Politics

Congressman Diane Black says she stands by her decision to intervene in a dispute between an East Tennessee trucking company and the Environmental Protection Agency.

That's even though Tennessee Tech University has walked back a study that it did — and that Black cited — supporting the company.

Tennessee lawmakers are starting to wind up business for the year, but there are still several big debates left to resolve.

School security. Medical marijuana. And marriage laws, to name a few.

WPLN's Emily Siner talked to our statehouse reporter Chas Sisk about what’s at stake in those debates.

A measure that would shield users of medical marijuana from criminal prosecution is advancing in the state legislature.

The House Criminal Justice Committee set aside opposition from law enforcement, doctors and Governor Bill Haslam's administration Wednesday and overwhelmingly approved a measure that both sides see as a step toward legalizing medical cannabis.

The Middle Tennessee lawmaker accused of sexually abusing girls he coached in the 1980s says he'll stay in the state legislature.

State Rep. David Byrd, R-Waynesboro, issued the statement a day after three women told Nashville TV station WSMV that he kissed, groped or propositioned them when they were in their teens.

Later this week, Tennessee lawmakers will again take up the question of how old people need to be to get married. It's an issue that has perplexed legislators during this year's session.

Advocates for a measure banning underage marriage point to a particular case: In 2000, a Kentucky woman took her 14-year-old daughter across state lines to marry her off to a 37-year-old.

A state law that would demand a work requirement for certain people on TennCare appeared to be on track last week before it hit a snag.

The proposal had passed the state House and Governor Bill Haslam said he was ready to sign it. But a final vote in the state Senate was delayed at the very last minute.

Now it's unclear whether it will pass.

Thousands flocked to downtown Nashville Saturday morning for March for Our Lives, and it was students who led the pack, spearheading almost every aspect from logistics to publicity to the speaker lineup.

A plan to add a work requirement to TennCare seems to be in doubt, as the top Republican in the state Senate raises questions about the cost and design of the proposal.

That's delayed a final vote, though Senate Speaker Randy McNally is stopping short of saying the idea is dead.