Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti Joins Coalition Opposing KIDS Act, Supports Stronger Online Protections for Children
Attorney General Skrmetti announced Tennessee has joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general opposing the federal Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (“KIDS Act”), H.R. 7757, arguing the bill would weaken states’ ability to protect children online while insulating Big Tech from accountability. The coalition warned the KIDS Act would broadly preempt state laws addressing […]
Gov. Lee, General Assembly Invest in Tennessee Agriculture Through 2026–2027 Budget
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture recognizes Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly for significant investments in agriculture included in the 2026–2027 state budget. The approved budget includes key recurring investments that support agricultural innovation, education and food access, including $1 million for the Representative Johnny Shaw Tennessee Agricultural Innovation and Education Initiative and […]
Tennessee Secures Final Victory Against Biden Administration’s Title IX Gender Ideology Rules
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced today that interest groups have officially dropped their appeal of Tennessee’s landmark Title IX victory, cementing a nationwide win for common sense, girls’ privacy, and the rule of law. The now-defeated rules would have forced schools to allow biological males into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, threatened protections for […]
Comptroller Review Finds Tennessee Reconnect Enrollment Declining, but Participants See Positive Outcomes
The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) has released a new evaluation of the Tennessee Reconnect Grant, providing an updated look at how the state’s tuition-free program for adult learners is being used and how participants are performing. Created by the General Assembly in 2017, Tennessee Reconnect helps eligible adults, primarily at […]
TN Promise Application Opened on April 1 for the Class of 2027
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) today announced that the TN Promise application is now open for the Class of 2027. For the first time, high school juniors can apply beginning April 1, giving students earlier access than ever before to the state’s last-dollar scholarship. The earlier application timeline allows students and families to begin planning […]
Tennessee Starts Year With Lower Unemployment
After a year of steady unemployment, Tennessee began 2026 with a slight decline in its unemployment rate from the previous month, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January was 3.5%, down one-tenth of a percentage point from December. The rate was […]
Tennessee’s Free Real Estate Licensing Program for Qualifying High School Seniors Begins Accepting Applications Starting April 1
Starting on Wednesday, April 1, the Tennessee High School Senior Real Estate Licensing Program will begin accepting applications for 2026. Launched in 2024 through the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, the program offers qualifying Tennessee high school seniors a free way to earn the base education required by the State necessary to sit for the pre-licensing exam and potentially become […]
TDH Reinforces Importance of Naloxone with Rise in Cychlorphine Fatalities
The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) is providing statewide information following more than 30 fatal overdoses statewide, since October 2025, associated with a newly identified opioid known as cychlorphine. Cychlorphine is a synthetic opioid, 10 times more potent than fentanyl and associated with more than 1,633 fatal overdoses (TDH provisional data) in Tennessee in 2024. Opioid overdoses […]
Comptroller’s Office Updates Review of State Benefits and Services for Veterans
The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has released an updated report detailing state-provided benefits and services available to veterans and their families. The report, prepared by the Office of Research and Education Accountability, identifies both benefits that can be quantified in state dollars and those that cannot. Quantified benefits include direct state spending as well as state […]
TDCI Returned Over $15.67M To Tennessee Insurance Consumers In 2025
The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) announces that $15.67 million was returned to Tennesseans in 2025 through the Department’s mediation and restitution efforts. Since 2020, a total of over $80 million has been returned to Tennessee insurance consumers by TDCI’s Consumer Insurance Services team, which mediates complaints between consumers and insurance companies. In 2025, TDCI’s Consumer Insurance […]
Tennessee Revenues Exceed Estimates
Tennessee revenues exceeded budgeted estimates for the month of January. Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson today reported that total January tax revenues were $2.1 billion, $27.2 million more than the budgeted estimate and $87.7 million more than January 2025. The total tax growth rate for the month was 4.45 percent. General fund […]
Tennessee needs at least $82.7 billion worth of public infrastructure improvements
Tennessee needs at least $82.7 billion worth of public infrastructure improvements during the five-year period of July 2024 to June 2029—a $5 billion (6.5%) increase from the year before—according to a new report by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR). Transportation and Utilities infrastructure needs increased by $3.7 billion—74% of the overall increase […]
Gov. Lee Joins Trump Administration’s “A Home for Every Child” Initiative to Expand Foster Care Capacity and Strengthen Families
Governor Bill Lee announced the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) will join the Trump Administration’s “A Home for Every Child” initiative, a national effort led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to expand the number of foster families and improve outcomes for children. The Governor signed a joint proclamation demonstrating […]
Second-Year Momentum Surges for Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Program
Tennessee Department of Education released numbers demonstrating the strong and ongoing demand for the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) Program among families statewide. Following the closing of the application window on Friday, February 6, the department received more than 56,000 new and renewal applications, with nearly half of the new applicants applying for income-prioritized scholarships. More than 260 schools have officially registered for the 2026-27 school year. For the 2026-27 school year, the department received a total of 56,442 applications: 18,644 renewal applications received. 37,798 new […]
Harshbarger, Lee Re-Introduce Legislation to Cut Red Tape for Terminally Ill Americans
Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) re-introduced the Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act in the House and Senate respectively, which would remove the burdensome waiting period for terminally ill patients’ access to their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program benefits. Americans who are unable to work due to a terminal illness qualify […]
Tennessee’s Unemployment Rate Decreases in November
Employers Add Thousands of New Jobs to the State’s Workforce Friday, January 09, 2026 | 01:30pm NASHVILLE – Tennessee began the busy 2025 holiday season in November with more people in the workforce than the previous year, according to newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). The seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate […]
