The special election for Tennessee's House District 29 seat has its first formally announced candidate, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Democrat DeAngelo Jelks, an Iraq War veteran, U.S. Army Reserve captain and former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga police officer, has announced his intention to run for the seat held by the late state Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, and now Carter’s wife. He currently is employed as a human resources recruiter. The paper reports that Republicans Greg Vital and Hoyt Samples also have picked up nominating petitions. Vital is chairman, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living and Independent HealthCare properties. Samples is a long-time local attorney and has a practice in commercial and business litigation, personal injury and estate planning. The Democratic and Republican primary elections are July 27. The general election is Sept. 14.

The Hamilton County Commission voted unanimously today to appoint Joan Carter, widow of the late Rep. Mike Carter, to his House seat until a special election is held. All nine members voted in favor of the appointment, the Times Free Press reports. A primary to fill the seat will be July 27 with the general election on Sept. 14. District 29 represents Ooltewah, Collegedale and Harrison. Carter died in May after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a Hamilton County General Sessions judge, attorney and businessman. Yahoo News also has the story.

A June 14 trial date has been set in the federal wire fraud and money laundering case against Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, the Daily Memphian reports. This is the second set of federal charges brought against Robinson, who will also stand trial on Sept. 13 for the first wave of charges, which include stealing, converting and intentionally misapplying funding for her own use. She was indicted in July 2020 on charges of stealing more than $600,000 in federal grant money intended for The Healthcare Institute, which she founded. U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman will hear next week’s trial, which could last three to four days. Robinson and two other co-defendants could each face a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Friday again expressed frustration about the movement of migrant children through Tennessee, but may have his hands tied, the Times Free Press reports. Four commissioners in Lee's executive branch have said the state does not have the authority to conduct an investigation of the Chattanooga shelter housing migrant children. In a letter to the House Government Operations Committee, the commissioners said there are no reports of child abuse at the facility and that while the state is impacted by federal immigration policies, "states have very little control over the movement of illegal immigrants who are subject to immigration proceedings in federal courts." 

Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, that makes cell phone numbers, most addresses and some other information confidential between an arrest and a conviction, Tennessee Lookout reports. The problem the bill seeks to solve, Casada told collegues in March, is lawyers badgering potential clients when their information becomes public in police reports. The bill was changed during consideration to allow more information to become public, but transparency advocates say the law will make it harder for news reporters to verify facts, find sources and tell the non-law enforcement side of the story.

The Hamilton County Election Commission this morning received the official Writ of Elections to fill the vacancy in State House of Representatives District 29, Chattanoogan.com reports. The primary election to replace Rep. Mike Carter will take place July 27 with the general election following on Sept. 14. Petition pickups begin immediately with the qualifying deadline set for June 17 at noon EDT. The county commission is set to meet a week from today to consider an interim appointment. County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley said she plans to nominate Joan Carter, the widow of Mike Carter, for the post.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, have assembled an all-Republican study committee on refugee issues, TNJ: On the Hill reports. “With this study committee, we reaffirm that there is a clear and compelling state interest in a sane immigration policy,” McNally said. In a letter to House and Senate clerks, McNally and Sexton said the committee will examine the number of migrant children that have been relocated to the state by the federal government, work to increase transparency surrounding that process, and evaluate the financial and other impact the federal migrant relocation program has on Tennesseans.  

The sponsor of Tennessee’s new transgender bathroom law is now saying that owners and officials who do not comply with the law could be hit with a class B misdemeanor, the Associated Press reports. Although the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, previously told lawmakers the measure did not contain penalties, he now claims they were inserted into a chapter of existing building code law that already penalizes a number of violations. Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk earlier this week announced he would not enforce the new law, which requires businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people use the bathroom of their choice. According to the Tennessean, Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, called Funk’s remarks "more than marginally offensive to the concept of constitutionally ordered government." In a letter to Funk on Tuesday, Ragan asked the DA to promptly confirm whether his remarks were accurately reported.

Several Hamilton County officials have floated the idea of appointing the widow of the late Rep. Mike Carter to fill his House seat until a special election can be held, the Times Free Press reports. Commissioner Sabrena Smedley recommended the appointment of Joan Carter noting that she has already agreed to serve. Others objected based on the timing of the move. But commission Chair Chip Baker said it was important to get an appointment made soon given the possibility that Gov. Bill Lee will call the General Assembly back for a special session. Baker said he would like to fill the seat so someone is "available to represent the citizens of the 29th legislative district" during those proceedings.

A vacancy in the state House created by the death of Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, ultimately will be filled by a special election, but the Hamilton County Commission is empowered to make an interim appointment, the Times Free Press reports. Carter, a former Hamilton County General Sessions judge, attorney and businessman, died last Friday. Two Republicans whose names are being mentioned for the District 29 seat are Greg Vital, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Assisted Living, and Collegedale commissioner Ethan White, a realtor who challenged Carter in the 2016 primary. The district includes the Ooltewah, Collegedale and Harrison areas of the county.