Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, and Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, introduced the "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act" today at the "Religious Liberty Rally" in Nashville, a bill they believe voids the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, The Tennessean reports. "Natural marriage between one (1) man and one (1) woman as recognized by the people of Tennessee remains the law in Tennessee, regardless of any court decision to the contrary," the bill states. 

The ACLU of Tennessee will host its 2015 Bill of Rights Celebration Sept. 30, 6:30 – 9 p.m. at The Noah Liff Opera Center, 3622 Redmon St. in Nashville. The Tanco v. Haslam Supreme Court marriage equality plaintiffs and attorneys from Tennessee will be among those honored. The event includes a performance by Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Gretchen Peters. Tickets may be purchased online.

Most Tennesseans oppose a legislative proposal to charge taxpayers to view public records, the Washington Times reports. The Office of Open Records Counsel held public meetings this week in Knoxville and Nashville where citizens, journalists and public servants testified, most of whom oppose the the change. WSMV reports Mount Juliet City Recorder Sheila Luckett defended the fee, saying, “When numerous files are requested, it can take several hours or days, and depending on staffing level, it could hamper something else from being done." A final hearing is scheduled tonight in Jackson. The Office of Open Records is also accepting online comments. 

Attorney General Herbert Slatery says Gov. Bill Haslam cannot implement any form of Medicaid expansion without lawmaker approval, The Tennessean reports. The opinion comes after supporters of Insure Tennessee continued to push the governor to use federally funded health care to assist low-income residents.

News Channel 5 reports Gov. Bill Haslam’s privatization plan is not saving as much money as taxpayers were promised. "We're getting lower estimates on the money that we are actually going to save for which we paid $1 million to know how much we were going to save," Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, said, referencing the $1 million paid to Jones Lang Lasalle to study the condition of state buildings. 

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee outlined plans for next year – including improving the service the judiciary provides to attorneys – while speaking at the Knoxville Bar Association’s Supreme Court Dinner. Among the goals mentioned, Lee said the judiciary will focus on indigent representation, noting that Tennessee lawyers performing this work are among the lowest paid in the country. “We need to build a better mousetrap. We need a better way of doing things. We can’t keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different result,” Lee said. 

Learn more about how legislation is prepared, drafted and reviewed at the CLE titled, Drafting Legislation for the General Assembly 2015: A Pathway to Excellence, Oct. 29, 9 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Attendees will take away templates and samples of legislation, forms and style guidelines used by the Tennessee General Assembly. The course will be held at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville and is worth three hours of CLE credit.

Anyone who has had a criminal charge dismissed with no costs has a right to have his or her name cleared and records expunged, Nashville attorney Daniel Horwitz tells WMC Action News 5. To help them achieve that, Horwitz has filed a class-action motion to expunge records for more than 128,000 Davidson County residents who are currently eligible for expungement but have not gone through the process. “In a lot of cases, people assume wrongly that their dismissed offenses have been expunged automatically when they haven’t,” Horwitz says. 

WRKN reports a recent study revealed Tennessee was ranked sixth in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men. The study, conducted by the Violence Policy Center, said this is the sixth consecutive year that Tennessee has ranked in the top 10.

Rutherford County judges got a sneak-peak of the upcoming Judicial Center through a mock-up courtroom, the Daily News Journal reports. Each of the courtrooms will have nearly 2,100 square feet in the $73 million six-story building on Lytle Street in Murfreesboro. "We're used to much smaller courtrooms," General Sessions Judge Ben Hall McFarlin said. "From what I see, it's very impressive. It's something the county deserves and can be proud of." The center is to open in June 2018.