NASHVILLE – House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville), along with members of House leadership, honored on Wednesday Masami Kinefuchi, the Consul-General of Japan. Kinefuchi was appointed on April 1, 2015 and serves in Nashville. He has jurisdiction over five states (Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) where more than 400 Japanese companies are located. “It was an…

NASHVILLE – Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) is working this summer to raise awareness about how to prevent the deaths of children trapped in hot cars. A recent report concluded Tennessee is in the top 10 states for death of children due to hot vehicles, claiming 23 deaths from 1998-2014. “As summer temperatures are soaring into the…

NASHVILLE – Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) today announced that the Tennessee General Assembly’s revamped website has won the prestigious “Online Democracy Award” awarded by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). NCSL’s Online Democracy Award is presented each year to the legislature whose website “makes democracy user-friendly in an outstanding way.” Tennessee also won the award…

General Assembly Hears State Of The State Address Governor unveils 2017 budget proposal Governor Bill Haslam delivered his annual State of the State Address to a joint convention of the legislature this week, unveiling his budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Haslam addressed multiple issues during the State of the State, the most prominent of…

Frank L. Watson Jr. appointed by Speaker Harwell to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission   NASHVILLE – Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) has appointed Frank L. Watson Jr. of Memphis to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Watson is senior counsel in the Memphis office of Baker Donelson, concentrating…

Governor Announces Departure of Senior Advisor Leslie Hafner Hafner to serve as Senior Policy Advisor to House Speaker Beth Harwell From the Office of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam: NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Haslam today announced that Leslie Hafner is leaving the administration to serve as senior policy advisor to House Speaker Beth Harwell. Joining the governor’s Cabinet…

Speaker Harwell Announces Task Force on Opioid Abuse   NASHVILLE – Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) this week created a task force on opioid and prescription drug abuse. The task force’s immediate goal will be to work on legislation, but its efforts will be ongoing to determine the best strategies for tackling the opioid epidemic.…

  Representative Bud Hulsey Officially Sworn In; Appointed Vice-Chairman of State Government Committee   (NASHVILLE) — The House of Representatives officially gaveled into session last week in Nashville, marking the beginning of the 110th General Assembly. As part of the opening day ceremonies, State Representative Bud Hulsey (R–Kingsport) took the oath of office and was officially sworn…