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Governor Phil Bredesen says he hasn’t been contacted by the Obama administration about the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Governor Phil Bredesen says the possibility of massive federal aid will make it easier to fix next year’s state budget. He says the federal stimulus package could legitimately be used to keep from having to lay off state workers.

The state’s economist says unemployment may hit double digits in Tennessee within a year, placing a greater strain on the fund that covers jobless claims.

Tennessee lawmakers asked for a proposal today to let several counties work together to create an industrial “mega-site,” like the one that landed a Volkswagen plant in East Tennessee. Mega-sites have industrial-grade utilities, ready-made for manufacturing.

Governor Phil Bredesen told higher education officials today that federal stimulus money may help soften the budget blow to colleges in Tennessee. But he warned them not to consider the federal money a free ride.

Today, the House Ethics Committee dismissed a complaint against the new House Speaker, saying it has no jurisdiction over sexual harassment allegations.

No good news about local tax money came out of a meeting today at the state capitol.

The controversial new speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives appointed committees today, and split power almost down the middle between Democrats and Republicans. The power split gives Representative Kent Williams the most leverage of any House speaker in state history.

In one of his first press releases, the new Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives denied today that he had ever sexually harassed anyone.

After losing the fight for Speaker of the state House of Representatives, Republicans bounced back, sweeping their candidates into three constitutional offices in a strict party line vote.