The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) announced yesterday it will begin taking an active role in nonpartisan elections and will endorse candidates who run as independents in partisan races. “In the 2022 cycle, we had a lot of candidates running in nonpartisan races or running as independents we couldn’t support,” said TNDP Chair Hendrell Remus. The party has a longstanding practice of not being involved in nonpartisan races. Kent Syler, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University, says the move is likely a response to Republican legislation to increase the role of partisan elections. This year, bills have been introduced to make all state and local elections partisan, require Supreme Court judges to declare a party affiliation, and institute a closed primary system in which all voters must declare a party affiliation before voting. Tennessee Lookout has more on the story.

A bill that would cut the number of elected representatives on the Nashville Metro Council in half passed a legislative subcommittee on a party-line vote Wednesday, Tennessee Lookout reports. House Bill 48, sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, chairman of the Finance, Ways and Means Committee, would shrink the 40-member council to no more than 20, beginning in 2024. The sponsors say the measure is designed to make government functions more efficient as Nashville experiences exponential growth. City officials argue that if changes are needed, Nashville voters should be the ones to make the decision.

Following the death of Tyre Nichols, state lawmakers representing the Memphis area are working on legislation to reform police practices in Tennessee. Local Memphis reports that legislators are rallying around measures to strengthen laws related to choke holds, use of force by police officers, duty to intervene, and what Nichols' family attorney Ben Crump calls “Tyre’s Law." According to Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, legislation passed in the wake of George Floyd’s death did a lot but needs to be strengthened. “It’s hard to legislate a cultural change. But you can certainly create the conditions around punishment for use of force or for a failure to intervene or duty to render care and I'm not talking about losing their jobs. I’m talking about criminal charges.” She said the group is working on specifics and should have more to reveal in the coming weeks.

Democratic members of the Tennessee General Assembly today introduced the Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act – a bill that would repeal the state’s total abortion ban, WPLN reports. Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, is sponsoring the legislation that she says puts the choice of abortion back into the hands of Tennessee women.  The measure would would create a fundamental right to reproductive healthcare including abortion, removing any need for exceptions. The bill would also delete any criminal penalties that a physician would face under the current law. House Speaker Cameron Sexton previously told WPLN News it was unlikely he could support a Democratic bill without strict limits on when an abortion could be performed.

A special ad-hoc legislative committee met yesterday to discuss the juvenile justice system and make recommendations for the state moving forward, the Tennessean reports. The committee recommended the state increase mental health services and some punitive measures at the state's Department of Children Services-run juvenile detention centers — in addition to calling for a unified courts system to help judges better share juvenile case information across jurisdictions. Additionally, the committee recommended lowering the age a teenager could be designated as "incorrigible" from 18 to 17, establishing a “step-down” housing pilot and increasing DCS salaries.

Republican lawmakers have introduced new legislation that would regulate the sale and production of delta-8, a hemp-derived cannabinoid product, the Tennessean reports. State House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, introduced the bill, which would ban the product from those under the age of 21, add an additional sales tax of 5% and create a regulation process of the product through the Department of Agriculture. The bill was put forth after legislation to ban the product failed last year.

Nashville Metro Law Director Wallace Dietz is warning that a plan being considered by the state legislature to cut the Metro Council would “create chaos” and trigger a possible legal battle, the Tennessean reports. Dietz has said that that the proposal “poses an existential threat not just to Nashville’s self-governance but to the constitutional rights of all local governments across the state.” He also argues that the large council “protects minority representation in government.” House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland and Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson, both Republicans, have filed legislation that would cap the size of metropolitan legislative bodies in the state at 20. The only government that would be affected by the proposal is Nashville’s Metro Council, which has had 40 members.

Justin J. Pearson has won the Tennessee State House District 86 election to fill the seat of the late Rep. Barbara Cooper, ABC News 24 reports. Pearson has advocated for various social justice initiatives in recent years, including raising money with the Poor People's Campaign for the town of Mason, Tennessee, and advocating for the removal of coal ash from Memphis neighborhoods. Cooper died in October but her name remained on the November ballot. She served the district for 26 years and was the oldest-serving state legislator until her death at age 93.

Tennessee Lookout has launched a new legislative report to be published each Friday while the General Assembly is in session. The feature will not include every bill introduced but will highlight “legislation most likely to have an impact on Tennesseans.” Check out the first installment.

Tennessee Senate committee assignments for the 113th General Assembly have been released. See the full list and find out which committee your local senator has been assigned to over on the Tennessee Journal.