A bill that would have let for-profit companies operate charter schools in Tennessee was defeated today after House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, made a rare display of public opposition to the measure, the Tennessean reports. House Bill 1693 was quashed on a 10-7 vote at the urging of Harwell, who said turning charter schools over to private operators could sink the entire project. She also cited concerns about the bill raised by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, a supporter of charter schools.

Four newly proposed pet laws failed to move forward in the legislature this week, WSMV reports. Proposals included placing animal cruelty convicts on a registry for two years, continuing inspections at puppy mills, requiring Tennesseans who tie up their dogs to give them at least 10 feet and increasing fines for cockfighting and dog fighting from $50 to $500. State Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, said the agriculture committee is not representing Tennesseans, and he would like to see pet-protection laws go to a judicial committee and not agriculture since these are not livestock or farm issues.

The Senate Judiciary Committee today set the stage for revealing judicial salaries for the next eight years. Sen. Mark Norris presented SB 2598, which will address state court judicial salaries, and SB 1747 by Sen. Ken Yager will be amended to make adjustments to the salaries of general sessions judges. Constitutionally,  judicial salaries must be fixed and can only be adjusted according to law for an entire term.

In keeping with the cancellation of all raises for state employees, no judges will see any increase in their $165,000 base salary or cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the first nine months of the term, beginning Sept. 1, 2014. Effective July 1, 2015, the COLA would be reinstituted. After that, $5,800 per year raises would be granted effective Sept. 1, 2016; Sept. 1, 2018, and Sept. 1, 2020. General Sessions judges would see their pay increase delayed and adjusted in the same fashion, with rate adjustments scaled by population of their jurisdictions.

Scheduled salary adjustments for district attorneys, public defenders, assistants and related offices were originally part of the bill, but will also be delayed. Salaries for those positions do not have the same constitutional protection.

With sales and business tax revenues down, Gov. Bill Haslam said today he will not be able to give state employees and teachers a pay increase next year, Knoxnews reports. The announcement came as part of a discussion of the governor’s budget proposal.

In an editorial released today, the Memphis Flyer criticizes the return of the whistleblower legislation nicknamed the “Ag Gag” bill. Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed the bill last year, which mandated that anyone observing animal cruelty report it to law authorities within 48 hours or be liable for arrest and penalty. "Ostensibly designed to bring swift attention to animal cruelty, the effect of such bills is nearly the opposite one, to discourage anyone from attempting to document such cruelty," the paper argues. The new bill, HB 2258/SB 2406, is sponsored by Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, and Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville. The newspaper claims the new bills are just as “constitutionally suspect” as previous versions, and urges the legislature to oppose them.

The state House joined the Senate today in unanimously approving two bills named in honor of torture-murder victims Channon Christian and Chris Newsom. Sponsored by Rep. Ryan Haynes, R-Knoxville, and Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, SB 1796, designated the “Chris Newsom Act,” revises the rules for a judge acting as a “13th juror” at the conclusion of a criminal trial. SB 1797, designated the “Channon Christian Act,” puts new restrictions on what criminal defendants and their attorneys can do in trying to portray a victim in a negative light before a jury. Knoxnews has more.

Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville says he is dropping the legislative fight over the student run Sex Week at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, the Memphis Daily News reports. Campfield and other lawmakers took issue with the use of student fees for the weeklong program about sex and funding for campus speakers. The Senate last week passed a resolution decrying what it called the "radical agenda" of Sex Week. Campfied has withdrawn the measures, however, because of steps UT officials have pledged to take voluntarily.

Legislation making significant changes in protections for whistleblowers, placing caps on non-economic damages for discrimination and retaliatory discharge, and limiting disability discrimination provisions advanced in both houses this week. The bill could be heard in the House Consumer and Human Resource Committee and on the Senate floor as early as next Tuesday. Let your voice be heard about this and other legislation using TBAImpact.

A bill allowing the attorney general to investigate public corruption failed to gain enough votes in Monday's Senate floor session to proceed. Sponsored by Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, the measure failed 13-12. It would have given the attorney general concurrent jurisdiction over criminal corruption cases.

AAA/The Auto Club Group today announced its opposition to a bill that would weaken Tennessee’s motorcycle helmet law, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The proposed bill will allow riders older than 25 years to ride without a helmet. Currently, all readers are required to wear a helmet, regardless of age. Senate and House subcommittees are slated to hear the bill next week.