The Tennessee legislature hits the ground running today, the second week of its 2012 session. When the gavel bangs at noon, the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up two bills that address widespread drug abuse in the state – so-called “designer drugs,” and methamphetamine.

The bills creating new voting maps in Tennessee are now clear to go to the governor for his signature. The state Senate put the last piece down in the jigsaw puzzle this afternoon.

An injection-molding company that makes car parts will expand its factory in Shelbyville and add almost 60 new jobs. New York-based Century Mold has had its facility in Bedford County for almost two decades. In announcing the expansion today the plastic-maker’s CEO praised its Tennessee location a “perfect fit.”

It took only an hour this afternoon for the Republican majority in the Tennessee House of Representatives to approve some of the new voting lines for the next decade of elections. The House passed a new congressional map, and one for its own chamber.

The state House of Representatives agreed today on new lines for Tennessee’s Congressional districts. Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper’s district would add the southern part of Davidson County, which leans Republican.

Bald eagles are popping up in unusual parts of Tennessee, according to the state ornithologist. Numbers are thought to be on the rise around the country.

State workers – at least those surveyed by the Haslam Administration – want civil service rules to change. The governor proposed legislation this week that would loosen hiring restrictions and make pay more flexible.

The Tennessee Regulatory Authority – which oversees private utility rates – has nothing to say about a proposal to do away with its four full-time directors. The TRA is one of 22 boards and commissions Governor Bill Haslam wants to overhaul.

The state will spend millions of dollars over the next few years to upgrade insulation, switch to more efficient lights and heaters, and effectively cut air pollution. And it will dole out millions more in grants – for businesses, local governments, utilities, and others to do the same, or add wind or solar power.

Corporations relocating to Tennessee could soon be eligible for cash instead of just state tax credits.