GOP lawmakers demand answers on immigration issues
Republican lawmakers discussing refugees demanded transparency Tuesday, July 13, from the federal government regarding unaccompanied minors.
There are 804 article(s) tagged Bill Lee:
Republican lawmakers discussing refugees demanded transparency Tuesday, July 13, from the federal government regarding unaccompanied minors.
It’s a practice that’s been taking place for years in Tennessee, but one that recently sparked criticism ahead of the 2022 midterm election as Republicans nationwide have increased criticisms of President Joe Biden’s administration handling of the border with Mexico.
Gov. Bill Lee announced the state would spend $2.5 million to buy plane tickets for tourists. The decision prompted criticism that buying plane tickets for tourists is not the best use of taxpayer dollars.
The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast recaps local political development including the county’s budget season and campaign openings for the 2022 county elections. Also, the partisan divide among area legislators remains in place on voting rights and the infrastructure bill.
During a Friday, June 25, visit to the city, the Tennessee governor also defended the state’s open gun carry law that takes effect July 1. Local leaders are worried the permitless gun carry provision could contribute to a summer surge in violent crime.
Gov. Bill Lee is ordering more aggressive marketing and pushing a $52 million infrastructure investment in the Memphis Regional Megasite, located in Haywood County.
Critical race theory is being banned from classrooms across the nation. Here’s what it is and why educators of color are fighting back.
Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill May 24 without comment. Because what could he really say that makes sense? His first and apparently only attempt to explain the rationale for the law would have been fine for a White Citizens Council meeting in the 1960s.
Shelby County commissioners voted 11-0 with two commissioners not voting in approving a resolution similar to one approved by the Memphis City Council last week.
Tennessee ranked 29th in U.S. News & World Report’s Best States ranking for 2021. ‘Here’s the scientific explanation, and I’ll try to be brief: Our state legislature is mean-spirited, small-minded, short-sighted. And cheap.’
The resolution condemns the bill on Lee’s desk that bans public schools from teaching the racial theory. Council members, Black and white, said their experience on a diverse elected body has shown the importance of discussing race in classrooms.
Officials from Tennessee and Arkansas said they are working “around the clock” to repair the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, but it could take “several months easily.”
Unemployment benefits will soon be dropping in Tennessee. Employers are hoping that will help convince more people to return to work as the economy improves.
Tennesseans on unemployment insurance won’t get the extra $300 per week provided by the federal government as of July 3, Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday, May 11.
Lawmakers wrap up legislative session viewed differently by Democrats and Republicans.
Tennessee legislators moved in the final days of their just-completed session to ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, both changes sought by activists in the wake of the police-involved deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
While neither side is completely happy, the law allowing Tennessee gun owners to carry openly with or without a permit sailed through the legislature — and with relatively little pushing from gun advocacy groups.
“Masking got us through the surge and out of the summer surge,” said David Sweat, deputy director of the Shelby County Health Department. “We will only make changes after thoughtful consideration at this point.”
In early April, the City of Memphis was giving 60,000 shots a week. Monday, April 26, it gave a total of 1,100 shots across all of its public drive-thru venues.
About 60,000 Shelby County families will have to return their children to classrooms or transfer to a virtual school next year due to a mandate by the Tennessee Department of Education.
Gov. Lee has requested counties with independent health departments — Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Sullivan — that have remaining business restrictions or mask requirements to lift all measures no later than May 30.
Gov. Bill Lee visited Journey Hanley Elementary, and while addressing education, he also discussed concerns about the permitless carry legislation that has concerned a number of local leaders.
The long-awaited West Tennessee Veterans Home in Arlington has moved onto the priority list, a step closer to reality.
The measure applies to firearms that are concealed and ones that are openly carried.
Pervis Payne, a Shelby County man on death row for 33 years, has gained new supporters as a reprieve is set to expire and the state Supreme Court may set a new execution date.