Tag Archives: Bill Lee

The Advocate reports: Tennessee businesses and other public spaces will soon have to put up warning signs if they allow transgender people to use the restrooms and changing rooms aligning with their gender identity. That’s under a bill signed into law Monday by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, just three days after he signed another anti-trans “bathroom bill,” that one regulating …

CNN reports: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a so-called controversial bathroom bill into law Friday, according to the state General Assembly website. In addition to this so-called bathroom bill, Lee also signed a transgender sports bill into law in March that requires students to prove their sex at birth in order to play middle and high school sports. Tennessee lawmakers …

The Tennessean reports: Tennessee is officially one of 19 states where permitless gun carry will be the law. Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed a bill allowing most adults to carry a handgun without a permit, an effort that was at the top of his legislative agenda for the year. The law takes effect July 1. It allows people 21 …

The Hill reports: In an address to Tennesseans on the governor’s website, Bill Lee called on state residents to avoid holiday gatherings without anyone outside of their immediate household and noted that public gatherings would be limited to 10 people under the order. Places of worship and some other activities will be exempt, he added. “It only took a matter …

The Associated Press reports: The White House quietly told Tennessee early this week that “a statewide mask mandate must be implemented” to curb its growing spread of COVID-19, strong instructions that the White House and governor did not discuss publicly before the report emerged in a records request. The Oct. 11 state report for Tennessee, where Republican Gov. Bill Lee …

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee protesters will face harsher penalties, including losing the right to vote, for breaking certain laws during demonstrations under a new law enacted by Gov. Bill Lee. The Republican quietly signed off on the bill Thursday. Lee has previously conceded there were portions of the bill he “would have done differently” but ultimately agreed to sign …

The Nashville Business Journal reports: Republicans are looking for a place to hold a party, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says Nashville is open for business. Lee’s office is in “early” talks with the GOP about moving the 2020 Republican National Convention from Charlotte to Nashville, Lee said Tuesday. RNC officials are expected to visit Music City on Thursday. “Nashville …

Politico reports: Republican governors across the Southeast are teaming up to reopen the region’s economy, even as they lack the testing to know how rapidly the coronavirus is spreading. One health expert called the political decision a “perfect storm” for the virus to reassert itself. The newly formed coalition includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, a part …

The Tennessean reports: Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that his stay-at-home order will not be extended past April 30, and that some businesses around the state will begin reopening next week. “For the good of our state, social distancing must continue, but our economic shutdown cannot,” Lee said at his Monday afternoon briefing. A governor-appointed, 30-member economic recovery group is …

The Tennessean reports: Days after issuing an executive order urging Tennesseans to stay at home amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Bill Lee will now mandate the action. The governor’s office said in a news release he would be signing an executive order on Thursday. The order will be effective immediately, said Gillum Ferguson, the governor’s spokesman. It will last …

The Tennessean reports: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a controversial measure Friday that would let religious adoption agencies deny service to same-sex couples. The move comes after several groups, including the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, urged Lee not to sign the legislation. The law allows adoption agencies to refuse to participate in a child placement if …

The Tennessean reports: The Tennessee state Senate started the 2020 legislative session passing its first bill of the year: a controversial measure that protects religious adoption agencies if they choose to discriminate against same-sex couples. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington, declares that no licensed adoption agency would be required to participate in a child placement if doing …

Knoxville’s ABC News affiliate reports: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says if residents pray to God to favor the state, God will answer those prayers. Lee said he prays that Tennessee does not experience a school shooting, that the state’s opioid epidemic will diminish and that Tennessee’s educational outcomes improve. If thousands of people offer similar prayers, he believes God will …

The Tennessean reports: Gov. Bill Lee has proclaimed Saturday as Nathan Bedford Forrest Day in Tennessee, a day of observation to honor the former Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader whose bust is on display in the state Capitol. Per state law, the Tennessee governor is tasked with issuing proclamations for six separate days of special observation, three …

The Washington Post reports: To Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), the bill he signed Thursday that threatens voter registration groups with criminal charges and fines over incomplete forms and missed deadlines is simply about creating “elections with integrity.” Voting rights advocates, however, argue the law’s true purpose is keeping new voters, particularly African Americans and other minorities who have signed …

The Tennessean reports: Days after Gov. Bill Lee’s staff members said they were unaware of any photos of the Tennessee governor wearing a Confederate uniform, his office confirmed he is pictured doing so in a 1980 Auburn University yearbook. Lee attended the public university in Alabama from 1977 to 1981 and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order, a …

CNBC reports: Rep. Diane Black lost the hotly contested Tennessee GOP gubernatorial primary on Thursday, making her the fifth House Republican this election cycle to lose a primary for statewide office. It’s a potentially ominous sign for Republicans as the party fights to hold its majority in Congress this fall. Black, who had been considered the favorite in the race …