Tuesdays in Tennessee

Update for the week of April 19-25, 2023

Apr 25, 2023

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…as of 4.25.2023

The spring 2023 session of the Tennessee General Assembly came to a close on Friday, but having done nothing to protect children from gun violence in the House or Senate, Governor Lee requested a special session to convene in the next couple weeks. This session will be specifically to review and pass legislation around gun safety. We shall see what the Republicans allow, since even in a special session, they are still the supermajority.

Andy Spears, at the Tennessee Education Report (http://tnedreport.com) discusses legislation that affected students, teachers, and the educational system in Tennessee this session, here: 2023 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY, while Melissa Brown and Vivian Jones, at the Tennessean provide a wrap up of the full session here: Lawmakers conclude legislative session as retaliation, partisan feuds define time at Capitol.

On a both low and high note, Rep Scotty Campbell (R-Mountain City) resigned amid sexual harassment claims from at least one intern. It also came to light that Speaker Sexton may have known about money funneled from taxpayer funds to relocate one of Campbell’s alleged victims. The speaker has come under fire, since the TN3 expulsions of Reps Jones and Pearson, for potentially living outside of the district that he represents and possible extramarital affairs. There are several groups, including a Christian group called Faith America, that have called for his resignation, so we shall see how that turns out in the next full session period.

Since the legislature is on break until the special session, I’m also going to take a break from these Tuesdays in Tennessee posts until there is more to report on.

In the meantime, we will refocus on libraries today with some…