President Joe Biden today signed a landmark climate change and health care bill into law, the Associated Press reports. The legislation includes the most substantial federal investment in history to fight climate change — some $375 billion over the decade — and would cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 out-of-pocket annually for Medicare recipients. It also would help an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by extending subsidies provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure is paid for by new taxes on large companies and stepped-up IRS enforcement of wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds going to reduce the federal deficit.

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is asking contractors for proposals to determine what it would take to implement a statewide e-filing system, the Nashville Post reports. The AOC is looking for someone to study the current state of court filing systems in Tennessee and to “provide comprehensive recommendations to move Tennessee courts to a unified e-filing system.” The contractor would have three months to conduct walk-throughs and interviews with 10-15 court clerks and speak with stakeholders, including lawyers. They’d also be asked to evaluate two and four e-filing providers and to create a “roadmap” to setting up a system. According to the request for proposal, “there are 11 courts in Tennessee that are utilizing e-filing systems and 20 additional courts that have been approved for implementation of an e-filing system. There are over 300 courts in the state.” The request for proposals will close early next month. 

The ABA Center for Innovation has released its inaugural “Innovation Trends Report,” a collection of essays and commentaries that focuses on internal ABA innovation, advances in law and technology and regulatory innovation. The report features eight authors who highlight some of the most innovative and forward-thinking efforts nationally in the delivery of legal services. It includes a report from legal tech company Rocket Lawyer, detailing their experience with Utah’s “regulatory sandbox” – a program created to test whether alternative business models for legal services improves access to justice. Read the full report here.

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert has announced her office will be closed to the public for two weeks to “catch up on critically outstanding services,” the Daily Memphian reports. The clerk’s office will be closed the weeks of Aug. 22-26 and Sept. 19-23. The office has faced criticisms recently for a backlog of thousands of license plates and vehicle tags. Shelby County commissioners voted last week to call for state oversight, specifically by the state comptroller’s office, of all functions of the office, including the backlog of license plates and car tags renewed by mail and online. Halbert says her office is not to blame for the backlog. She notified commissioners earlier this month that the office would likely close to make up for work not done while addressing the license plate backlog.

The Tennessee Department of Correction yesterday announced it has received a $200,000 grant that will help temporarily house indigent people who are leaving prison, the Associated Press reports. In partnership with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, the grant will pay for up to 60 days of housing for those who qualify for the program. TDOC Commissioner Lisa Helton says the program will give those leaving prison “time to focus on securing employment and saving for permanent housing when they first leave incarceration.” She also says affordable housing “helps to reduce the likelihood of re-offending.”

In an email to members, the Nashville Bar Association announced it has hired Abby Sparks as its new executive director. Sparks replaces Monica Mackie, who will assist with the transition. Sparks most recently was assistant commissioner of people operations for the Tennessee Department of Human Services. She earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2006. Before her first state job, Sparks was as an attorney with the Law Office of Donald D. Zuccarello in Nashville. NBA President Martesha L. Johnson wrote to colleagues that “Abby is an experienced and authentic executive with a passion for providing creative solutions and leading successful teams. She brings with her a host of leadership experience.” Read more in a release from the association.

Maury County officials will move forward with plans to use American Rescue Act funds, rather than tax dollars, for a new justice center estimated to cost $30 million. The county budget committee looking at the project voted unanimously to use federal funding made available to localities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Daily Herald reports. Some of the funding also will come from litigation and court fees and county adequate facilities taxes. The new center will be built on the site of the former Daily Herald building and will provide additional courtrooms and more space to conduct judicial operations.

Tennessee-based CoreCivic and the family of a man who died at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center have settled a federal lawsuit, Associated Press reports. The suit was brought on behalf of G. Marie Newby, who died in February 2021 after his cellmate assaulted him, court records show. The lawsuit blamed low staffing levels and a failure by correctional officers to make timely rounds, and sought $10 million. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Nashville attorney Daniel Horwitz, who represented the family, called CoreCivic a “death factory.” In July, Magistrate Judge Jeffery Frensley ordered him to stop commenting on the case. State officials previously fined CoreCivic $2 million for problems at Trousdale.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) said Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Nashville-based Christian denomination related to alleged sexual abuse. The organization said the investigation “will include multiple SBC entities” and that the SBC will “fully and completely cooperate,” Nashville Public Radio reports. A third-party report released in May alleged that denomination leaders downplayed and ignored sexual abuse within its churches for decades. The SBC also last week named a nine-person task force to reform how the church will respond to sex abuse in the future.

DarKenya W. Waller, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, has been elected president of the African American Project Directors Association, which represents project directors and deputy directors of color who work in legal services. The mission of the group is to promote recruitment, support, development and retention of racial and ethnic minorities in leadership positions in the equal justice community. The group recently convened with African American chief public defenders from across the country to begin conversations on how to break down the silos between criminal and civil legal work. Read more in a LinkedIn post from Waller.