Live Blog: the Tennessee legislature’s special session on public safety

From the beginning of the special session, Senate leadership said they were only planning to pass three bills in addition to the budget. And that’s exactly what they did.

When Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called for a special session on public safety, he left out a chance for any gun reform legislation to be passed. With that off the table, Republican lawmakers focused on bills related to mental health and juvenile sentencing. Now, session is over, and many feel not enough was done.

Covenant School parents have been at the Tennessee Capitol throughout the special session — holding signs, wearing ribbons in school colors and hoping for gun reform.

When the Tennessee House adjourned for the end of session Tuesday, there was a lot of pushing and shoving between lawmakers.

Tennessee lawmakers adjourned the legislative special session Tuesday after days of impasse between the House and Senate.

The change led the Senate to adjourn shortly after 11 a.m., and the House’s right before noon.

The deal approves a package of spending that’s designed to satisfy the House. It includes $50 million to provide grants to licensed community mental health agencies to provide services, and $30 million for school safety grants that’ll be distributed through the Department of Education.

Lawmakers had spent a few days in a standoff, with the Senate refusing to take up additional bills while the House debated and advanced multiple measures. After a day of mixed signals — including the possibility of session extending for additional weeks — the end came quickly. It also follows a day after Gov. Bill Lee urged legislators to take up a dozen measures, which ultimately didn’t pass.

This is a developing story.

Nashville Rep. Justin Jones was silenced on the Tennessee House floor after he was ruled out of order on Monday.

There’s lingering uncertainty about how the General Assembly will wind down its special session, and the latest twist comes from Gov. Bill Lee. He sent lawmakers a list of proposals he wants them to pass.

Several activists, both for and against gun reform, packed into a Nashville courtroom Monday morning to hear arguments over whether spectators can hold signs in the House chamber during the special legislative session. The final ruling: They can.

As the special session continues, one of the bills heading to the Tennessee Senate would remove the autopsies of children who are victims of violent crime from the public record. Only their legal guardians would have the right to release them.

The special session did not conclude Thursday, as expected, and instead will resume on Monday. WPLN state politics reporter Blaise Gainey shares the latest developments from the state capitol.