The Tennessee House on Monday voted 75-21 to deny public universities the ability to impose nondiscrimination policies on student organizations. The bill, according to Knoxnews, did not include private institutions like Vanderbilt University or Rhodes College, which had led Gov. Bill Haslam to veto a similar measure last year. Rep. Mark Pody of Lebanon, who sponsored the bill, said the legislation is designed to prevent colleges from requiring student groups to open membership and leadership positions to students that do not share their beliefs.

State Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, filed an application Friday to fill a vacancy on the Shelby County Probate Court, The Commercial Appeal reports. The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Judge Robert Benham on March 31. If appointed by the county commission, Kyle said would resign from the state Senate seat he has held since 1983.

A proposal to do away with the state’s motorcycle helmet law was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee despite Gov. Bill Haslam’s opposition, the Memphis Daily News reports. The bill, sponsored my Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, would allow riding without a helmet but require the driver to have $25,000 in additional medical coverage, a minimum two-year motorcycle license, have taken a motorcycle riding course and be at least 25 years old.

A bill to strip Vanderbilt University of its police powers unless it drops a controversial nondiscrimination policy has been ruled unconstitutional by Attorney General Robert Cooper, the Tennessean reports. Senate Bill 1241, sponsored by state Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, proposes dismantling the university’s police department into an armed security guard service if the institution does not repeal a policy requiring officially recognized campus groups to allow any student to participate regardless of the student’s beliefs or status. The policy was instituted after a Christian fraternity tried to exclude gay members.

Today Gov. Bill Haslam has signed into law Senate Bill 142 allowing handgun permit holders to carry their guns anywhere in their cars, even to work, the Tennessean reports. The bill, which goes into effect July 1, removes criminal penalties for carrying a firearm in a car onto private property without the owner’s permission. It left open the legal question of whether an employer could fire someone for bringing a gun to work, however.

A bill forbidding use of Memphis Library photo identification cards for voting, but allowing student photo IDs won approval from the state Senate Thursday and now moves on to the House for consideration, the Commercial Appeal reports.

A proposal that would put pregnant women at the front of the line for drug treatment programs passed a state House subcommittee Tuesday. The “Safe Harbor Act” also would prevent newborns from being taken from families by the Department of Children’s Services solely because of drug use during pregnancy. It is one of four proposals concerning babies born addicted to prescription drugs working their way through the General Assembly, the Tennessean reports. The bill now moves to the Health Committee.

With House passage this week, the proposed constitutional amendment that would change how appellate court judges are selected will now go before voters in 2014. The proposal (SJR 2) would replace Tennessee’s current plan of merit selection and retention elections with a system allowing for the governor to appoint appellate judges, subject to legislative confirmation, followed by retention elections. The House passed the proposal 78-14 on Monday, the City Paper reports, while the Senate had earlier given its OK on a 29-2 vote.

An amended bill (SB1058/HB1227) that emerged from the Senate Judiciary Committee today reconstitutes the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, and also provides that if the commission recommends against a judge then “a vacancy occurs," apparently not permitting the sitting judge to stand for retention election.

The surprise move by Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, amended a caption bill with an unrelated body to dramatically change the way that evaluations of appellate judges occur under the Tennessee Plan. When advocates for the present system earlier asked for copies of the amendment they were denied copies. The committee adopted the amendment by a 6-1-1 vote, with Vice Chair Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, and Sen. Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, objecting to the committee voting when advocates had not had an opportunity to see or consider the change.

The wine-in-grocery-stores bill failed to win approval by one vote today in a House committee, the Commercial Appeal reports. The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. John Lundberg, R-Bristol, said the measure isn’t dead and that he will try to press ahead, possibly with a separate bill. The vote occurred after Lundberg initially moved to delay the vote for a week, but Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, objected and called for an immediate vote. Earlier in the day, the Senate Finance Committee delayed the wine-grocery-stores bill for one week in order to give all sides time to negotiate a compromise.