Rep. Martin Daniel, R-Knoxville, has asked the state comptroller office to audit the state’s healthcare plan that is administered by BlueCross Blueshield of Tennessee and Cigna, the Nashville Post reports. The request came last week, just days after both insurance companies filed lawsuits against the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, claiming documents Martin had requested were confidential trade secrets. The comptroller’s office said it has never before conducted an audit of this extent on the state health plan and is determining whether they will act on the request.

Baker Donelson has appointed Allie Weiss to serve as pro bono committee office chair for the firm’s Chattanooga office, the Hamilton County Herald reports. In her new role, she will work to identify and address local pro bono needs while coordinating with Baker Donelson's firm-wide pro bono shareholder, Samuel Bowman, for global pro bono initiatives. “Meeting the specific needs for pro bono services in each of our local markets is a key element in ensuring Baker Donelson is addressing broader needs across our geographic footprint,” Bowman said.

State gun laws currently allow for one type of handgun permit, but a second option will be available beginning Jan. 1, 2020, WSMV reports. The original permit allows gun owners to carry a firearm open and concealed on their person. That law will not change, but a new option called the “concealed only handgun permit” will be added for those who wish to carry a concealed weapon only. The new permit comes with a $35 fee and requires a 90-minute training course with no hands-on component.

President Donald Trump has signed into law a bill that will raise the federal legal age for purchasing tobacco from 18 to 21, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new law is part of a $1.4 trillion spending package that will go into effect summer of 2020. In addition to traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars, e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges will also be encompassed in the law. Twenty states have already increased the legal age for buying tobacco products to 21.

The Tennessee Bar Association will be closed tomorrow and Thursday in observation of the Christmas holiday. There will be no TBA Today issues published on those days. The office will re-open on Friday at 8 a.m.

The final days of this year's TBA year-end CLE Blast will be Monday and Tuesday, so you can end 2019 on a High Note in Music City. Take as many or as few hours as you need! There is programming in three rooms so you have your choice of courses, all for live credit. Many are certified for dual credit. We’ll be here from 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 30 and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 31. No advance registration required.

University of Tennessee College of Law students participating in the school’s legal clinic recently traveled to Polk County to help residents expunge their criminal records, the school reports. More than 20 law students and faculty prepared expungement petitions and motions to waive court costs, while local judges volunteered their time to set up a makeshift courtroom to hear cases. The effort resulted in the expungement of 190 criminal charges. The event stemmed from a grant the school received from the Tennessee Bar Foundation, which also will fund a website for expungement resources and an app to generate court petitions to expunge dismissed charges.

State Rep. Bruce Griffey, a Republican from Paris, has introduced a joint resolution to change the process for selecting the state attorney general from appointment by the Tennessee Supreme Court to popular election, Fox 17 reports. The resolution, HJR 0657, also changes the term of the attorney general from eight to four years. The legislation envisions the new process would take effect with the November 2024 general election.

The 10th Judicial District’s Mental Health Court recently celebrated two new graduates who completed the four-phase program offered as an alternative to incarceration. Circuit Court Judge Andrew Freiberg presided over the ceremony at the Bradley County Judicial Complex, the Cleveland Banner reports. The mental health court is an intensive outpatient treatment and supervision program that requires court appearances and counseling twice a week and offers medication management and other services. Participants spend 12 to 18 months in the program.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that an entity that posted bond for a defendant for a charge of driving under the influence (second offense) remains obligated even though the charge was changed to driving under the influence (fourth offense) when the case was bound over from general sessions court to a grand jury. When the defendant failed to appear in criminal court, the judge directed the bonding company to show why it should not forfeit the bond. The company argued it did not owe the bond because the original charge had been changed. The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed but the Supreme Court reversed that decision saying the DUI charge in the warrant and the indictment were the same, even though the punishment differed. Download the opinion or read more in a press release from the court.