When this bill started through the legislative process, the full impact wasn't clearly understood. However, as time went on, some began to look deeper into what the outcome could be. Then the letter was sent to the Governor! Unfortunately, we didn't get the outcome that we had hoped for.
FERTILITY TREATMENT AND CONTRACEPTIVE PROTECTION ACT
SB 0449 by *Massey , Reeves, Campbell, Haile, Akbari, Briggs, Lamar, Oliver, Yarbro, Hatcher
HB 0533
by *Rudder , Helton-Haynes, Gillespie, Travis, Faison, Sexton, Raper, Brooks, Marsh, Burkhart, Butler, White, Chism, Hakeem, Parkinson, Love, Eldridge, Camper, Hemmer
In the end, the bill was made up of Senate Amendment 1, and House Amendment 1.
As amended, the Senate adopted it 29-0:
Senators voting aye were: Bailey, Briggs, Campbell, Crowe, Gardenhire, Haile, Harshbarger, Hatcher, Hensley, Jackson, Johnson, Kyle, Lamar, Massey, Oliver, Powers, Reeves, Roberts, Rose, Seal, Southerland, Stevens, Taylor, Walley, Watson, White, Yager, Yarbro, Mr. Speaker McNally -- 29.
As amended, the House adopted it 54-37-8:
Representatives voting aye were: Alexander, Atchley, Behn, Bricken, Brooks, Burkhart, Camper, Chism, Clemmons, Dixie, Eldridge, Faison, Farmer, Freeman, Garrett, Gillespie, Glynn, Hakeem, Hardaway, Harris, Hawk, Helton-Haynes, Hemmer, Hicks G, Johnson, Jones J, Jones R, Kumar, Lamberth, Littleton, Love, Marsh, McKenzie, Miller, Mitchell, Moon, Parkinson, Pearson, Powell, Raper, Rudder, Russell, Salinas, Scarbrough, Shaw, Sparks, Stevens, Terry, Towns, Travis, Vaughan, White, Williams, Mr. Speaker Sexton -- 54.
Representatives voting no were: Barrett, Baum, Bulso, Capley, Carringer, Cochran, Crawford, Darby, Doggett, Fritts, Gant, Grills, Haston, Hicks T, Hill, Howell, Hulsey, Keisling, Leatherwood, Lynn, Maberry, Martin B, Martin G, McCalmon, Moody, Powers, Reedy, Reeves, Reneau, Sherrell, Slater, Stinnett, Todd, Vital, Warner, Wright, Zachary -- 37.
Representatives present and not voting were: Boyd, Butler, Cepicky, Davis, Hale, Hurt, Lafferty, Rudd -- 8.
You will want to go to the link below and READ the letter that Rep. Chris Todd sent to the governor!
Tennessee Republicans urge Governor Lee to veto a bill ensuring access to birth control and fertility treatments, calling the bill a 'Trojan horse.'
“This bill is a solution in search of a problem with serious, negative consequences,” Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison County) said.
Others said the bill conflicts with state law and alluded they believe it’s anti-life".
NOTE: A number of pro-life organizations, including TN Eagle Forum, contacted the Governor asking that he veto this bill in order to examine it more closely and make some changes to the content. Among other things, we were concerned about the lack of consideration for human embryos that are destroyed if unused in the IVF process. Unlimited numbers of embryos can be destroyed or discarded under this "right."
We certainly regret the outcome of this effort, but maybe plans can be made for next year's session.
Here are the Key Players in the Trial of Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada
Opening on Tuesday, he and former aide Cade Cothren face multiple federal charges and an array of legislators are set to testify
The trial of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his chief of staff, Cade Cothren, begins on Tuesday.
Despite the duo’s best efforts, it appears that the trial finally will take place this time, after being delayed four times since federal agents arrived at Casada and Cothren’s doors in August 2022. And while 20 counts of money laundering, bribery, wire fraud, and theft are interesting, much of the buzz around the Capitol surrounds the long list of active Republican lawmakers and operatives who could be called to testify, with the government’s court filings showing plans for approximately 15 witnesses.
The federal government alleges Cothren and Casada established the mailer company, Phoenix Solutions, with Cothren running the company under the alias Matthew Phoenix. The company was allegedly established after Cothren’s departure from his role on the Speaker’s staff as a way to continue paying him.
“Many of these witnesses will be State of Tennessee officials,” reads the government’s trial brief, including the then-director of the office of legislative affairs, Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton and “state legislators and other state officials” who will “testify that they were deceived by the conspirators regarding the operations of Phoenix Solutions.”
Casada — along with former Rep. Robin Smith, who pleaded guilty and will be testifying at the trial — allegedly pressured other state House representatives to use Phoenix Solutions to purchase mailers, for which each House member receives a yearly $3,000 stipend. In return, Smith and Casada allegedly received kickbacks from Cothren.
The federal indictments followed a long string of controversies surrounding Cothren and Casada and ultimately led to their downfall. Casada’s stint as Speaker of the House was short-lived, one session in 2019 before he resigned due to pressure from the House Republican Caucus and Gov. Bill Lee. While leaked racist and misogynistic texts between the two were what triggered their resignations, the lead up included a representative alleging that Casada attempted to bribe him for his vote on a school voucher bill, Cothren admitting to using cocaine in his office, and allegations of bribery, bugging the state office building and overuse of the state plane swirling around Casada.
While the government has not released a complete list of everyone it plans to call to the stand, the cast of characters is expected to include some of the state Republican party’s top members. Here’s a rundown of everyone who could be involved, and the part they might play in the weeks to come.
Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton
In the government’s trial brief, it states that the Speaker of the House will testify “about the requirements of the Postage and Printing Allowance,” so it’s unclear whether there is much to gain from Sexton beyond that. He is the most anticipated witness.
Sexton has previously confirmed that he assisted the prosecutors as a witness. Some of the government’s case depends on three confidential witnesses, and Judge Eli Richardson ruled that prosecutors do not have to reveal who those were. Still, Casada and Cothren have alleged in court filings that Sexton may have been one.
In March, lawyers for Casada alleged that the prosecutors in the case possess information that would damage Sexton’s credibility if released, specifically information proving that Sexton was in communication with the FBI prior to the establishment of Phoenix Solutions.
Cothren has also claimed that he helped Sexton win the race for Speaker of the House in 2019 following Casada’s departure.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth
Lamberth was reportedly subpoenaed as a witness in January.
He took over the role of House Majority Leader after Casada’s ascension to speaker. It is unclear what exactly Lamberth will testify about.
Suspected MS-13 gang member arrested in Nashville after year on the run
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A suspected member of the MS-13 gang who had been evading authorities since last year has been arrested.
Leonel Vargas Jr. was wanted on felony domestic aggravated assault and other charges, Metro Nashville Police Department reports.
The MNPD SWAT team was credited with the arrest. Federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents had been investigating Vargas's association with the MS-13 gang.
Gorsuch, Roberts side with left-leaning Supreme Court justices in immigration ruling
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 court case – a possible sign of the court's thinking as it gears up to hear high-profile immigration cases next month
By Breanne Deppisch Fox News Published April 22, 2025 12:50pm EDT
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday sided with left-leaning justices in an immigration appeals case, a narrow ruling that could portend the court's future thinking amid a flurry of legal cases centered on immigration.
The 5-4 ruling in Monsalvo Velazquez v. Bondi centered on the government's interpretation of a 60-day "voluntary departure" deadline, which authorities can use to allow certain immigrants deemed to be of "good moral character" to depart the U.S. on their own terms within that timeframe.
The Supreme Court ruled, with the backing of Roberts and Gorsuch, that any voluntary departure deadlines for immigrants under the 60-day departure time frame that fall on a weekend or on a legal holiday in the U.S. should be extended to the next business day.
Writing for the majority, Gorsuch noted that this interpretation of the 60-day period aligns with long-standing administrative practices, including in immigration law.
"When Congress adopts a new law against the backdrop of a ‘long-standing administrative construction,’ the Court generally presumes the new provision works in harmony with what came before," Gorsuch said.
"Since at least the 1950s, immigration regulations have provided that when calculating deadlines, the term ‘day’ carries its specialized meaning by excluding Sundays and legal holidays (and later Saturdays) if a deadline would otherwise fall on one of those days," Gorsuch added, noting that the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act passed by Congress uses the same reading.
Gorsuch was joined in the majority decision by Roberts, and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The court's ruling overturns the decision of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Board of Immigration Appeals, which had voted to reject that interpretation in the case of Monsalvo Velázquez, a 32-year-old Colorado resident targeted for removal in 2019.
And while the case in question centers largely on the technicalities of certain immigration proceedings, the slim majority ruling could offer early signs of the court's thinking as justices gear up for a flurry of high-profile immigration cases – including cases centered on due process protections for migrants, and on nationwide injunctions that block Trump's birthright citizenship ban from taking force.
Young Americans sour on congressional Democrats, new poll finds
President Trump's approval ratings stand at 31% in new Harvard poll of younger Americans
Published April 23, 2025 6:00am EDT
Fewer than one in three young Americans approve of the job President Donald Trump and Congress are doing, according to a new national poll from the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics.
But while the approval ratings for Trump and congressional Republicans have mostly stayed consistent since the start of the president's first administration eight years ago, the 50th Harvard Youth Poll indicates that approval ratings for Democrats in Congress among Americans aged 18-29 have nosedived.
According to Harvard's annual spring survey, which was conducted March 14-25 and released on Wednesday, the approval rating for congressional Democrats stands at 23%, down from 42% in the spring of 2017 at the start of Trump's first term.
"In that same period, approval of Congressional Republicans has held steady, inching up slightly from 28% to 29%," the poll's release notes.
And the approval rating for Trump, who next week marks 100 days into his second tour of duty in the White House, stands at 31% in the new survey.
The release highlights that Trump's numbers are "virtually unchanged from the 32% reported in Spring 2017 and the 29% recorded in Fall 2020."
Harvard's survey is the latest to indicate troubling numbers for the Democrats.
The confidence rating for Democrat leadership in Congress stood at a record-low 25% in a Gallup poll conducted April 1-14 and released last week. That's nine points below the previous low of 34%, which was recorded in 2023.
