The National Federation of Independent Businesses would like Tennessee to join the 27 states that don’t impose an inheritance tax. The group is happy, however, with Governor Haslam’s plan to make gradual cuts

The dues-paying membership of the Tennessee Education Association has dropped more than 10 percent since the state legislature limited the union’s power last year. TEA’s rolls have declined from 52,000 to 46,000.

Under current law, Tennessee has “open primaries.” Voters can choose which party primary they want to vote in on Election Day, but there’s a move to change that.

When Republican Governor Bill Haslam delivers his state of the state address Monday night, he may get at least some applause from every corner of the House chamber. The agenda he’s unveiled so far isn’t giving Democrats much to complain about.

Judges are appointed in Tennessee. A nominating commission draws up a list of names, then the Governor picks from that list. Governor Haslam wants to enshrine this system in the Tennessee Constitution.

When Governor Bill Haslam lays out his agenda in this year’s State of the State address Monday night, one part is sure to perk up the ears of teachers. Haslam’s been talking about giving local school boards more leeway to set classroom sizes and teacher salaries.

Federal banking officials took over operations of two troubled institutions in Tennessee this afternoon, one of them in Franklin. The failure of Tennessee Commerce Bank is the state’s first in nearly a decade.

The state senator sponsoring what’s come to be known as “Don’t Say Gay” legislation is under fire for remarks he made about homosexuality on digital radio this week. Knoxville Republican Stacey Campfield is sponsoring a bill to bar discussion of homosexuality in schools. That prompted a messy exchange on the Sirius XM channel OutQ.

Metro Finance Director Rich Riebling released a memo yesterday that outlined several irregularities in leases, alcohol sales, and policy enforcement.

Crafting a country hit certainly hasn’t gotten any easier over the last five decades, but veteran songwriter Bill Anderson just happens to be great at adapting.