Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Monday he intends to sign an anti-drag show bill into law when it reaches his desk, the first time he has publicly taken a position on the legislation. The Tennessean reports that the legislation (SB 03/HB 09) bans “adult-oriented entertainment” that is “harmful to minors” from public property and places where it might be seen by children. The law specifically mentions “go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers” and “male or female impersonators” — the latter of which includes drag performers. Opponents have argued that laws are already in place to prevent public obscenity and that the bill's broad language will have a chilling effect on artistic performance and depictions of gender nonconformity.

Legislation designed to let physicians determine when an abortion is needed to save the life of a mother has been put on hold while its sponsor, State Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, tries to shore up support before presenting it to the Judiciary Committee, The Tennessee Lookout reports. The bill, Senate Bill 745, was to be heard this afternoon. Judiciary Chairman Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, recently told the Lookout he would prefer to see current law stay in effect for at least a year to see how it works. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Gov. Bill Lee also have said they prefer to keep the “trigger” law in effect. 

WPLN reports that Tennessee State University’s Board of Trustees has been granted a one-year reprieve by a joint committee with the General Assembly. A recent state comptroller’s audit recommended that TSU vacate top management positions. The Board of Trustees has agreed to make changes suggested in the audit, most of which require more frequent reporting. In response, the joint committee is recommending that TSU’s Board of Trustees be extended for one year.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti will hold three town hall meetings across the state to discuss the impact technology is having on Tennessee families, particularly children. Meetings are open to the public. The schedule is as follows: March 2 at 6 p.m. CST at Ross View Middle School in Clarksville; March 9 at 6 p.m. CST at Southwest Tennessee Development District in Jackson; and March 27 at 6 p.m. EDT at the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts. 

According to a spokesperson, Gov. Bill Lee intends to sign a bill banning gender-related medical treatments for minors, WATE reports. The legislation, HB1/SB1, passed the House in a 77–16 vote Thursday, with three Democrats joining Republicans in voting for the bill. The Senate passed it the week before. The legislation would prohibit surgeries, puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender youth beginning July 1. Treatments that began before then would have to conclude by March 31, 2024. Medical providers who violate the ban could face fines and lose their license to practice.

Prospective law students, current law students, and law school alumni are eagerly awaiting release of the 2024 U.S. News Law School Rankings, which usually occurs sometime in March. This year, rankings may be delayed due to changes being made to the methodology, Above the Law (ATL) reports. The publishers say the results will come sometime “in the spring.” Six of the metrics used in the past will not be included this time and graduates with school-funded public interest jobs will be counted the same as other employed graduates. U.S. News has not indicated how weights for other metrics will be affected, what bar passage data will be used, or whether peer evaluations will be included. Using the data known to be in the mix, ATL previews what the rankings could look like.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission met today to consider six candidates for the chancery court vacancy in the 7th Judicial District, which includes Anderson County. The vacancy was created by the resignation of the Hon. M. Nichole Cantrell, effective Jan. 31, 2023. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the Commission selected James W. “Jamie” Brooks Jr., Karen G. Crutchfield and H. Daniel Forrester. The Commission has forwarded the names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration.

Bar passage rates remained steady in 2020, according to information from the American Bar Association’s section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, though the first-time passage rate fell by about 2 percentage points. The new data shows that in the aggregate, 91.44% of 2020 law graduates who sat for a bar exam passed it within two years of graduation (91.87% with Diploma Privilege). The two-year “ultimate” aggregate success rate is slightly better than the 91.27% comparable figure for 2019 graduates. The 2020 ultimate bar pass data also reveals that 92.58% of all graduates sat for a bar exam within two years of graduation. Spreadsheets are available on the section’s webpage under Legal Education Statistics, which report these outcomes under ABA Required Disclosures on a school-by-school basis and in more detail.

The Madison County Election Commission on Thursday discussed, and ultimately rejected, a proposal to extend early voting hours, WBBJ in Jackson reports. Election Commissioner Wendy Trice Martin reported that “it’s been brought before myself and other commissioners to just not even change, but adjust. And that would not cost any more money, any more staffing. Just to have people to be able to have time to get off work and to vote.” Opponents of the change cited Tenn. Code Ann. 2-1-106, which says that any person entitled to vote in an election held in the state may be absent from any service or employment on the day of the election for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed three hours, necessary to vote during the time the polls are open in the county where the person is a resident. 

WSMV reports that former Springfield Alderman Bruce Morris Head was arrested on Thursday on money laundering, tax evasion and sales tax fraud. The Department of Revenue (TNDOR) announced that the president of Stewart Williams Company in Springfield was indicted and arrested after an investigation by the Special Investigations Section of the TNDOR. The Robertson County grand jury indicted Head on Feb. 15 on one count of theft over $250,000, one count of money laundering, one count of tax evasion and eight counts of sales tax fraud. The indictments allege Head, an alderman for more than 25 years, filed false sales tax returns with the TNDOR on behalf of Stewart Williams.