The Tennessee NAACP State Conference will hold its 15th Annual Legislative Day on the Hill in Nashville next Tuesday. The group hopes to engage state lawmakers on issues such as Medicaid expansion, increasing the minimum wage, expanding voting rights and ensuring that Tennessee enacts a new ban on racial profiling. The event is part of a month-long campaign by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP called “Journey for Justice.” The Chattanoogan has more.

After losing a court fight to keep its records private, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) is asking the state legislature to exempt it from public scrutiny, the Nashville Scene reports. TSSAA is a nonprofit organization authorized by the state Board of Education to regulate state high school athletics. Sponsored by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, SB1225 would exempt records held by TSSAA from the public records law based on the argument that it is a voluntary association.

Enough members of the Tennessee House and Senate braved the winter storm gripping the state to hold scheduled floor sessions today, but they decided to move the balance of their bills to next week because of heavy absences. Seventy of 99 House members were in attendance, as were 23 of 33 Senators, the Associated Press reports.

A bill to extend the Tennessee Economic Council on Women failed to pass in a Senate committee Wednesday, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Sponsored by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, the legislation sought to extend the council's termination date at the end of June for another four years, through June 2019. Established in 1998, the council's mission is to "assess the economic status of women in Tennessee in order to develop and advocate solutions that will address their economic needs and promote economic autonomy," according to its website.

A resolution to allow Tennessee voters to decide if they want to elect the state’s attorney general was approved yesterday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sponsored by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, Senate Joint Resolution 63 would begin the process of amending the state constitution, which if approved, would go to voters in the 2018 general election. The Chattanoogan has more.

A barrage of proposals aimed at easing restrictions on where and when Tennesseans can carry or have guns will be up for debate soon at the General Assembly, the Tennessean reports. Lawmakers were set to consider eight bills today related to everything from allowing guns on property used by a school to legalizing targets that explode. As of Tuesday afternoon discussion of all but one of those bills has been delayed a week so that lawmakers can hear even more gun-related legislation all on the same day.

Judges in Tennessee will retain the authority to waive a 12-hour "cooling off" period after domestic violence arrests, according to the latest draft of a proposed bill. An amendment approved yesterday to HB41 keeps judicial discretion to release suspects before the end of the period, while also adding elements to the law meant to improve transparency and guarantee victims are notified before the hold is waived. The Tennessean has more.

A bill filed in the state legislature would require that suits against private prisons, including those operated by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), be filed in the county where the prison is operated, the Associated Press reports. The legislation is a response to a Tennessee Supreme Court decision involving a former CCA inmate who sued over bad medical care. The court said a state law requiring inmates to sue in the county where the prison is located did not apply to private prisons. Supporters say the bill will prevent inmates from being transferred across the state to go to court. Opponents argue that judges and juries in small towns are likely to be biased in favor of a local prison. The Memphis Daily News has the story.

Tennessee trial judges’ terms of service would be set by the General Assembly rather than the state constitution under a new bill proposed by state Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis. The measure, HJR 91, would delete the last sentence of Article 4 in the state constitution, which sets terms at eight years. It has been assigned to the Civil Justice Committee. Gavel to Gavel has more on the proposal.

A provision that says any increase in local funding for a district attorney must also include funding for the public defender would be eliminated in a new bill, SB 1324/HB 241, that is set to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The TBA opposes this bill. "Equity in funding for indigent representation has been a feature of the public defense program since the TBA fostered the program in 1989," said TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur. "Our adversarial system of justice demands nothing less." Shelby County Public Defender Stephen Bush said today in a Commercial Appeal guest column that he also opposes the bill, and that it represents a "one-dimensional response" to the funding challenges faced by district attorneys. According to the District Public Defenders Conference, county appropriated funding under this provision represents $12.3 million and employs 141 Tennesseans. Send a message to the Senate Judiciary Committee about your thoughts regarding this legislation using TBAImpact.