way undermine insurance coverage,” Dickerson said. Read more from The Tennessean. 

The Senate and House have both now named members to a conference committee that will work on the judicial confirmation process approved in 2014's state constitutional amendment. The House and Senate failed last year to agree on a plan for how the votes for Gov. Bill Haslam’s judicial appointments will occur. The group's report is expected to be presented early in the session. The Senate also released its schedule for the coming year. See who is on the joint committee, view the schedule and read more legislative news here.

Gov. Bill Haslam today announced that will give the State of the State address to the joint body of the House and Senate on Feb. 1. Haslam is expected to highlight his priorities for the legislature and funding initiatives in this speech.

New Senate Schedule and Proposed Adjournment Dates

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the trial date for state Rep. Joe Armstrong, who is facing charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, has been pushed to Aug. 2 after defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs said he needed more time to prepare. Isaacs is also asking that prosecutors remove any language that indicates Armstrong is a lawmaker or mentions his role in increasing the price of cigarette tax stamps. Armstrong, D-Knoxville, is accused of lying on tax forms in connection with a profit he received from the hike. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Atchley responded, "In this particular instance, the United States intends to prove Armstrong was motivated from the very start to hide this money and knew from the very start he had to hide this money.”

Tennessee lawmakers returned today to the state Capitol for the second half of the 109th legislative session. The TBA keeps you up-to-date on legislation important to the practice of law through TBA Today, government affairs updates online and on Twitter. And look for Action Alerts posted to TBA Impact.