Former state Sen. Rosalind Kurita on Thursday lost a federal appeal of her ouster as the Democratic nominee in her 2008 bid for re-election to the Tennessee General Assembly, the News Sentinel reports. In a brief ruling, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge's refusal to reinstate Kurita to the ballot after Democratic officials declared her 19-vote primary win as "incurably uncertain."

State Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, has been indicted by a Davidson County grand jury on charges of driving under the influence and possession of a handgun while under the influence stemming from his October 2011 arrest, The Tennessean reports. Todd, a chief proponent of a 2010 law that allowed permit holders to carry guns into places that serve alcohol, was arrested after officers found a loaded handgun in his vehicle during a traffic stop. Despite the arrest, Todd, who is a retired police officer, does not face opposition for his House seat. Speaker of the House Beth Harwell said Monday that the indictments will make it “difficult if not impossible” for Todd to be restored to his powerful post as chairman of the House State and Local Government Committee from which he resigned after his arrest.

Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick has come right out and said it: "We need more attorneys in the House of Representatives. We need more attorneys in our (Republican) Caucus." It's a non-partisan feeling, with Phillip North, a Democratic lawyer who is running for the state Senate in Nashville, making a similar point in recent fund-raising materials. A century or so ago, columnist Tom Humphrey writes, "close to half of our citizen legislators were lawyers. More importantly, the committees that control bills dealing with the legal system were completely dominated by lawyers." In the just-completed 107th General Assembly, he points out that there were only three lawyers among the nine members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and just three among the 16 members of the House Judiciary Committee. The chairmen of the judiciary committees were almost always lawyers in recent decades. Today, they are nonlawyers — former court reporter Sen. Mae Beavers in the Senate and former deputy sheriff Rep. Eric Watson in the House.

Tennessee companies could see a reduction in workers' compensation premiums later this year according to The Tennessean, depending on the outcome of complex negotiations over the rates doctors receive for treating workers' comp patients. Several business groups support the measure, saying that an overall rate reduction would help make Tennessee more competitive with neighboring states, but many in the health care community say cuts would hurt medical providers and even force some of them to stop treating patients. Gov. Bill Haslam chose not to tackle workers' compensation reform this year, but is exploring major changes. Many observers expect this will be a major issue for the legislature in 2013.

Greene County General Sessions court moved back a scheduled appearance by Rep. David Hawk to July 16 in a domestic assault case filed by his wife. The Greeneville Republican lawmaker had been scheduled to appear today. The five-term representative pleaded not guilty a day after the charge was filed March 18. The News Sentinel has more

Politico has a story on four former politicians who left office after each had "a dramatic press conference, a shame-filled public apology, a tearful spouse and the end of a promising political career." One is former Tennessee state Sen. Paul Stanley, who resigned in 2009 after news of an affair with his 22-year-old intern broke. Among his advice now is not to be alone "with someone of the opposite sex after 5 p.m. or after business hours. There's nothing good that can come of it."

Gov. Bill Haslam has signed legislation that adds the concept of “gateway sexual activity” to the state’s abstinence-first sex education curriculum. Other bills now law are the Life Defense Act of 2012, which requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital in the county where they perform an abortion or in a neighboring county; and a bill that will let prosecutors charge alleged assailants with a second count of assaulting or murdering an embryo after an attack on a pregnant woman. The Tennessean has the story

In an editorial, the Times-Free Press says "it is entirely reasonable that Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill linking welfare benefits to drug tests for recipients" who are suspected of using drugs. The paper says multigenerational dependence on welfare is a serious enough problem already and the move should help "stop subsidizing lifestyles of drug abusers."

The 107th Tennessee General Assembly adjourned Tuesday – the earliest adjournment since 1998 – after a flurry of action in the final days. Legislation approved and sent to the governor included:

• HB 2385/SB 2247, which overhauls the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. Read more from the Knoxville News Sentinel

• SB 3597/HB 3576, which prohibits state colleges and private colleges receiving more than $24 million in state funds from imposing antidiscrimination policies on religious student groups. The bill, designed to address a situation at Vanderbilt University, was vetoed by Gov. Bill Haslam today. WATE.com has more

• HB 2868/SB 3005, which expands state racketeering laws to include criminal gangs, and imposes additional jail time and fines of up to $250,000 for gang members. The Times Free Press reports

• SB 1325/HB 1379, which requires proof of citizenship to get state services. Learn more in the Memphis Daily News

• SB 2580/HB 2725, which requires drug testing for some welfare recipients. The Tennessean reports

• HB 3234/SB 2908, which authorizes referendums on whether Shelby County’s suburbs may form municipal school districts. The Memphis Daily News has more

The legislature did not act on a contentious gun issue that would have allowed employees to store weapons in vehicles parked on company lots and failed to pass a measure that would have allowed Tennessee to join an interstate compact challenging the federal health care law

Lawmakers in the General Assembly say they hope to have the session wrapped up by tonight. They had also hoped to end last week, but a provision in the state budget that would close a youth detention center led to a mini rebellion among Democrats and rank and file Republicans. It was a fight that exposed division between the two houses in the legislature and among Republican lawmakers. Listen to the story from WPLN