Republicans in Congress today blocked a confirmation vote on nearly a dozen judicial nominees, including U.S. District Court nominee Edward Stanton III. The Memphis attorney was nominated by President Obama nearly a year ago and was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last October. The Senate voted two weeks ago to confirm Nashville attorney Waverly Crenshaw Jr. to a U.S. District Court judgeship in Middle Tennessee. The Commercial Appeal reports more than three dozen seats on federal appellate and district courts are also vacant awaiting confirmations.

The Tennessean reports more than 200 musicians and songwriters lobbied Congress yesterday to pass legislation requiring broadcasters to compensate artists whenever AM or FM radio plays their songs. The Fair Play Fair Pay Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood. Radio play has traditionally been viewed as promotion and a way to drive record sales, and thus artists do not receive royalties. The National Association of Broadcasters opposes the measure.

The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act and the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 passed out of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees respectively. The measures, according to Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), address “legitimate over-incarceration concerns while targeting violent criminals and masterminds in the drug trade.” Brookings shares data on the U.S. prison population in areas the bill would impact.

The Secretary of State's Office has a full listing of those who met yesterday's deadline for filing petitions to run for state or national legislative positions.  The Tennessean provides more details on races in the Nashville area, as well as the District 1 Metro Council race, and The Times Free Press offers similar information for several Southeast Tennessee counties. The Commercial Appeal also looks at the 22 candidates who filed to fill the Eighth Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Frog Jump).

Sydney Rogers, executive director of Alignment Nashville, announced she will run as a Democrat to challenge House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, for her seat. “Representative Harwell is in a position to make a difference, and she has become the protector of the status quo,” said Rogers, who is also an administrator at Nashville State Community College. The Tennessean reports Rogers will run for the seat in House District 56, which contains some of Davidson County’s most conservative neighborhoods.

The Tennessean reports 178 people have applied to be Nashville’s next election administrator. Kent Wall, who currently holds the position, announced in January that he will retire after this month. The Davidson County Election Commission named Deputy Election Administrator Joan Nixon as interim administrator.

Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission Executive Director Keith Bell announced his sudden departure from the commission last week in an email to lawmakers and lobbyists. The Tennessean reports Bell will be temporarily replaced by Commission Assistant Director Gina Winfree, who is set to join the Nashville firm Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin in April. Bell’s resignation comes as the ABC is processing hundreds of applications for retailers to begin selling wine this summer, as permitted by a 2014 state law. 

Two municipal judges in Bartlett will have to run for re-election in August rather than November, as they earlier believed, because they have status as general sessions court judges, the Memphis Daily News reports. Also on the Shelby County ballot in August will be a general election race for General Sessions Court Clerk between Democratic incumbent Ed Stanton and Republican challenger Richard Morton.

When Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey leaves office this year, he will be leaving a much different General Assembly than he joined almost 25 years ago. The Nashville Scene looks at his legacy, both inside the chambers – where he has been a renaissance man for the GOP – and in the public arena, where he’s known for controversial pronouncements and a willingness to pick fights with the state’s judiciary and others.

The Campaign for Accountability, based in Washington D.C., filed its second ethics complaint against U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Chattanooga. The complaint, filed with both the federal Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, alleges Corker “concealed information" about his financial stakes in two Chattanooga-based funds, as well as one based in Memphis. The Times Free Press reports Corker’s office said the filing is “another baseless accusation.”