Gov. Bill Lee entered the fray as a “political outsider” six years ago. Based on his performance toward the end of the 113th General Assembly, he’s still standing on the other side of the fence — almost invisible. The Legislature ignored his pleas to pass a private-school voucher bill for every student in the state, […] The post Stockard on the Stump: Gov stumbles to end of Tennessee session appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

Tennessee lawmakers have officially agreed to eliminate a portion of the state’s business tax one year after making several costly changes to the same tax. Estimates from the general assembly’s fiscal review committee show that the two cuts and an additional refund approved this year will cost the state at least $7.4 billion in the future.  Tennessee traditionally […] The post Tennessee lawmakers agree to a second billion-dollar tax break for businesses in as many years appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

(This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with WPLN/Nashville Public Radio. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.) A bill that would strengthen oversight of Tennessee’s juvenile detention centers has failed, despite a concerted push for reform after multiple county-run facilities were found to […] The post Despite outcry at juvenile detention centers, Tennessee lawmakers fail to pass oversight bill appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a sweeping set of rules aimed at cutting air, water and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Environmental and clean energy groups celebrated the announcement as long overdue, particularly for coal-burning power plants, which have saddled hundreds of communities across the country with dirty air and […] The post New EPA rules will force fossil fuel power plants to cut pollution appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation to reform the state’s hospital certificate of need law, which should facilitate some of HCA Healthcare’s planned expansion across Middle Tennessee.  Among the several reforms is the removal of restrictions on opening satellite emergency rooms in counties with an existing hospital. The new law states that if the emergency room is […] The post Tennessee passes legislation to reform hospital certificate of need law appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

WASHINGTON — Cheered for his pro-union stance and promise to rework the tax code, President Joe Biden picked up a major endorsement Wednesday from North America’s Building Trades Unions, a massive labor organization now committing resources in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Democratic leader received multiple standing ovations at the union’s […] The post Biden cracks jokes about Trump’s hair, acquires another major union endorsement appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

“Range is hot!” The curt, sandpaper voice of the ever-grumpy range warden at my Boy Scout summer camp was always loud, even through my hearing protection. How someone can sound like five decades of chewing tobacco consumption and still be loud as a cannon is beyond me, but twenty years later, a voice that was […] The post Corporate capture, the Covenant shooting, and a crippled system we must change appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

UPDATED: This story has been updated to reflect a House vote to table the anti-reparations bill. The Tennessee House voted 52-43 Wednesday to defeat an anti-reparations bill despite the efforts by an East Tennessee House Republican to resurrect the measure. Before introducing the bill, Republican Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge circulated a letter to […] The post House kills anti-reparations bill despite lawmaker’s effort to save it appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

U.S. Supreme Court justices spent two hours Wednesday debating whether a federal law about emergency treatment encompasses abortion care even in states with strict abortion bans, with no clear indication of how they may ultimately rule. A decision could come as soon as the end of June to decide whether Idaho’s near-total abortion ban means […] The post Supreme Court justices appear split over whether to protect abortion care during emergencies appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

The post John Cole’s Tennessee: The union will rise again. appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

“Dead in the water.”  “Chances look increasingly grim.” “Less than optimistic.”  “On the ropes.” “Stuck in neutral—if not dead.”  The local news reports that contain the above quotes about Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher program have all focused on one thing:  the fate of the school voucher program that has been the capstone of Lee’s […] The post Fumbling the ball on the one-yard line appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

With Gov. Bill Lee’s signature, Tennessee last week became the first state in the nation to establish the right of adults who claim moral or religious objections to LGBTQ identity to foster and adopt LGBTQ kids. In the days since the law became effective, the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) has shelved a 10-year-old policy […] The post Tenn. passes law giving legal rights to anti-LGBTQ parents to foster, adopt LGBTQ kids appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

(This story has been updated with comment from the Tennessee Young Democrats.) A Nashville judge has ruled that ex-officio members of the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee can continue to vote on party business. The ruling by Davidson County Chancery Court Judge David Briley came in response to a lawsuit filed by four TNDP executive […] The post Ruling: Ex-officio members of Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee retain voting rights appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

House and Senate lawmakers still don’t have an agreement on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s $1.9 billion business tax cut proposal.  The sticking points are how many years of refunds to give and a part of the House version of the bill that requires the revenue department to disclose the names and amount of refunds companies […] The post Tennessee lawmakers still at odds over business tax cut as session enters final days appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York appeared to strongly disagree Tuesday with the former president’s lawyers’ explanation for why he should be considered in compliance with a gag order in the case. In a Tuesday morning hearing to determine whether to fine Trump for violating the order, Judge Juan Merchan warned […] The post NY judge spars with Trump lawyers over gag order in criminal trial appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

Balcony crowds chanted, “Blood on your hands” and “Vote them out,” after the House voted Tuesday to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons on school campuses. House Republicans passed the legislation 68-28 enabling school districts and local law enforcement to opt in on the law and let teachers who go through 40 hours of training […] The post Tennessee House votes to arm teachers despite opposition appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

Tennessee’s Republican leaders are putting a happy face on defeat after Volkswagen workers voted overwhelmingly to unionize at the Chattanooga plant. With more than 4,325 VW employees casting ballots, workers voted 2,628-985 for representation by the United Auto Workers last week, marking a milestone for workers at a foreign-owned auto plant. Gov. Bill Lee opposed […] The post Republicans lick wounds after Chattanooga Volkswagen union vote appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

WASHINGTON — A majority of U.S Supreme Court justices Monday seemed inclined to side with an Oregon town’s law that bans homeless people from sleeping outdoors, in a case that could have broad implications for local ordinances related to homelessness across the country. During oral arguments in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, conservative […] The post U.S. Supreme Court appears to lean toward Oregon city in complex homelessness case  appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

WASHINGTON — Oral arguments in former President Donald Trump’s historic case in New York began Monday in a Manhattan courtroom where jurors will be tasked with deciding whether deceptive hush money payments to hide an affair amount to a criminal conviction. The first-ever criminal trial of an ex-U.S. president centers on Trump’s alleged falsified business […] The post NY prosecutor ties Trump hush money payments to campaign as criminal trial kicks off  appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.

Tennessee’s top lawmakers unfurled the banner on an “education freedom scholarship” for statewide private school vouchers in a highly anticipated event last November.  Vouchers had long been a legislative dream of Gov. Bill Lee, who first introduced a similar bill in 2019. But what made the November event different was the four most powerful members […] The post Tennessee’s statewide school voucher bill dead, but not forgotten appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.