Legislation that would give 197 judges and chancellors across the state a pay raise is advancing in the state legislature, the Nashville Post reports. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved SB2329 on Feb. 24. The House Civil Justice Subcommittee approved its version of the bill HB2494 on March 11. The full Judiciary Committee was set to take up the bill today but deferred it to next week. The legislation would increase the salaries for supreme court, appellate and trial court judges. It also would restructure the current population-based system that determines compensation for general sessions judges. The change expands that system to include juvenile court judges, while creating a sliding salary scale. Any pay increases would not take effect until 2030 because judges are not allowed to receive pay raises during their term.

After a lengthy debate, the Tennessee House Education Committee advanced a bill that would double the number of private school voucher recipients for the 2026-2027 academic year, the Nashville Banner reports. Though five Republicans on the committee voted against it, HB2532/SB2247 passed by a vote of 11-9. Bills that would have set forth various reporting requirements for the voucher program failed in both the subcommittee and committee. The Nashville Scene has more on those efforts. The voucher expansion bill now goes to the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee. The Senate version of the bill cleared the that body’s Education Committee on March 11 and is now at the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.

A bill that sought to charge women who seek abortions with homicide, and potentially the death penalty, died in a Tennessee House subcommittee on March 10, The Tennessean reports. HB570, sponsored by Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, would have removed legal protections currently in state law for pregnant women and classified harm done to an unborn child as equal to assaults on a person “born alive.” No member of the House Population Subcommittee made a motion to hear the bill, which effectively killed the legislation. Barrett said the bill was intended to align with the state’s Human Life Protection Act, a trigger law that took effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. The Nashville Banner has more on Barrett's comments.

Democrat-sponsored legislation that would restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated people passed with bipartisan support in the state Senate, the Nashville Post reports. SB336/HB687 would remove a current requirement that individuals returning from incarceration have to pay off outstanding court fees in order to restore their voting rights. It also restructures a current requirement that those individuals must be caught up on any child support payments. Under the legislation, they would be required to be compliant with child support orders only within the past year. A House version of the bill passed the Judiciary Committee last month and is waiting further action.

TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast returns with attorneys and TBA lobbyists Berkley Schwarz of Pier Strategies LLC and Brad Lampley of Adams & Reese. This week they discuss TBA's Day on the Hill, happening next Wednesday; the extrajudicial adoptions bill HB1263/SB1238; real estate bills HB569/SB394, HB1970/SB1985 and HB1762/SB1707; TBA's adoption bill SB2165/HB2350; a probate bill SB2184/HB2451; and a family law bill SB2324/HB2429. Tune in on the TBA website or through this link. Attorneys may support the TBA’s lobbying efforts by contributing to LAWPAC.

The Tennessee Senate voted late Monday to approve a bill (SB1464/HB2506) by Sen. Jack Johnson, R- Franklin, that would allow law enforcement agencies to withhold information about immigration enforcement and punish elected officials who do not follow the bill. Specifically, the bill would allow agencies to keep private the names and addresses of officers involved in immigration enforcement, giving them more discretion than usually allowed under public records law. The bill goes next to the House State and Local Government Committee, WPLN reports.

A legislative push to double the number of students in Tennessee’s voucher program cleared its first hurdle this week with approval by the House K-12 Education Subcommittee on Tuesday and Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. Chalkbeat reports that Gov. Bill Lee has requested expanding the program from 25,000 to 40,000 students. The next scheduled vote on H2532/SB2247 will take place in the House Education Committee on March 17. The Tennessee Department of Education last month reported 58,000 students applied for the program next year, including 18,644 students currently enrolled in the program who have applied for a renewal.

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office has released the full lists of candidates for 2026 federal and state elections following closure of the filing deadline. In the race to replace term-limited Gov. Bill Lee, 11 candidates (six in the Democratic primary and five in the Republican primary) filed to run. In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Bill Hagerty is running for reelection and faces no primary challenger. Five Democrats are running to earn the nomination to face him in the general election while eight Independents also filed for the seat. In the U.S. House, all nine Tennessee seats will be on the 2026 ballot. Six will see primary races. For state legislative races, all 99 seats in the House and 17 in the Senate will be up this year. Of note, Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, decided not to run in District 7, the Nashville Banner reports, and no candidate will appear on the District 93 primary ballot after incumbent Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, failed to obtain enough signatures. That will force candidates to mount a “write in” campaign, the Commercial Appeal reports. See all lists of candidates on the secretary of state’s website.

A joint convention of the General Assembly confirmed Kyle Hixson’s nomination to the Tennessee Supreme Court on March 5. According to Crossville News, Cameron Sexton, speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, praised the confirmation, noting Hixson’s experience and approach to the law. Hixson is a Crossville native and judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. He was nominated to the post in January by Gov. Bill Lee to replace Justice Holly Kirby, who is retiring at the end of June. Lee had previously appointed Hixson to the state Court of Criminal Appeals in 2022 after he had served two years as a criminal court judge according to the Tennessee Journal. Hixson graduated from the University of Tennessee and the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Three candidates have stepped into the race to succeed Lt. Gov. Randy McNally in Senate District 5, following the senator's announcement last month that he will retire from the legislature. According to Knox News, former state Rep. Jimmy Matlock, the owner of Matlock Tire Service and Auto Repair in Lenoir City, picked up candidate papers to enter the Aug. 6 Republican primary. Former state Sen. Stacey Campfield, a Knoxville Republican, also picked up papers, but declined to confirm whether he plans to run. Finally, David Miller, a retired educator and Anderson County school board member, says he is running in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary. McNally, a longtime Republican lawmaker representing Anderson, Loudon and parts of Knox counties, announced Feb. 26 that he will retire after decades in office. The primary election is Aug. 6 and the general election is Nov. 3. March 10 is the deadline for candidates to enter the race.