As the opening of 108th General Assembly nears, many see the Legislature’s new Republican “supermajority” as divided, with one faction leaning towards moderate views and business interests and the other more conservative. Hot button issues that may cause division this year will include worker’s compensation, Medicaid expansion, and the sale of wine in grocery stores. The Knoxville News Sentinel has more.

GOP women will outnumber their Democratic counterparts when the General Assembly convenes next month, the Tennessean reports. Republicans will hold a 12-11 advantage among female officeholders, though the female percentage of the party delegations still shows a Democratic advantage: one in nine GOP senators and representatives are women versus one in four for the Democrats.

Tennessee Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey of Blountville will join the Legislative Leaders Advisory Board of GOPAC in 2013, reports the Nashville Ledger. Formed in 1978, GOPAC is a conservative political group that recruits and trains Republican political candidates. According to Ramsey, the group was crucial to his early success in the legislature.

In the aftermath of last week’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., state Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Knoxville, said he plans to introduce legislation in January that will require every school in the state to have at least one armed person on campus, according to The Tennessean. A growing number of states have proposed similar legislation, including laws allowing teachers and school administrators to carry concealed firearms at school, the paper reports.

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader and Adams and Reese Special Counsel Mark Norris, R-Collierville, has been selected chair-elect of the national Council of State Governments, a bipartisan professional association serving all three branches of government in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, beginning in 2013. Norris, the first Tennessean elected to the leadership post, will take office as chair in 2014. Norris works in the Memphis office of Adams and Reese. He has served in the state Senate since 2000 and as majority leader since 2007. Read more on the firm’s website

State Rep. Curry Todd's trial on DUI and gun-possession charges was postponed Friday after attorneys said discussions with prosecutors about a possible plea were ongoing. The judge reset the date for Jan. 11, 2013. Todd has entered a not-guilty plea to charges of driving under the influence, possession of a handgun while under the influence, and violating the state's implied-consent law by refusing a breath-alcohol test. The charges were filed after he was stopped by Nashville police late on the night of Oct. 11, 2011, on a busy street near Vanderbilt University. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports

State. Sen. Bill Ketron stated Tuesday that he plans to support a bill allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores during the 2013 General Assembly session. Although past attempts at the legislation never made it out of subcommittees, Ketron says he plans to offer a measure enabling public referendums in the 33 areas that allow liquor by the drink and package stores. Many small business owners oppose the legislation, protesting that they would not be able to compete with large corporations such as Wal-Mart of Kroger that can buy in bulk.

Tom Humphrey writes in Knoxnews.com that legislators are moving toward repeal of campaign contribution limits while requiring more rapid and complete disclosure. House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada said the concept is at the core of a "comprehensive" revision of state campaign finance law he and Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Bill Ketron hope to introduce when the General Assembly reconvenes. On the Democratic side, Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle recently said the time has come to "re-think" past support of contribution limits because they are no longer effective. Even Common Cause of Tennessee, which has been a staunch advocate of contribution limits, has "almost come to the conclusion" that ending limits but providing fuller disclosure “would be appropriate.”

Senate Democrats today narrowly agreed to renew Sen. Jim Kyle as head of its caucus, giving him a narrow victory over Memphis colleague Sen. Reginald Tate, the City Paper reports.

The Tennessee Hospitality Association is seeking to amend a hotel tax law and require online travel companies to pay more in taxes, a measure that would add more than $1 million to annual tax revenue. The trade group argues that online travel companies have a competitive advantage because they pay taxes in a discounted room rate rather than the retail rate. It believes that changing the language of the state law will level the playing field. The Nashville Business Journal has the story.