The first day of the 2nd Session Of 109th General Assembly was an active and controversial one.
Protesters advocating for the passage of Gov. Bill Haslam's Insure Tennessee proposal lined the hallways, sang and chanted as lawmakers who defeated the measure last year returned for the first day of the legislative session.
With all 99 House seats and 16 of 33 senators up for re-election this fall, most lawmakers looked to wrap up their business quickly so they could concentrate on their campaigns.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam hoped to bounce back from last year's failure of his Medicaid expansion proposal. The governor's agenda was expected to include creating individual boards for each of the six four-year colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents system.
Haslam's efforts to boost state revenues for road projects faced an uncertain fate among lawmakers keeping an eye on election season.
However, among the most unusual, was a vote to close the first Republican Caucus meeting to the public so Republican members of the house could discuss the fate of Williamson County Representative Rep. Jeremy Durham.
Rep. Sheila Butt motioned to close the meeting to the public.
"We elected him as a caucus and I would like to see us have that discussion as a caucus in private," Butt said.
After a vote to table Butt's motion fails, members vote on her motion. And after 53 members of the Republican Caucus voted to go into private session, members closed the doors on the media and the public.
“Majority's got it. So it is now a closed meeting," said Caucus Chair Glen Casada, "we're going to have to ask our friends in the media to leave to please.”
Durham has come under fire in recent months for a prescription fraud investigation in 2013 where he was not indicted by a grand jury. Durham also came under a firestorm of criticism after writing a letter of recommendation for a more lenient sentence for a youth pastor who admitted to possessing child porn during a statutory rape investigation involving a member of his church.
They were questions about Durham's character. Yet, in the end the caucus could not get the votes to suspend the rules to even discuss Durham's future as majority whip. Because there are no current rules in place to deal with ousting a caucus leader, Republicans said they would have to suspend the rules.
Durham said the last few months this has been a learning experience.
“It's been a humbling experience, and I'm not saying I approached every single situation in the best way, definitely not saying that. Everything is a learning process. I'll take the criticism, go forward and represent my district,” Durham said.
He spoke at length with reporters after the meeting, at times referencing certain reporters he called the "liberal media" and implying certain Republican caucus members plotted to overthrow him to get their friends in leadership positions.
Durham recently picked up the paperwork to run for re-election in his district. The Williamson County Election Board shows the primary is scheduled for August. The General Election will happen in November.
WEB EXTRA: Durham's full interview with NewsChannel 5
