Gaveling In, Yet Again
Good afternoon, everyone.
Almost got hit by a car last night walking across the crosswalk. For just a minute, as the would-be assailant callously drove off, leaving me to impotently watch as he disappeared into the distance, I was transformed into a car-hating urbanist. I could feel my testosterone levels dropping like it was my own personal Black Monday (which is the opposite of what you would expect in such a situation). But then I continued on, forgot about the whole thing, and moved on with my life.
I guess if this happens frequently enough, you begin to see cars as the “greatest threat to your safety.” Then before you know it, you feel jilted enough to voluntarily take up the yoke of inconvenient public transit in protest, hoping the entire world remakes itself around this preference.
Below, Megan vibe checks the first day of the General Assembly.
Onward.
Lobbyists, Covenant moms, protesters, bird-dogging reporters, developers, lawyers, local politicians, federal politicians, aides, photographers, local media: all part of the menagerie that made up the first day of General Assembly. As the House and Senate reconvened, we set out to get a general read on what forces will be at play during this year’s session.
“I feel like in this political environment, we're going to get a lot further with keeping the conversation around mental health,” said a Covenant mom. Though she would like to see gun control measures, the notion of compromise seemed to influence her hopes for this year. “Apparently, a student's behavioral record does not follow them school to school,” she said, referring to some of the policies she would like the legislature to address.
Representative Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) also had compromise on the brain. “Not to say that the media is bad, but it's crafted to make it to where we don't look like we get along,” he said. “Oftentimes people divide us up by liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican. At some point, we have to be realistic, and we have to come together and say, ‘What can we do to move the needle forward, and how can we do it without hurting anyone?’”
Tired of “frivolous legislation” and “scare tactics,” Harris hopes to work across the aisle to improve things important to his constituents, like the Department of Children’s Services and transit funding. “I expect there to be some bipartisan effort, maybe not on vouchers,” he quipped.
Speaking of vouchers, Kim Spoon of Indivisible, Madison Wiederspahn of ChangeTN, and Mirabelle Stoedter of Americans United stood outside the House chamber holding signs in protest of the governor’s school choice bill. “I actually should have put two more K's in front of that,” Spoon said, referring to her sign that read Fake Kristians in the House. “I'm not saying all, but a lot of these representatives are claiming to be Christian, but their actions are proving to us they're anything but Christian.”
“If you're bitching about the public education system, then fund it fully,” she said. “That $7,000 is not enough for an underprivileged kid to go to a voucher school, and isn't it the second year they're proposing that there's no income limit? It's welfare for the rich.”
Spoon also brought up a rumor going around that Governor Lee planned to somehow make Helene relief funding dependent on the passage of his school choice policy: “Tying this voucher scam to help after the natural disasters, that is disgusting. That's not Christian. We have people who are suffering. If you're truly Christian, help them.”
Later in the evening, Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) clarified: “The rumor is that we might have a special session, and if it's called later in January, it would be to cover two specific topics: one being the voucher bill, and one being flood relief. So when they say that they're linked together, it's not in the legislation, it would just be in the call for the special session.”
This morning, the rumor proved to be true: Governor Lee announced that a special session will be held on January 27th to focus on “education, disaster relief, and illegal immigration.” Holding a separate session during General Assembly will rearrange the deck by clearing the regular docket of some contentious legislation and will likely influence the political horse-trading that happens behind closed doors.
Today’s House Floor Session will also shed some light on a few rule changes that have been causing a stir. Among them are stronger restrictions on public outbursts from the gallery and the ability to remove a legislator from the chamber if found in violation of the House’s rules of decorum. Barrett filled us in on another proposed rule that has ruffled the feathers of a few legislators. “The house rules will be adopted on Thursday, and the proposed rules that have been leaked out would reduce the bill limit for regular members from 15 down to 10,” he said. “There was some pushback in caucus discussions, so I think the compromise is going to be 12 this year and 10 next year.” MEGAN PODSIEDLIK
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🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
🏛️ Special Session This morning, Governor Lee announced that there will be a special session on January 27th to address education—with a twist. Though it was speculated that Lee would call a special session for his school choice legislation, he also added disaster relief and illegal immigration to the agenda.
“Hurricane Helene was an unprecedented disaster that primarily impacted at-risk and distressed counties, with eligible damage-related costs estimated at $1.2 billion,” reads this morning’s press release. “Gov. Lee proposes immediate legislative and budgetary action to support ongoing recovery efforts and allow for proactive preparation for future emergencies.”
The announcement also outlined the reasons illegal immigration was also added to the mix: “The Tennessee General Assembly will consider public safety measures related to illegal immigration to ensure the state is prepared for federal policy implementation. Last year, Gov. Lee directed key state agencies to begin making preparations and stand ready on Day One of the Trump Administration to support efforts to secure our Nation’s borders and keep communities safe.”
🗳️ Blackburn For Governor Though we’re still two years away from the next gubernatorial election, multiple names have been passed around the political rumor mill regarding who may throw their hat in the ring to replace a termed-out Governor Lee. The latest: Senator Marsha Blackburn. According to Axios, Blackburn has been letting people know that she plans to run in 2026. If so, the Senator's name recognition and state-wide popularity would make her a formidable foe. Her potential competition may include the likes of Representative John Rose, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, and State House Speaker Cameron Sexton, among others.
🚨 Public Safety Update A couple of public safety updates for you here. A much-ballyhooed instance of crime that the city consistently sends out releases on is guns stolen from cars. But it seems the attention has paid off. MNPD announced that there were 928 guns stolen from cars in 2024, 281 fewer than in 2023. The decline in gun thefts from cars comes after the department initiated Operation 72 in February of last year, which sought to focus on “recovering stolen vehicles, identifying thieves, and advancing any other criminal investigations that may be associated with the stolen vehicles.” We wrote about the early success of this initiative last May, emphasizing that this “special operation” was a return to more traditional policing practices.
In other news, it looks like a new Fusus bill will be on the agenda at next week’s council meeting. The Nashville Banner reported this morning that Rollin Horton, who voted against the previous Fusus bill, has filed legislation outlining a policy for the use of systems like Fusus. According to the Banner, the bill proposes that “Nashville police would not be allowed to access cameras showing the entrance to an apartment building and would only be allowed to review footage from the donor's property and in response to a public health or safety emergency.” Following the failure of the previous Fusus bill, Mayor O’Connell indicated that he would continue pursuing the Fusus contract, and Horton’s proposal appears to have his blessing. DAVIS HUNT
DEVELOPMENT-ish
- Atlanta's The Ardent Cos. acquires 100 acres of Thompson Station (NBJ)
- Opry Entertainment Group Acquires Majority Interest In Southern Entertainment (Music Row)
- Nearly 1 in 3 Nashville home sales are paid in cash (Axios)
- Pinnacle preps Nashville Yards office move (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🪕 Sheriff Scott & The Deputies @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🎸 Ringo Starr & Friends @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $79.50+, Info
🎸 Boo Ray @ The Underdog, 8p, $10, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.