Gov. Bill Lee this afternoon rejected calls from members of his own party to hold a special legislative session, instead announcing he is issuing an executive order requiring schools to allow parents to exempt their children from local school boards’ mask mandates, the Tennessean reports. In issuing Executive Order 84, Lee said, "Districts will make the decision they believe are best for their schools, but parents will have the ultimate decision-making for their individual child’s health and well-being." Soon after Lee's announcement, House Majority Leader Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said the need for a special session had been averted "in the interim," but that he still wants to see action taken to limit the power of health departments in places like Nashville and Memphis.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, is backing away from calls for the state legislature to overrule school districts that impose mask mandates, WPLN reports. In an interview with the station, Sexton said he does not want to interfere with local school boards making their own decisions but wants to make sure that parents have options for opting out of mandates. His comments came after House Republicans called for a special session to deal with a range of COVID related mandates.

The Joint Study Committee on Refugee Issues yesterday explored whether the state can regulate companies providing services to undocumented immigrants under federal contracts or levy stricter punishments on those aiding undocumented immigrants. Glenn Reynolds, professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law, told the panel that the state has a significant amount of regulatory powers with regard to migrant-relocation facilities so long as those regulations don’t run afoul of federal law. Other speakers, including William Gill, an associate professor of law at the Duncan School of Law, talked about the abuse and political violence many refugees face in their home country and said some unaccompanied minors could qualify for asylum under a special juvenile classification. Tennessee Lookout has the story.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, is asking Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session of the legislature to “curtail the overreach by independent health boards and officials” and “protect all Tennesseans from misdirected mandates” related to COVID-19, WPLN reports. In a letter to the governor, signed by all House Republicans, Sexton also says the legislature should “evaluate the ongoing discrimination” against people prevented from entering buildings because they are unvaccinated. Senate Speaker Randy McNally has dismissed the idea of a special session but says if one is held it should focus on keeping classrooms healthy and safe. Lee’s office says he is reviewing the request.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, is asking questions about Davidson County Election Commission Chair Jim DeLanis’ recent departure from Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, the Nashville Post reports. DeLanis said recently that he was fired because of “threats and pressure” from two clients related to his actions as commission chair. For several months Delanis has been trying to get an anti-tax referendum on the ballot, despite repeated judicial decisions that the proposal is unconstitutional. The firm has said that Delanis retired. McNally is now seeking any documents and correspondence related to DeLanis, the Election Commission and 4 Good Government— the group pushing for the referendum — from Metro Nashville Public Schools to determine if it pressured the firm to dismiss DeLanis.

Caseloads are too high, turnover is constant and morale has reached new lows, according to a survey of workers responsible for protecting Tennessee children from abuse and neglect, Tennessee Lookout reports. The internal Department of Children’s Services survey included scores of comments about working conditions, including unmanageable caseloads that impact workers’ ability to adequately do their jobs.  Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, and Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, who obtained the report, called for legislative action to cap the number of cases each worker handles. DCS has come under scrutiny recently for letting children sleep in offices and for licensing a Chattanooga-based facility that housed migrant children.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton was in Memphis today to hold a roundtable on criminal justice reform with Shelby County leaders, News Channel 5 reports. Sexton, R-Crossville, was to meet with Mayor Jim Strickland, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner and District Attorney Amy Weirich to discuss legislative priorities for the next session, including truth in sentencing laws. Strickland has called for truth in sentencing laws for violent crimes, which means those convicted would serve their full sentence. Critics of such laws say they contribute to mass incarceration. Watch the group’s press conference on News 5’s Facebook page.

A new report shows how many floor votes were missed by members of the Tennessee General Assembly during the last legislative session, the Tennessee Journal reports. According to the scorecard assembled by the Club for Growth Foundation, the average representative missed 8% of the vote, while the average senator missed 6%. Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, who is set to stand trial in September on charges of fraud and money laundering, missed 40% of the Senate votes, the most among her colleagues. Rep. David Byrd, R-Waynesboro, missed 100% of the votes due to being hospitalized after contracting the COVID-19 virus. Months after voting for a resolution saying the news media had "sensationalized the reporting on COVID-19 in the service of political agendas,” Byrd spent 55 days on a ventilator, received a liver transplant and spent a total of eight months in the hospital and rehab. The Tennessean reports that Byrd is now back home and encouraging people to consider getting vaccinated.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, last night said he will ask Gov. Bill Lee for a special legislative session if school districts mandate masks or close due to the recent spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Tennessean reports. Sexton has previously disapproved of school vouchers, but said in a news conference that if schools were to shut down, he would “ask the governor for legislation to allow those parents in those school districts to take their children and take their money and with school choice go wherever they need to go."

Democratic candidate DeAngelo Jelks and Republican candidate Greg Vital won their respective primary races yesterday in the District 29 state House seat race to fill the seat of Mike Carter, who died in May after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Both were unopposed in their bids. They will face off in the general election on Sept. 14. Carter's wife, Joan, is filling the seat on interim basis until a new representative is elected, WRCB reports. The district includes part of Chattanooga, Collegedale, Ooltewah and Sale Creek.