After several days of lengthy, often monotonous budget hearings for state departments, the biggest news in the state legislature this week came on Thursday morning when Lt. Gov Randy McNally announced that he will not seek reelection in November. Citing health concerns, the Oak Ridge Republican brings his nearly 50-year stint at the Tennessee General Assembly to a close.
After nearly 50 years in office, 82-year-old East Tennessee Republican says physical health pushed him to retire
In Nashville news, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) introduced the “Subterranean Transportation Infrastructure Coordination Act,” which would further cement the state’s control over the Elon Musk-owned Boring Company’s Music City Loop tunnel project through the creation of an 11-member oversight board. The body would be made up of appointees from the governor and speakers of the House and Senate and other state officials.
Democrats and Republicans clashed over legislation related to abortion and health care for pregnant people, with GOP lawmakers pushing for abortion to be classified as a homicide and, in some cases, punishable by death.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Department of Homeland Security came under fire for Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and the House and Senate continued to advance legislation on health care, education, criminal penalties, law enforcement at the Capitol and more.
Department of Safety and Homeland Security, THP in Hot Seat
On Wednesday and Thursday, Tennessee Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security Jeff Long and Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Matthew Perry attended budget hearings before the Senate and House. Some of their testimonies were spent defending the actions of troopers during the May 2025 ICE raids throughout Middle Tennessee.
Troopers’ and agents’ actions came to light due to an explosive story by the Nashville Banner, which reviewed dozens of hours of THP body-cam footage filmed during the joint operation. Officers were shown to write on detainees in Sharpie, with agents referring to the operation as “huntin’ time.”
“I don’t think it’s appropriate,” Long said Thursday in reference to the conduct. “I can tell you that I have not had any communication to me from our staff yet that any of that marking was a trooper that did that. We don’t have control over other agencies, but we limited the amount of participation that we did after that. That’s the only operation that we’ve done.”
Tennessee Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security Jeff Long testifies at the state legislature, Feb. 26, 2026
Thursday’s House hearing was repeatedly interrupted by protesters who were eventually locked out of the hearing room. They later followed Long and Perry through the halls, chanting, singing and carrying signs denouncing ICE.
“We have no planned operations, and we’re trying to stay away from that right now,” Perry told the Scene Wednesday. “We’re just doing our job right now. What troopers do — stopping cars, trying to make the roadways safer.”
Perry said the THP will investigate any complaints about trooper conduct during the May 2025 operation, adding that if a trooper is found to have violated policy or law, they will be “disciplined accordingly.” Long told the Scene he anticipates no significant change in state cooperation with ICE. He also said he doesn’t expect to see ICE operations in the state on the scale of those seen in Minneapolis.
“Tennesseans behave like Tennesseans, so I’m proud of Tennessee,” Long said. “I don’t see the instances [similar to what has happened in] other states happening here because of our population.”
House Passes ‘Capitol Hill Protection Zone’
The House quickly passed legislation creating the “Capitol Hill Protection Zone” along party lines — and with no discussion — during Thursday’s floor session.
House Bill 1504/Senate Bill 1588, sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), would see an increased law enforcement presence throughout a zone encompassing numerous state buildings. Those would include the state Capitol, the Cordell Hull State Office Building, War Memorial Auditorium, Legislative Plaza, the Tennessee Supreme Court Building and others, as well as the “grounds, roads, and sidewalks along either side of the roads immediately surrounding such buildings.”
During a Jan. 15 press conference, Lamberth and Johnson insisted that the proposal has nothing to do with protesters who frequent Capitol hill.
“[This] should be a safe area for anybody to visit the Capitol,” Lamberth said in January.
Senate Passes Bills on Suicide Rulings, Maternal Health and Safe Haven Laws
This week, a bill from Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) that would allow parents to challenge a suicide ruling in the death of their child passed the Senate. The bill was inspired by a 2023 Antioch case in which a man was ultimately charged with murder after claiming his wife’s death was a suicide.
The Senate passed legislation, also sponsored by Lamar, that would prohibit hospital emergency departments from denying medical screenings or exams to pregnant people reporting to be in active labor or experiencing a medical emergency. The bill also prohibits a pregnant person from being transferred unless their condition has been stabilized, and requires the transfer be enacted only under certain conditions and upon the recommendation of an examining physician or qualified medical professional. The bill passed the chamber 26-6, with all no votes coming from Republicans. It is set to be heard before the House Population Health Subcommittee on March 3.
A bill that passed the Senate this week would prevent food and drink with Red 40 dye or seven petroleum-based food dyes from being part of school nutrition programs.
Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville) also successfully passed legislation in the Senate that updates Tennessee’s Safe Haven Law by broadening the list of locations where an infant may be safely surrendered.
State Republicans lose footing on bill to make abortion homicide; Dems look to protect emergency care
MADD TN Advocates for Increased Penalties in Fatal DUI Crashes
Members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving took to the Capitol on Tuesday to advocate for the passage of several bills — including SB 2138/HB 2014, which would require a person convicted of vehicular homicide by intoxication to be sentenced “as no lower than a Range II offender if the person, as a result of the same course of conduct, is also convicted of leaving the scene of the accident.”
The bill passed the Feb. 24 Senate Judiciary Committee 7-2. Another bill supported by MADD, SB 1658/HB 1755, would add a 30-day minimum sentence for someone convicted of a DUI in a marked school zone where flashing warning lights are in operation.
Fair Housing Advocates Call for Policy Changes
The Housing for All Coalition, a diverse group that includes clergy and formerly unhoused Tennesseans, targeted two specific legislative changes this year at its fourth annual Capitol advocacy day.
The first proposed change would lower the cost of appealing an eviction, which now requires an appellant to post a year’s worth of rent. The second recognizes air conditioning as a requirement for habitability, a change that would give tenants a stronger legal standard for compelling landlords to maintain housing units.
Tennessee’s housing crisis has extended beyond major cities like Nashville — homelessness, illegal evictions and housing discrimination are rampant across the state, advocates say.
Presidential Fitness Test, Civics Requirements Advance
The Senate Education Committee OK’d a Republican-sponsored bill that would require schools to administer the Presidential Fitness Test “to assess their strength, endurance and flexibility.” The legislation received bipartisan support before the committee and will soon be considered on the Senate floor — the last bit of approval needed before it would head to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for a final signature.
The committee also moved forward with the “Tennessee Civics Education Act,” which would require people seeking a teaching license to pass a 100-question test, created by the Tennessee Department of Education, on U.S. civics. It would not require teachers who already have their license to complete the exam. Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) opposed the bill, saying it’s an unnecessary requirement for teachers and that other licensed occupations don’t require a similar test.
