The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld ObamaCare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, against the latest Republican challenge, The Hill reports. The justices ruled 7-2 that Republican states challenging the law lacked standing to sue. Led by Texas, the states bringing the suit focused on the law’s tax penalty designed to induce the purchase of health insurance by most Americans. They argued that former President Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which zeroed out the penalty, made that provision unconstitutional. It was the third major challenge to the law to be rebuffed by the court in roughly a decade.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar for new business owners on June 29 at 9 a.m. CDT. Participants will learn which state taxes apply to their businesses and how to get started properly. The session is part of an ongoing effort by the department to educate Tennesseans about tax issues. Upcoming webinars and an archive of past webinars also are available on the department's website.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed, and President Biden has signed legislation to recognize July 19 as a federal holiday, Reuters reports. The first celebration will take place this Saturday but federal workers will get the day off tomorrow. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Among Tennessee’s delegation, only Rep. Scott Desjarlais, R-Murfreesboro, voted against the measure according to Fox 17.

In related news, Baker Donelson announced this week that it will designate Juneteenth as a permanent firm holiday and will encourage workers to use the day as a time of service, education and engagement. The firm will observe the commemoration tomorrow. Frost Brown Todd says it will mark the day by making a $10,000 donation to ParentPreneur Foundation to fund 10 grants for Black parent entrepreneurs.

Republican members of the House Government Operations Committee yesterday grilled Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, accusing her department of targeting minors for mass vaccinations without parental consent. The main point of contention centered on how the state is using the “Mature Minor Doctrine,” which holds that youth age 14 to 18 have the ability to make their own health care decisions. Piercey assured the members that, “Under no circumstance is the department encouraging children to seek out vaccination without parental consent.” The committee ultimately ordered Piercey to soften the state’s efforts to vaccinate children, mainly by bringing parents into the fold, and report back in July, Tennessee Lookout reports.

Rutherford County has agreed to pay up to $11 million to settle a large, class-action suit over its policies for arresting and detaining children, WPLN reports. The settlement, filed in federal court yesterday, is the largest in a string of lawsuits surrounding the county’s juvenile court practices dating back to 2003. The case, which involved 1,000 children, alleged the country violated their rights by arresting them illegally and placing them in juvenile detention without sufficient grounds. The county will pay up to $7.75 million to the children, with the rest of the funds going to attorney fees and court costs.

Hamilton County Juvenile Court Magistrate Bruce Owens will retire June 30 after 29 years, the Hamilton County Herald reports. Owens says he is retiring “a couple years sooner” than planned so he can rest and improve his health. The past year has been tough, working long days during the pandemic and suffering from an extended bout with the coronavirus, he says. Reflecting on his time on the bench, Owens emphasizes the need to balance justice and mercy. “I’m a second chance kind of judge, but if someone receives harsh consequences, they can’t say I didn’t give them an opportunity to avoid them.” He also is thankful for opportunities to help those who appeared before him. Fellow judicial officers say they’ll be as sad to see him go as he is to leave. “Magistrate Owens has been a steady presence at Hamilton County Juvenile Court for almost three decades. Not many here know the court without him,” Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw said.

State, federal and local authorities are investigating a report of child abuse at a Chattanooga facility that is being used to house unaccompanied migrant children, Chattanoogan.com reports. The abuse was reported to state officials by a teenage boy at the facility during a surprise inspection. The boy said he had witnessed the abuse, but was not the victim. As of Tuesday, there were 41 youth housed at the facility, which is operated by health and social services provider The Baptiste Group. The facility is a licensed DCS location that can house up to 100 minors. Controversy in the past few weeks has centered on whether the federal government notified state or local officials that the facility would be used to temporarily house unaccompanied minors. 

Earlier this week, a subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee heard from witnesses about whether or not new legislation is needed to curb evictions during a national emergency. Among the witnesses speaking to the need for more consistent tenant protections were two from Memphis: Cindy Ettingoff, CEO of Memphis Area Legal Services, and Katy Mason Ramsey, an assistant law professor at the University of Memphis School of Law. At issue is legislation introduced by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents Memphis. H.R. 1451, the Emergency Eviction Enforcement Act of 2021, would prevent landlords from trying to evict tenants without a court order or pressure them to vacate the property during a national emergency. Courthouse News reports on the hearing.

Refugees will begin arriving in Tennessee in the coming months with resettlement agencies anticipating a total of 452 individuals by fall, the Tennessean reports. At the time Gov. Bill Lee approved the placement of refugees in the state, President Donald Trump was in office and some Republican legislators attempted to undo the decision. Recently, Lee has expressed concern about the Biden administration’s handling of the border and policies "incentivizing the movement of illegal immigrants." He says one of the reasons he supported the Trump refugee resettlement plan was because of the transparency and vetting process being used. Whether he will continue to support refugee resettlement in the state remains unclear. "It’ll be important to see what the Biden administration does with regard to refugee policy," he said when asked.

New updates to TBA’s Practice Management Center are now available. They include revisions to guidelines for email encryption and encryption options for online sync programs and portable media;  information on password managers, e-signatures, voice over internet phones and document automation; and new recommendations on headphones. Get TBA sponsored tech and practice management support by emailing tbapmc@affinityconsulting.com.