Legislation to prohibit Tennessee teachers from engaging in political campaigning during work hours is headed to the governor after clearing the House and Senate, Memphis Daily News reports. Currently, public school teachers and other school employees are excluded from the Little Hatch Act, which applies to most state employees.

Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey opposes a fast-moving bill making the Holy Bible the official book of Tennessee, saying it "belittles the most holy book ever written." Ramsey told reporters yesterday that he had concerns about the measure passed earlier in the day by the Senate State and Local Government Committee with seven members voting aye and two abstaining. "I'm just adamantly opposed to that,” Ramsey said. “The Bible is my official book. It is. It shouldn't be put in the Blue Book with 'Rocky Top,' cave salamanders and the tulip poplar" tree. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has the story.

Legislative staffers are calling video streaming problems on the Tennessee General Assembly's website unacceptable, the Memphis Daily News reports from the Associated Press. The online video has been available intermittently over the last two weeks. House Clerk Joe McCord said in an email to members Monday that all meetings and floor sessions are being recorded regardless of the streaming issues, and that DVD duplicates are being made for archival purposes.

A Republican-backed effort to legalize marijuana for limited medicinal purposes in Tennessee has been delayed until 2016. Senate Health and Welfare Committee chairman Rusty Crowe said there wasn't enough time to fully discuss the pros and cons of the bill and that he would create a summer study commission to look at it. The Tennessean has more.

The state Senate approved a bill Monday to let Memphis set up juvenile safety centers around the city for minors who violate curfew. The measure could receive approval in the House before the end of the legislative session, according to Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis. Modeled after a program in Baltimore, the bill would give police officers the option to take curfew-violating juveniles to city-operated safety centers where they would receive counseling. Currently, officers can only take them home or to juvenile detention. The Commercial Appeal has the story.

A crusade to allow Tennessee employers to opt out of mandatory workers’ compensation insurance seems a first-year flop, but will likely be back next year, Knoxnews reports. Sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, SB0721/HB0997 sets minimum payout provisions — $300,000 in most circumstances for medical coverage — and sets a limit on lawsuit payouts. The Tennessee Bar Association and a number of insurance companies oppose the proposal.

Gov. Bill Haslam said today there are “major concerns” about the guns-in-parks bill and its Senate amendment allowing handgun-carry permit holders to go armed in the State Capitol, Knoxnews reports. He also said there’s a lot of confusion about the bill’s application in local parks that are used but not owned by schools. The governor has not said whether he will veto the bill if the House approves the Senate amendment.

House Republican leaders said Thursday they will try to defeat a Senate amendment next week that would allow handgun-carry permit holders to go armed on the grounds of the State Capitol complex. The Senate voted 28-0 Wednesday to add that amendment to the controversial “guns-in-parks” bill. House Speaker Beth Harwell said she will ask House members to reject the Senate amendment because “it was poorly drafted and it jeopardizes the entire bill.” The Commercial Appeal has more.

Tennessee senators approved a bill to quash local bans on guns in parks and passed an unexpected amendment that allows people with gun permits to take guns into the state capitol and capitol complex. Although a vote of approval sends the measure a step closer to Gov. Bill Haslam's desk, an amendment like the one added today could cripple the bill, the Tennessean reports.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted 2-6-1 today against a resolution to allow Gov. Bill Haslam to implement "Insure Tennessee" -- his plan to provide low-income Tennesseans with federally subsidized healthcare. Although the House version of the plan is still alive, the likelihood of Insure Tennessee becoming law this year is very low, the Tennessean reports. The bill considered today differed significantly from the version defeated during a special session earlier this year. The new plan required that Haslam wait to implement the program until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the legality of subsidies and federal officials grant approval for Tennessee to end the program at any time.