The White House announced this week that several ticket brokers, including Live Nation, will be changing their ticketing policies to disclose fees upfront, Axios reports. In addition, Ticketmaster will add a feature to give consumers the option to receive all-in upfront pricing for tickets sold on the platform, and Seat Geek has committed to all-in pricing features this summer. The announcement comes after Tennessee passed first-of-its-kind legislation to ensure ticket brokers disclose fees in advertised prices. Those requirements go into effect on July 1.

Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, have both won their special primary elections after being ousted from the state House of Representatives in April for their roles in gun violence protests. WKRN caught up with Jones after he voted. “Quite frankly, it’s a waste of taxpayer money," Jones said. "But it is part of the process to undo what happened on April 6th.” The general election will be held in August.

A special primary election will be held Aug. 3 to fill the House District 51 seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville, the Tennessean reports. The Davidson County Election Commission today set that date and Sept. 14 for the general election. Beck, a Nashville lawyer and longtime Democratic state representative died after suffering a heart attack on Sunday. He was 61.

Republican legislators are seeking the release of the Covenant School shooter’s writings as a prerequisite to moving forward with Gov. Bill Lee's special session on public safety and mental health scheduled for Aug. 21, reported the Tennessean. The session was called in response to the fatal shooting in April at Covenant School that claimed the lives of three adults and three 9-year-old children. Metro Nashville Police officers fatally shot the suspect at the school. The shooter’s writings, which have not been made public and are alleged to include other proposed targets, have been the subject of multiple lawsuits. City officials have withheld public release of the writings citing an ongoing criminal investigation. Gov. Lee announced Thursday he intends to bring an extreme order of protection law to the floor during the special session. 

Gov. Bill Lee responded Thursday to an open letter from three Republican legislators urging Lee to abandon a special session on state gun laws and public safety that is scheduled for Aug. 21. Lee told WKRN that he feels confident lawmakers will accomplish something during the special session in August, saying, “I certainly respect the thoughts and opinions of every lawmaker and have a great relationship with them and will continue to work together with them.”

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.