Tennessee state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, was elected chair of the Council of State Governments at the group’s annual meeting held recently in Kansas City. Norris, the Senate Republican majority leader, is the first Tennessean to chair the group, The Commercial Appeal reports. The council is a national bipartisan professional association composed of members of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of state governments. “It is an honor to lead this organization and continue the tremendous work that it has done throughout the United States and North America,” Norris said. He will ascend to the position in December.

Early voting opens tomorrow in the Democratic primary for State House District 91 and runs through Oct. 3, with regular voting following on Oct. 8. The winner in the seven-way primary to fill the seat vacated by Lois DeBerry will advance to a Nov. 21 special general election and face Jim Tomasik, who is running as a Libertarian. No candidates filed in the Republican primary. The Democratic primary race shrank by one earlier this week when Dwight DeBerry, who claims he is related to the late legislator, was disqualified based on a conviction for aggravated robbery and assault in 1992. The Memphis Daily News has more on both stories.

The line up of candidates seeking to fill the state House seat held by the late Lois DeBerry now includes 10 Democrats and one Libertarian, the Memphis Daily News reports. After DeBerry’s death in July, Gov. Bill Haslam ordered a special general election for District 91. The Shelby County Election Commission has set Oct. 8 for a primary and Nov. 21 for the special general election.

Following Kentucky's lead, Tennessee may be seeing the start of a pro-hemp farming contingent in the state legislature. According to the Associated Press, two Republican lawmakers, Sen. Frank Niceley of Strawberry Plains and Rep. Andy Holt of Dresden, are drafting legislation to legalize commercial farming of hemp. The duo plan to introduce the measure in the next legislative session. Kentucky and six other states have passed measures legalizing hemp though federal law prohibits it. Niceley, a farmer, said introducing the measure would "put pressure on Congress" to repeal the prohibition. The Clarion Ledger has a link to the story.

According to published reports, a state House investigative panel will recommend that House Speaker Beth Harwell appoint a committee to detail specific charges against 10th Judicial District Attorney General Steve Bebb when the General Assembly returns in January. Bebb has been under fire since a series of reports in the Chattanooga Times Free Press raised questions about his ethics and competence. Bebb recently said he is ready to take on his accusers. "I am ready for a hearing," he told The Advocate & Democrat. "Bring your witnesses and I will bring mine."

Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, has introduced a “Merry Christmas” bill that he says will assure schoolchildren and their teachers have a legal right to use what the bill calls “traditional greetings” during “winter celebrations.” Inspired by Texas legislation, the polarizing lawmaker has pre-filed SB 1425 for consideration by the General Assembly in 2014. “This stops all these silly lawsuits that say you can’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah’ or have a Christmas tree,” Campfield said. “The ACLU is always freaking out about that stuff.” Hedy Weinburg, executive director of the ACLU in Tennessee, said the senator’s concerns are greatly exaggerated and she cannot recall any legal action involving a Tennessee school’s holiday activities or even a case of the “blatant religious proselytizing” in schools that would trigger ACLU concern. Knoxnews has the story.

Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, will not run for re-election when his second term in the legislature ends, Nashville Public Radio reports. Finney, who chairs the chamber’s Democratic Caucus, said “change is good” in making the announcement. The 37 year-old lawyer praised those who serve for decades but said "there are other things in life to consider at this point" including spending more time with his family.

Tennessee’s top rankings for everything from low debt to net job growth were showcased by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and other Northeast Tennessee lawmakers at a Kingsport Chamber of Commerce Legislative Barbecue Tuesday night, the Times News reports. “Tennessee is getting award after award and recognition after recognition for the way we’ve run the state,” Ramsey, R-Blountville, said at the event attended by about 150 business leaders at the Kingsport Farmers Market.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said he will “probably” support an anticipated push to change the state’s “guns in parking lots” law next year to clarify that permit holders cannot be fired solely for having their guns in a locked car in their employers’ parking lots. In May, Attorney General Bob Cooper issued a formal legal opinion that said the new law— while forbidding any criminal prosecution of permit holders complying with its provisions — will have no impact on Tennessee law that otherwise generally allows a company to fire an employee “at will,” for any reason or no reason. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that Ramsey stated Cooper “muddied the waters” on the issue and he has received complaints from employee’s who were upset that their company’s prohibition on guns in parking lots remains unchanged.

After announcing he would not seek re-election to the Senate seat he has held since 1971, Sen. Douglas Henry told the Memphis Daily News that his health and the high cost of campaigning were major factors. Henry, who turns 87 this month, said he had been disregarding his doctor's request that he not run again but finally decided to heed his advice. He also said the amount of money he spent on his 2010 election was "obscene." Henry's first year of the recent 108th Tennessee General Assembly made him the "longest serving member of the General Assembly ever in Tennessee history," according to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks.