Tennessee has lost millions in funding for birth control, pregnancy testing and basic infertility services for low-income individuals according to the Commercial Appeal. A spokesperson for Gov. Bill Lee said he will propose an amendment to the state budget to make up for the loss. The budget amendment reportedly will include $7.5 million in recurring funding and $1.8 million in non-recurring funding for the current fiscal year. The state lost the funding when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services determined that it violated requirements that recipients be made aware of all their options, including abortion, after a positive pregnancy test. Tennessee said it would advise individuals of "all legal options."

The Tennessee House of Representatives last night voted 69-26 to expel a second Democratic member, Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis, after voting to expel Rep. Justin Jones earlier in the day. Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville survived an attempt to expel her by a single vote, WPLN reports. The votes came a week after the trio chanted back and forth from the chamber floor with gun-control supporters who packed the gallery. Local officials in both Memphis and Nashville are indicating support for sending Jones and Pearson back to the state House. The Metro Nashville Council will meet Monday to begin the special appointment process, the Tennessean reports. In Memphis, the city commission is considering reappointing Pearson but is seeking legal clarification on its options, the Commercial Appeal reports. In related news, Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to be in Nashville today to push for gun control. She planned to meet with the state legislature's Democratic Caucus as well as young people who have been protesting at the state Capitol in support of gun reform according to the Tennessean.

TBA's Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Ashley Harbin are out with a new Legislative Update podcast today. In this week's episode, they discuss legislation capping the cost of electronic medical records (HB647/SB1313), the Tennessee Revised Uniform Arbitration Act (HB1162/SB775) and two adoption bills: a substantive bill (SB919/HB854) and a technical bill (SB921/HB855). The pair also discuss the resolutions to expel Rep. Justin Jones, Rep. Gloria Johnson and Rep. Justin Pearson from the House of Representatives and an update on the professional privilege tax. The program airs each week during the legislative session on TBA’s Facebook page. It is also posted on the TBA’s website and wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Tennessee House of Representatives has expelled the first of three Democratic members who were at risk of being thrown out of the legislature for their role in a demonstration calling for gun control after the Nashville school shooting, the Associated Press reports. The vote Thursday to oust Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville was an extraordinary move the chamber has used only a handful times since the Civil War. The House was also to consider ousting Reps. Gloria Johnson, Knoxville, and Justin Pearson, Memphis. Votes on those expulsions were expected later today. The move comes a week after the trio chanted back and forth from the chamber floor with gun-control supporters who packed the gallery. House lawmakers voted 72-25 to remove Jones. 

A bill to add exceptions to Tennessee’s strict abortion ban has passed the state Senate. It now goes to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature or veto. The Tennessean reports that it's unlikely he will veto the bill, which would allow doctors to legally perform abortions to save the life of a pregnant patient. The legislation, Senate Bill 745 as amended, explicitly exempts ectopic and molar pregnancies from Tennessee's abortion ban, in addition to allowing doctors to perform abortions if in their "reasonable" medical judgment an abortion would prevent the death or "to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman."

A bill is advancing in the state legislature that would require every polling place in Tennessee to display signs saying it is a crime to vote in a primary without being a bona fide party member. Tennessee currently has open primaries; voters aren’t required to register with a political party in order to vote, leaving it to voters to self-declare their party affiliation and vote in the primary of their choosing. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, said the intent of the bill (SB0978/HB0828) is to “remind people they have to vote in the proper political party that they’re in.” Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, noted the state does not require any formal party registration in order to vote in primaries and such signage could serve to wrongly signal to voters that they had failed to take a necessary step before voting. The Tennessee Lookout has the full story.

WPLN reports that the state legislature is deferring action on gun legislation, despite protests from students and local gun reform activists. The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee postponed hearing a bill, SB1503, that would decrease the age for permitless carry in Tennessee from 21 to 18; the Senate Judiciary Committee pushed hearing three gun-related bills to the 2024 legislative session, including SB1325, which would have allowed teachers and other school employees across the state to carry concealed handguns on campus. SB1029 would have required safe storage of guns, but the Tennessee Lookout reports that it has been taken off notice to be reworked as a bill that could possibly earn bipartisan support.

House Republican leaders have begun the expulsion process for three Democrats — Reps. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis — for their role in anti-gun protests last week, the Tennessean reports. An expulsion resolution for each member was introduced last night and each passed on an initial party-line vote of 72 to 23. A final vote is scheduled for Thursday. The resolutions claim the members “knowingly and intentionally” brought disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives. Following introduction of the measures, the House “turned chaotic.” Yells rang out through the state Capitol, protestors screamed from the galleries and Rep. Jones accused Rep. Justin Lafferty, R-Knoxville, of taking his phone. 

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, stripped two Democratic lawmakers of their committee assignments today as punishment for their role in a protest and demonstration in support of gun control at the Capitol last week. The Tennessean reports that Sexton took the action against Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville. Last Thursday, Jones and Johnson, along with Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, interrupted a debate on an education bill to join protesters in calling for gun control. With a bullhorn, the three led protestors in the galleries in several chants. Sexton said other sanctions, including expulsion, will be considered. Pearson does not serve on any committees. Sexton had earlier likened the protestors' activity to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol but tempered those remarks today, the paper said.

In the wake of last week’s school shooting in Nashville, federal and state lawmakers are calling for a range of responses. Tennessee Lookout reports that Gov. Bill Lee today called for increased funding for school security measures and mental health support. Read more on that proposal. According to WPLN, Tennessee Senate Speaker Randy McNally has expressed support for “red flag laws,” which would allow guns to be removed from those who pose a threat to themselves or the public. Former governors Bill Haslam and Phil Bredesen offer their proposed solutions in an editorial written for the Tennessean. On the federal level, Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Columbia has asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to charge the shooting suspect with hate crimes, The Hill reports, while Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty unveiled legislation last week to create a $900 million federal grant program for school safety measures. Chattanoogan.com has more on that initiative.