With most legislative committees now closed, budget negotiations are ongoing from last weekend, and the state budget is expected to be released as early as tomorrow. After meeting with and educating legislators and the administration through the entire legislative session on the need to reduce or repeal the professional privilege tax, the TBA applauded Governor Lee’s proposal to reduce the tax by $100 in the previously released budget amendment, and we have continued to reach out to the Governor and House and Senate leadership to keep that reduction in the budget that is currently being negotiated. There are over 22,956 attorneys licensed to practice law in Tennessee; all of whom must pay the $400 professional privilege tax, regardless of their income, employment status or whether practicing law is their main profession. Eighty two percent of the lawyers who pay the professional privilege tax are Tennessee residents. We agree with Governor Lee when in his 2020 State of the State address, he called this tax “arbitrary and unfair,” and we will continue to push legislators to at the very least reduce this discriminatory tax.  Please take a second right now and reach out to your legislators and ask them to make sure the final version of the state budget includes the provision to reduce or eliminate the professional privilege tax.

Additionally, as you know, the Department of Revenue sent out the annual notice to all attorneys that they must pay the professional privilege tax today (talk about crazy timing).  Unfortunately, any changes made by the legislature to the professional privilege tax will not go into effect until next year; therefore, all attorneys are required to pay the professional privilege tax this year.

The White House has reportedly been vetting two female lawyers for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Bloomberg Law reports. Public interest lawyer and former state counsel for the Biden-Harris campaign in Ohio, Rachel Bloomekatz, and Alexandra Schimmer, Denison University vice president and general counsel and former Ohio solicitor general, are both being considered for the opening. If nominated, Bloomekatz or Schimmer would replace Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. on the court. Cole was nominated by Bill Clinton and has served on the 6th Circuit since 1995.

Vanderbilt Law School’s spring “Dean’s Lecture Series on Race and Discrimination” will conclude on Thursday with a lecture on “Implicit Bias, Structural Bias, and Implications for Law and Policy” from Associate Justice Goodwin H. Liu of the California Supreme Court. Drawing on recent work convened by the National Academy of Sciences, Liu will discuss the evidentiary basis for implicit bias and structural bias, as well as possible legal responses and mitigation strategies applicable to a variety of institutions and organizations. The virtual event will take place on Thursday via Zoom from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. CDT. Learn more about the program and register here.  

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is no longer enforcing the federal government’s mask mandate after it was struck down by a federal judge in Florida yesterday, The Hill reports. Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle voided the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) directive yesterday, writing that the agency exceeded its statutory authority with the order requiring mask use on planes, trains and other forms of public transit. Days before Mizelle’s ruling, the CDC had extended the mask mandate for another 15 days, saying it was reviewing the impact of a recent spike in COVID-19 cases. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters earlier Monday that the ruling was “disappointing” and that the administration was reviewing the decision.

Stacie Odeneal, a child welfare law specialist from Lawrenceburg, has announced she is running to fill the seat on the 22nd District Circuit Court recently made vacant by the retirement of Judge Stella Hargrove. According to a release from Odeneal’s campaign, she is one of only 31 child welfare law specialists in the state and focuses on serving children and families in Lawrence, Maury, Wayne and Giles counties. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Odeneal says she has served more than 2,500 families in 15 years of practicing law. She’ll be running as an Independent on the August ballot. “I like my courts like I like America — Independent,” said Odeneal in the release. “In my courtroom, only the law and the facts can matter. You should be able to trust that to be true outside the courtroom as well.”

Tres Wittum, a research analyst for Sen. Bo Watson, R-Chattanooga, has announced he is running for the open 5th District Congressional seat, the Tennessee Journal reports. According to Wittum’s campaign announcement, he has been active in state politics for more than 15 years, serving the Senate since 2011 in both the Senate Speaker Pro Tempore’s office and the Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee. Wittum joins a growing list of candidates seeking the Republican nod, including  Geni Batchelor, Jeff Beierlein, Natisha Brooks, Beth Harwell, Baxter Lee, Timothy Lee, Andy Ogles, Morgan Ortagus, Stewart T. Parks, Robby Starbuck and Kurt Winstead. Ortagus, Starbuck and Baxter Lee all face formal challenges with the Tennessee Republican Party, which prompted a technical removal from the ballot. The GOP executive committee by Thursday will vote on whether to allow them back on the ballot.  

Need to catch up on the latest legal news, TBA events and upcoming programs? Listen to this month’s episode of the TBA BarBuzz podcast! TBA’s Kate Prince hosts the April episode with special co-host Ateia Aldridge, who is the Young Lawyers Division & Law Student Development Coordinator at the TBA. Kate and Ateia bring listeners all the big headlines from the Tennessee legal community and beyond. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law’s Clinical Training program has made U.S. News & World Report’s list of Top 50 programs. The program jumped up 20 spots since 2019 and claimed this year’s ranking of 46th best clinical training program in the country. Additionally, the Clinical Training program is ranked as a Top 25 program amongst public law schools, coming in at #21 in the latest rankings. The James S. Gilliland Legal Clinic is composed of several area-specific clinics, including the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, Elder Law Clinic, Mediation Clinic, Neighborhood Preservation Clinic and the Housing Adjudication Clinic. Read more on the clinics and the faculty and staff who run them.

Four Memphis attorneys have been nominated for awards from the National Bar Association Women Lawyers Division. Amber Floyd with the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority and Catherine Costict with Allstate Corporation are among the seven nominees for Outstanding In House Counsel. Janika White of the Walter Bailey Law Firm and Laquita Stokes of Stokes & Glass PLLC are among 11 nominated for the Outstanding Woman Lawyer Solo/Small Firm award. Winners will be announced during the NBA WLD 50th Anniversary Honors and Achievement Awards Breakfast on July 26 at the Memphis Convention Center. Read more from the NBA Region Six Facebook page.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper today announced that the city will invest $600,000 to help vulnerable misdemeanor defendants access care outside of the criminal justice system, the Tennessean reports. General Sessions Court Judge Melissa Blackburn worked with District Attorney General Glenn Funk, Public Defender Martesha Johnson and a mayoral task force to find ways to help those caught in the “revolving door” of low-level charges, specifically those people struggling with mental health issues. The money will fund a one-year pilot program that involves collaboration between the courts, public health, medical professionals and the police department. Cooper called the investment the “first-of-its-kind” that will “be critical in getting people struggling with mental health conditions the services and aid they need…”