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Tennessee Justice Center, families file lawsuit over TennCare block grant
A group of 13 Medicaid recipients represented by Tennessee Justice Center and two other groups filed suit Thursday in U.S. District Court challenging federal approval of a TennCare block grant through 2030. “The hardships experienced by the plaintiffs who brought this case show the harm caused by the state’s decision to radically restructure TennCare. Tennessee […]
Revamped unemployment bill takes Senate step
Legislation that could reduce Tennessee’s unemployment time frame but increase payments $50 a week started moving Wednesday in the state Senate, despite complaints it would put families in dire straits. Sen. Jon Lundberg, who took over the bill from Sen. Art Swann, passed an amended SB1042 through the Republican-dominated Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on […]
Comprehensive Pain Specialists, former senator settle fraud allegations for $4.1M
Former Republican state Sen. Steve Dickerson was dropped from a lawsuit filed by the federal government alleging fraud by Comprehensive Pain Specialists, but Dickerson is named as a majority owner in an agreement to pay $4.1 million to settle all claims. Dickerson, who was defeated by Democratic Sen. Heidi Campbell in 2020, has made overtures […]
Governor could appoint statewide chancery court to hear all constitutional cases
Legislation creating a so-called super-court to hear constitutional challenges would allow the governor to appoint the three-judge panel and then the attorney general to shift every pending case to the new court, according to an amendment. Senate Bill 454 is the key piece of legislation moving through the Legislature that could change the landscape of […]
Whitson: Ethics legislation on hold to tighten up language
Rep. Sam Whitson is holding off on a comprehensive ethics reform bill until 2022 in an effort to improve the legislation, even with an FBI investigation pending. “I see this as an opportunity to make it even better and stronger,” Whitson, a Franklin Republican, said Monday. The Senate version of the House Bill 1201 carried […]
Stockard on the Stump: What’s in your wallet?
When the Registry of Election Finance asked Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron: “What’s in your wallet?” It wasn’t his Capital One credit card. Apparently, his daughter, Kelsey Ketron Randolph, had that. And how she was spending it, nobody knows. Or, at least, nobody will tell. A state audit of Ketron’s three campaign accounts found 474 […]
Election board levies $135,000 penalty on Rutherford County Mayor Ketron
The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance hit Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron with a $135,000 civil penalty Wednesday as he took responsibility for nearly $300,000 in questionable campaign contributions and expenditures targeted in three state audits. Board members voted 4-0 to levy a new penalty on the former state senator for violations connected to his […]
Governor proposes Titans tax break plus food sales tax holidays in $42.6B budget plan
Gov. Bill Lee’s budget plan enables the Tennessee Titans to start collecting $2 million in sales tax revenue through Metro Nashville to go toward Nissan Stadium upgrades, which are part of a broader redevelopment plan along the Cumberland River. The governor released his $42.6 budget and supplemental spending proposal today, including a $100 million two-week […]
Pretrial assessment formula reflects “structural racism”
A pretrial assessment algorithm incorporated into one of Gov. Bill Lee’s criminal justice bills is being questioned because it injects “structural racism and institutional inequity” into the court system, according to critics. House Bill 784 sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth requires judges and magistrates to use an evidence-based pretrial risk assessment to determine […]
Stockard on the Stump: Bible resolution sponsor incredulous with McNally
Rep. Jerry Sexton is questioning the motivation and maybe even the spirituality of Lt. Gov. Randy McNally in picking up his legislation to make the Bible Tennessee’s state book, a move that could kill the resolution if McNally decides to sit on it, which he appears ready to do. McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, reiterated […]
House leaders back unemployment cuts and say jobs abound
Saying Tennesseans need to get off the public dole and back to work, House Republican leaders are supporting legislation to cut the time frame for the state’s unemployment benefits in more than half. House Speaker Cameron Sexton endorsed a bill Thursday that would reduce unemployment payments to 12 weeks from 26 weeks when the jobless […]
Legislation would cut time frame for state unemployment
East Nashville resident Richie Townsend struggled to find work after losing his restaurant job when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020. Townsend, 39, a former bartender at Rolf and Daughters in Germantown, has been on and off state and federal unemployment programs for a year but still has more benefits pending after being laid […]