The Nashville Electric Service (NES) announced expanded financial assistance for customers affected by the recent ice storm. According to WSMV, the utility donated $1 million to NeedLink Nashville. Customers can apply for assistance online at NeedLink.org, by mail or by calling 615-269-6835. Applications can also be submitted in person on Mondays or Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST at NeedLink’s office inside Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Ave, Nashville 37205. “Leveraging an existing partnership, the program provides temporary bill assistance to customers in need. An application is required to receive the financial aid, and NeedLink manages both the application process and the distribution of funds,” NES said in a statement.

Several bills regarding children and youth are scheduled to be considered by legislative committees next week. SB1868/HB2526 would allow the Department of Children’s Services to place some foster children who have threatened or exhibited violent behavior in jail-like facilities that usually are reserved for children who have committed crimes. WPLN has more on that bill. HB1165/SB0045 is being revived from last year and according to ABC24, aims to increase penalties for adults who recruit or coerce minors into committing crimes, a practice lawmakers and community leaders said is happening across the state. Another bill being revived from last year is HB0793/SB0836, which now would require public schools to report the number of undocumented students enrolled. The Tennessean covers developments in that bill, including what has changed from 2025. Last year, the bill would have given school districts the option of denying enrollment or charging families for immigrant children who could not prove legal status.

Bernard LaFayette, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, died March 5 at age 85. He came from Florida to Nashville in 1958 to study at American Baptist College, then the American Baptist Theological Seminary. LaFayette co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960 and under his leadership, Nashville became the first Southern city to desegregate public spaces. Lafayette and other civil rights icons staged their first sit-in at Harveys Department Store in downtown Nashville. The sit-in movement grew, and the first large-scale effort happened Feb. 13, 1960, at Woolworths, S.H. Kress and McLellan stores. He joined the Freedom Rides in 1961 and directed the Alabama Voter Registration Project, later becoming involved with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. LaFayette served as president of American Baptist College from 1992-1999. The Tennessean has more on his life.

The Legislative Updates podcast is new this week with attorneys and TBA lobbyists Berkley Schwarz of Pier Strategies LLC and Ashley Harbin of Adams & Reese. This week they discuss the extrajudicial adoptions bill HB1263/SB1238; real estate bills HB569/SB394, HB1970/SB1985 and HB1762/SB170; TBA's adoption bill SB2165/HB235; probate bill SB2184/HB2451; and family law bill SB2324/HB2429. Tune in on the TBA website or here. Attorneys can support TBA’s lobbying efforts by contributing to LAWPAC.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors selected Mitch Graves of Memphis to serve as interim board chair of the utility. According to the Commercial Appeal, Graves will serve as chair through April 2027, taking the place of Bill Renick, who resigned Feb. 24.

State investigators are investigating an in-custody death at the Marion County Jail in Jasper, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The deceased arrestee was identified as Clifford Ray Rector Jr.. Rector had been arrested Monday for public intoxication. “He was put in the drunk tank and at some point became unresponsive,” Marion County Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett said Wednesday. Staff reportedly used a defibrillator on Rector and performed CPR until emergency medical technicians arrived. Rector was transported to Parkridge West Hospital in Jasper, where he was pronounced dead. Burnett said jail surveillance footage was provided to state investigators and the officers involved turned over their body cameras to aid the investigation.

Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin was elected president of the American College of Business Court Judges (ACBCJ) at the group's annual meeting in California. Founded in October 2025, the ACBCJ is a national organization of business judges who hear complex commercial cases. The group provides networking opportunities for business judges from across the country, as well as developing education programs and seminars to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to deal efficiently and professionally with the increasingly complex issues they see in court. The ACBCJ meets annually in the location of the then-president. The next group will be meeting in Nashville in 2027.

The TBA’s 21st Annual Bankruptcy Law Forum will take place April 24-25 in Gatlinburg. The two-day program offers attorneys updates on developments in bankruptcy law while allowing time to explore the Great Smoky Mountains. The event will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn and includes a Friday evening networking reception and dinner as part of the registration cost. Attendees may bring guests for an additional charge. Lodging reservations must be made by midnight March 24 to ensure accommodations. For more information on speakers and to register, visit the TBA website.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today agreed to withdraw a petition for temporary suspension filed by the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) against Williamson County lawyer Mitchell Ray Miller. No explanation as to the reason for the withdrawal was provided. Miller previously was suspended on Sept. 5, 2025, for two years with four months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation with conditions.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments met in Knoxville to select nominees for the Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section vacancy following Justice Kyle Hixson’s elevation to the Tennessee Supreme Court. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the council selected the following nominees: Paul Othneil Moyle IV, assistant district attorney general for the 11th Judicial District (Hamilton County); Criminal Court Judge Stacy Lee Street, presiding over the 1st Judicial District, which includes Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties; and Brennan Maureen Wingerter, director of the Appellate Division for the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference. Read more about the nominees on the Administrative Office of the Court's website.