The state Senate Education Committee approved a bill yesterday that would vacate the board of trustees of the historically Black Tennessee State University (TSU) by June 30 and authorize Gov. Bill Lee to appoint eight of the board’s 10 members. The other two positions would be filled by a student and faculty representative. The move comes after the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury recommended a change in leadership, the president stepped down and other reviews found the school was underfunded by more than $2.1 billion over the past 30 years. The board, to no avail, had asked state lawmakers for more time to address outstanding issues and find a new president. The Nashville Scene reports on developments.

A bill that would have prevented state courts from hearing challenges to legislative rules failed to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee, effectively shelving the measure this year, the Tennessee Journal reports. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, and Sen. Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, was filed in response to Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin‘s injunction blocking a House rule that would have banned members of the public from holding signs during a special session last August.

TBA's Day on the Hill and Big Shrimp Legislative Reception will be held next week in Nashville on March 20. The events give Tennessee lawyers an opportunity to meet with their legislators and talk to them about issues important to the profession, including funding for indigent representation. The TBA Day on the Hill will include a luncheon and meetings with legislators in the afternoon, followed by the annual Big Shrimp reception that night. Sign up today to take part!

A bill that would change the way the Tennessee Legislature handles sexual harassment claims against members failed Tuesday when the House Public Service Subcommittee could not muster the votes necessary to consider the proposal. The legislation, sponsored by Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, and Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, would have moved claims from legislative leaders to the state attorney general. Former Rep. Scotty Campbell, who left the legislature last year after lawmakers determined he violated workplace discrimination and harassment policies, was on hand to testify for the measure but was not given the opportunity. The Tennessean has more on the story.

A bill mandating that police record interviews with juveniles is headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature. Introduced by Rep. Jesse Chism, D-Memphis, and co-sponsored by Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, HB1602/SB1577 passed the Senate on March 4 and the House on March 5 with bipartisan support. Chism told the Tri-State Defender that the measure offers protection for both the officer and the minor. “Making sure the interview is recorded will prevent any false claims from being made against our law enforcement officers while at the same time protecting any juveniles from being coerced into a false confession,” Chism said in a statement.

The Tennessee General Assembly on Monday confirmed Shelby County Circuit Judge Mary Wagner to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Wagner will take her seat on the court after Justice Roger A. Page's retirement on Aug. 31. Wagner's confirmation passed the Tennessee House of Representatives 94-3 and the Senate 32-0 during a brief joint session. The Tennessean reports that members of the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved her selection last week, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle hailing her as an excellent choice for the court. During the hearing, Wagner described herself to committee members as “both an originalist and a textualist" and said overturning precedents should be done "sparingly and cautiously." Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is back for another week with attorney and TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. Special guest TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright also joined the episode to promote TBA’s upcoming Day on the Hill and Big Shrimp Reception on March 20 and talk a little about her background. The group discusses the Administrative Office of the Courts’ (AOC) budget presentation before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which included significant discussion of the reimbursement rate for indigent representation and impromptu testimony by Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw about how the low rate is impacting his courtroom. Lampley says it was the “best conversation on this issue ever … in this public of a setting.” Watch the AOC testimony here beginning at 54:56. The vote to advance the governor’s proposed AOC budget to the Senate Finance Committee happens at 1:32:21.

Also in this week's episode, the group recaps the two school voucher bills moving through the House and Senate and provides an update on three TBA-supported bills: HB2710/SB2254 (conservatorship bill), HB2645/SB2632 (adoption birth certificate bill) and HB2644/SB2633 (adoption clean-up bill). Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Tennessee House yesterday passed a bill that would block local governments from reforming their traffic stop policies, the Commercial Appeal reports. HB1931/SB2572, sponsored by Memphis Republican Rep. John Gillespie, has faced opposition from Memphis' local elected officials, activists and the family of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police officers following a traffic stop in January 2023. Gillespie amended the bill on the floor in an attempt to narrow its focus so it would not apply to the "pretextual" stop ordinance passed by the Memphis City Council last year, but opponents say the change will not have the intended effect. That ordinance directed police to not make traffic stops solely for low-level offenses like improperly placed license plates or a single broken brake light.

Tennessee lawmakers have scheduled a joint convention for Monday to vote on Gov. Bill Lee’s nomination of Shelby County Circuit Judge Mary Wagner to fill an upcoming vacancy on the state Supreme Court, the Tennessee Journal reports. Lee chose Wagner on Feb. 1 from a list of three candidates that also included Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Ross Dyer and Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Camille McMullen. Wagner will fill a vacancy that will occur when Justice Roger A. Page retires on Aug. 31. Wagner, 39, is a TBA member and alumna of the association's Leadership Law Program. She earned her law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and was appointed to the circuit court in 2016 by then-Gov. Bill Haslam. She won reelection in 2018 and 2022.

Committees in the state House and Senate yesterday advanced two “vastly different” versions of a statewide school choice program that would allow students to use public dollars for private school. The House Education Administration Committee passed HB1183, a 39-page proposal that would also overhaul Tennessee's standardized testing requirements for public school students, make changes to teacher and principal accountability, and shut down the state’s Achievement School District by 2026. The Senate Education Committee approved SB503, a version of Gov. Bill Lee's plan, with additional accountability measures. The Senate version also allows "open enrollment to any school," permitting students to attend public schools outside of the districts for which they are zoned. The House version now goes to the House Government Operations Committee, while the Senate bill goes to the Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee. Read more about the bills in the Tennessean.