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Inside Politics: Tennessee Legislature Overview

Posted at 11:02 AM, Feb 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-27 12:02:51-05

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Legislature is 6 weeks into its second and final session. The deadline to introduce new legislation has passed, with over a thousand potential new laws being tossed in the hopper. It’s “get down to business time” on the Hill for lawmakers to see what they will pass or won’t approve this year (outside a balanced operating budget which they are required to do by the state Constitution). So far about all that’s gotten done has been final passage of a controversial measure to allow adoption agencies to refuse to assist LGTBQ couples. The measure was quickly signed into law by Governor Bill Lee, despite sharp criticism and threats of lawsuits and even a boycott of the state by some groups. Several dozen large and smaller businesses with operations in Tennessee have sent an open letter to the Legislature and the Governor asking them to refrain from passing any more ant-LGBTQ legislation. What will we see happen for the remainder of 111th General Assembly? We’ve invited some of the top journalists covering this session to join us and talk about it on INSIDE POLITICS this week. They are TENNESSEAN Capitol Hill reporter Joel Ebert and Kim Kruesi, the Legislative reporter for the Associated Press.