The Tennessee General Assembly has delayed consideration of ending primary elections for the U.S. Senate. Several lawmakers say voters need time to weigh-in on possibly losing their power to pick party nominees.
A few top-ranking Republicans have gotten on board with Frank Niceley’s proposal for the state legislature to again pick Senate candidates. Niceley said Tennessee should lead what he calls a band of “small red states” to help send more conservative lawmakers to Washington and “save America.”
All that stands in the way of an overhaul of the Tennessee workers compensation system are a few votes in the state House. The Senate passed one of the governor’s biggest priorities of the year last night.
People who get hurt on the job would no longer get the benefit of the doubt under the proposed law. It would also create an entirely new state agency to mediate disputes over workers comp claims, instead of requiring both sides to go to court.
Supporters of allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores are holding out hope that it could still happen this year. But leaders of the Tennessee House say don’t hold your breath.
A deal on wine in supermarkets is still working its way through the state Senate, but the House has been silent since a narrow committee vote killed the bill two weeks ago.
Tennessee isn’t saying “yes” to expanding the state’s Medicaid program known as TennCare. But it’s not saying “no” either. Gov. Bill Haslam made the announcement this morning to a joint assembly of the legislature, telling lawmakers he’s been working toward a “third option.”
“To leverage the federal dollars available to our state to transform health care in Tennessee without expanding our TennCare rolls,” he said.
Gov. Bill Haslam continues to stall his decision on enlarging Tennessee’s Medicaid program – known as TennCare. Though, he says he will reveal his position one way or the other this week. The deadline is self-imposed. The Supreme Court struck down part of the Affordable Care Act that required states to expand their Medicaid rolls. But Haslam said he wants to make up his mind and move on.
The Tennessee General Assembly may have gone too far with cost-cutting when it wiped out oversight committees looking out for children.
Governor Bill Haslam was asked whether he supports a push by Democrats to reestablish the panel that looked over the troubled Department of Children’s Services.
Who can sell alcohol and where. The debate dates back to liquor laws hashed out at the end of prohibition. Expanding wine sales to supermarkets and corner stores has been the controversy of late. Consumers favor the convenience by big margins, and this year’s proposal looked more promising, until it didn’t. Tennessee Capitol Reporter Blake Farmer talks about the politics of wine in Tennessee with Nashville Public Radio's Bradley George.
Motorcycle enthusiasts in Tennessee could soon ride helmet-free, so long as they have enough insurance. Several bills have been proposed this year, and one has now begun moving forward in the legislature.
Much of the debate is about cost, not safety. Representatives from TennCare point to accident victims with million-dollar medical bills.
