In an open letter to Gov. Bill Lee posted to the social media site Twitter yesterday, three Republican legislators urged Lee to abandon a special session on state gun laws and public safety scheduled for Aug. 21. In the letter, freshman Rep. Bryan Richey, R-Maryville, called Lee’s session an "expensive, disruptive, futile and counter-productive publicity stunt” that would invite “a national woke mob” to the capitol. Lee called the session after the 113th General Assembly adjourned for the summer without addressing Lee’s proposed Order of Protection Law which would have allowed a judge to remove weapons from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

Gov. Bill Lee signed the Teacher Paycheck Protection Act Thursday aimed at recruiting more qualified teachers to the state, reported the Chattanoogan. The bill raises the minimum salary to $50,000 by 2026. The previous minimum of $35,000 was set in 2019. The new bill also calls for the end of automatic union membership deductions from teacher paychecks. 

Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation Wednesday to disband community led police oversight boards funded by taxpayers throughout the state, as reported by the Tennessean. In April, the House voted 67-19 to replace them with police advisory and review committees. Under the new legislation, review board members will be appointed by city mayors and approved by municipal governments. Review boards will only be allowed to review department-led investigations. 

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee continues to sign legislative proposals into law, recently approving new regulations on Delta 8 products, protecting gun manufacturers from lawsuits and reorganizing Nashville’s Music City Center convention board. Three members of the governor’s cabinet now have automatic non-voting seats on board, WPLN reports. One bill the governor has not yet signed is a measure restructuring local police oversight boards, according to News Channel 5.

More than a month after a House ethics panel found a sitting state representative sexually harassed a 19-year-old intern, legislative officials have not released any records — or a dollar amount — of what taxpayer money may have been spent to address the situation. The Tennessean reports that it has filed several records requests, all of which have been denied. The paper also reports that the Office of Legislative Administration has declined to provide information on any other ethics or sexual harassment complaints. Also, open government advocates have been trying to find out if House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, knew about and/or approved the expenditure. Sexton told the paper he does not know if expenditures were made and is not aware of anyone in his office signing off on the spending. NewsChannel 5 previously reported that at least $8,800 was spent to relocate the intern.

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has joined a motion filed by Memphis defense attorney Robert Hutton to prevent the Tennessee attorney general from handling a post-conviction case for his client. The motion challenges a new law, which removes power from local district attorneys to litigate death penalty post-convictions, often referred to as collateral reviews, when new evidence and competency questions are raised. The motion argues that the law is “unconstitutional” and violates voters’ rights, the Commercial Appeal reports. District Attorney Steve Mulroy tells the paper that he believes the law improperly infringes on “the inherent prosecutorial discretion of local elected district attorneys” and that it also violates the rules regarding the captions of bills. The bill in question originally dealt with rape-kit backlogs, but an amendment stripped that language and inserted the collateral review provision. The bill’s sponsor argued that the process needed streamlining and that under the law, the “attorney general will be able to move seamlessly up and down the trial court as necessary, and back into the appeals process” rather than turn cases temporarily over to local prosecutors.

Gov. Bill Lee told reporters yesterday that he hopes the state can forge a better path with whoever succeeds current Nashville Mayor John Cooper, WPLN reports. “I look forward to working with the next mayor, whoever that is, to make sure that we keep Nashville one of the most exciting cities in America — keep it moving in that direction and to minimize the politics at play,” Lee said. Republicans in the General Assembly made their displeasure with city officials known throughout the past legislative session, passing measures to cut the Metro Council in half, changing the makeup of the city’s sports and airport authorities, and disbanding the community oversight board.

During a special called meeting last night, the Johnson County Commission voted to select former Rep. Timothy Hill to temporarily fill a vacancy created by the recent resignation of Rep. Scotty Campbell. The commission chose Hill over fellow candidates Neal Kerney, Angie Stanley, Stacy Vaughan and Lori Love, WJHL reports. Hill was a member of the House of Representatives from 2013-2020 but stepped down from his seat when he unsuccessfully ran for Congress. Campbell replaced him in the state legislature. A primary election will be held on June 22 followed by the general election on Aug. 3 to fill the seat for the remainder of the term.

Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a $230 million school safety funding package yesterday intended to boost security at public and private schools, the Tennessean reports. The bill includes funds for increasing security collaboration with state and local law enforcement and for required emergency drills. The bill was filed prior to the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville on March 27, which killed three adults and three children.

Juneteenth is now an official state holiday in Tennessee following Gov. Bill Lee signing a new bill into law on May 5, News 9 reports. The bill was sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and ordered freedom for the enslaved people of the state two months after the end of the Civil War.