Cannabis would be legal for recreational and medical uses in Tennessee next year if the Tennessee General Assembly passes either of two similar bills filed by Democrats this week.
The first is from state Rep. Larry Miller (D-Memphis) and state Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville). The second is from state Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) and state Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville).
Both bills allow all Tennessee adults over 21 to possess, use, and transport small amounts of cannabis for personal use. Both would allow cannabis retailers to sell all THC products. They would also allow Tennesseans to grow up to 12 cannabis plants for personal use.
Both bills would tax cannabis sales at 15 percent on the state level and allow local governments to add a 5 percent tax to local sales of cannabis. State budget experts have not yet estimated how much revenue those tax figures might bring.
A bill filed last year would have established a medical marijuana program in the state. Tennesseans would have been only eligible to buy cannabis products if they had a diagnosis from a specific list of medical conditions. That law would have made the total state marijuana tax 10 percent and a local tax up to 3 percent. State budget experts predicted that plan would have yielded tax revenues of more than $48 million annually.
The new cannabis plans differ in how revenues are spent. The broader Tennessee Cannabis Act specifies only that about 15 percent of the money go to state agencies to run the cannabis program. The rest would go into he state’s general fund and spent at the discretion of lawmakers.
The Pot for Potholes fund earmarks 75 percent of all cannabis tax revenues for the state highway fund. Most of the rest of the money would go to Tennessee’s 95 counties. A remaining 5 percent of the funds would go to state agencies to manage the program.
The bills seem the same in almost every other way. Both would:
• Regulate cannabis packaging. Products for sale would have to be sold in child-resistant packaging, carry a new, universal cannabis symbol, and show the total amount of THC in the product.
• Cap personal possession at 60 grams of marijuana, but not more than 15 grams of concentrate
• Allow private cultivation of 12 plants in a private area that is locked and not visible from a public place.
• Allow a parent or guardian to give cannabis products to their children for a medical condition, excluding smokeable products.
• Allow for the commercial grow and sale of the product.
• Allow for the possession of marijuana-related paraphernalia such as water pipes, etc. (with exceptions)
• Allow employers to prohibit the use of cannabis products in the workplace.
• Allow employers to discipline workers for cannabis use.
• Allow employers to consider cannabis use in its hiring process (with certain restrictions).
• Allow personal cannabis users and growers to buy firearms.
• Cannabis possession or use would not be grounds to deny a lease to a potential residential tenant.
• Cannabis use would not be allowed in a motor vehicle, a watercraft on public waters, or in a public place.
FedEx aircraft at Memphis International Airport. Photo by Jon W. Sparks
The Memphis area exported about $1.4 billion worth of goods to its top three international markets — Mexico, China, and Canada — in 2023, according to the latest data, but effects of tariffs aren’t yet known.
The report from the U.S.-China Business Council (UCBC) also found that Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which covers most of Memphis and parts of Tipton County, exported about $537 million worth of services to its top six international trading partners. Those include Canada at the top and China at sixth.
Credit: U.S.-China Business Council
It’s unknown how those markets would change under promised tariffs by President Donald Trump. The president agreed to pause tariffs on Mexico Monday to allow the countries to work out a deal. Trump also agreed to lower the tariff price on Canada to 10 percent from a threatened 25 percent.
Stocks for FedEx Corp., one of the area’s largest private employers, fell by more than 6 percent on the New York Stock Exchange by Monday afternoon. Shares fell $16.29 to $248. 58 just before the closing bell.
However, the freight sector had already slowed before the the 2024 election. FedEx dropped the U.S. Mail as a customer last year, a move that cut 60 flights to Memphis International Airport.
The UCBC report shows that the 9th District’s top exports to China alone were medical equipment and supplies ($313 million), basic chemicals ($76 million), and engines and turbines ($9.9 million). Changes to the China market alone could put downward pressure on Memphis companies like Medtronic, Drexel Chemical Co., and a host of mechanical companies.
The district also exported $38.9 million worth of services to China, also. The top three include education ($21 million), freight and port services ($10 million), and royalties from industrial processes ($7.9 million).
Market data was broken down to the district level in reports on trade between Tennessee and Mexico and Canada.
Total trade with Mexico in 2023 was $20.1 billion, according to the Embassy of Mexico in the U.S. The figure includes $6.1 billion in exports and $14 billion in imports. The state’s biggest import categories include motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts, HVAC equipment, electrical equipment and components, and communications equipment. In all, Tennessee’s trade with Mexico is greater than the total U.S. trade with Argentina, the embassy report says.
The latest report from the Canadian Consulate General in Atlanta says that trade with Canada supported 160,400 employees in Tennessee last year in addition to the 11,700 employees at Canadian-owned businesses across the state.
Tennessee exports $10.0 billion in goods and services to Canada. The state imports $6.8 billion in goods each year, the report said. Those include chemical, metals, and equipment — base goods that, with tariffs added to their costs — could drive up prices on a number of products for Tennessee consumers.
Also, Canadian-based company Richardson International Ltd. announced last year it will invest $220 million in its Wesson Oil production facility in Memphis. That is part of a multiphase project that will replace the oil production plant with a new refinery to fulfill customer requirements and meet growing global demand for vegetable oil. The company said when it is completed, the new refinery will drive substantial reductions in water, energy, and wastewater volumes.
In West Tennessee, auto parts maker Magna International plans to invest more than $790 million to build the first two supplier facilities at Ford’s BlueOval City supplier park in Stanton.
Magna’s two Stanton facilities include a new frame and battery enclosures facility and a seating facility. The company also plans to build a stamping and assembly facility in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
The Ontario-based supplier will supply Ford’s BlueOval City with battery enclosures, truck frames and seats for the automaker’s second-generation electric truck.
Magna will employ approximately 750 employees at its battery enclosures facility and 300 employees at its new seating plant. The company plans to employ about 250 employees at its plant in Lawrenceberg. Production at all three plants is scheduled to begin in 2025.
The items proposed for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s special session, scheduled to start next week, carry a price tag of nearly $917 million, with his school voucher plan alone costing $424 million in its first year.
The session is set to only cover three major issues: Lee’s school vouchers, relief for Hurricane Helene victims in East Tennessee, and readying the state to conform to President Donald Trump’s immigration plan, which could include mass deportations.
A proposed law to pay for all of it (called an appropriations bill) has been filed in the Tennessee General Assembly ahead of the session to start Monday. Check it out here:
Here’s a basic breakdown of the costs from the bill:
Education Freedom Scholarships (aka the school voucher plan)
• $225.8 million every year
• $198.4 million just this year
• Total: $424.2 million
Hurricane Helene response:
• $210 million for the Hurricane Helene fund and the Governor’s Response and Recovery Fund
• $240 million for TEMA disaster relief grants
• $20 million to rebuild Hampton High School in Carter County
• $6.2 million for affected schools in Tourism Development Zones
• $17 million for incentives for school systems to get more than half of their schools to get an “A” letter grade
The spending bill does not propose spending any money (yet) on Trump’s immigration enforcement plan.
Also interesting is that the bill pays for the special session itself. But no price tag was flashed on that one. Instead, it vaguely covers the whole thing.
“In addition to any other funds appropriated by the provisions of this act, there is appropriated a sum sufficient to the General Assembly for the sole purpose of payment of any lawful expenses, including, but not limited to, staffing, per diem, travel, and other expenses, of the First Extraordinary Session of the One Hundred Fourteenth General Assembly,” reads the bill.
So, Tennesseans are footing the bill for legislators to return to Nashville (travel), eat and drink while they are there (per diem), pay their staff members to help them, and pay for any other “lawful” expense lawmakers may have while conducting Lee’s business.
Still want to watch PornHub (and other major porn sites) in Tennessee without an ID check? Here’s how: Download a VPN. (We’ll give you some how-to resources below.)
Okay, a VPN may sound a little too complicated or somehow dark-web-ish or law-breaking or something. You can search for porn on social sites like X or Reddit. Easy peasy. (We’ll give you an example of that below, too.)
You probably already know that PornHub and other major porn sites have gone dark in Tennessee. Go to the PornHub site now and you’ll get only this:
Credit: PornHub
That’s Brazzers star Cherie Deville. The actor is also an adult film advocate and ambassador for others in the industry. In the video, Deville explains why PornHub completely disabled access to its site in Tennessee.
”While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk,” Deville explains in the video.
“In addition, mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply. As we’ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place. Very few sites are able to compare to the robust Trust and Safety measures we currently have in place.”
Deville says the best method to protect children from online pornography is to identify users by their devices and limit access on them. So, instead of PornHub shutting off the entire state of Tennessee, parents could restrict access to the site (and others like it) themselves on their children’s phones, computers, and tablets.
Chief United States District Judge Sheryl Lipman in Memphis agrees. (Or, at least she did in a December 30th ruling.)
Lipman (Credit: United state District Court Western District of Tennessee)
“Ultimately, (Tennessee’s new porn law’s) most glaring flaw is that it is not the least restrictive means of advancing Tennessee’s interest in protecting minors from pornography,” Lipman said. “If there is a less restrictive alternative that would serve the state’s purpose, the state ’must use that alternative.’ [Here, she was quoting from an earlier decision from a lawsuit involving Playboy magazine.]
“Blocking and filtering controls on individual devices are both more effective and less restrictive than the state’s suppression of speech at the source. These applications are more comprehensive than geography-based age restrictions because they prevent children from accessing harmful content no matter where they go, and they cannot be circumvented with a VPN.”
So the GOP-run Tennessee General Assembly’s law is not the most effective way to protect minors from online porn, say a federal judge and an adult film star. Also, Lipman added in her opinion that VPNs are effective ways to skirt Tennessee’s new law and called them ”available, affordable, and effective.”
This technology is available, affordable, and effective.”
Chief United States District Judge Sheryl Lipman
“These programs often come pre-installed on computers and phones, and some are free to download,” Lipman said of VPNs. “Unlike age-verification requirements at the source, parental controls on a device are highly customizable based on the user’s age and sensitivity — they would not prevent adults from accessing protected adult content, but they would prevent minors from accessing it. This technology is available, affordable, and effective.”
How to get a VPN and back to PornHub With No ID
Now, we’re back to VPNs, or “virtual private networks.” So, VPNs encrypt your internet connection and route it through servers in other physical places. Use a VPN, set it up as you like, and websites won’t know you’re in Tennessee (unless you tell them for some reason).
I’m no VPN expert. But the folks at VPNPro definitely are. They have a full run-down on how to get around Tennessee’s new law with a VPN and unlock those website without an ID. Their in-depth process and VPN recommendations are here.
In addition to the VPN work-around, social media is filled with adult content on sites don’t have to collect IDs because Tennessee’s law says more than a third of a website’s content must be porn to trigger the ID law. That being the case, porn that is on, say, X, is still readily available. As of Thursday morning, users could still find adult videos like this one from Deville herself.
Credit: Cherie Deville via XCredit: Cherie Deville via X
No, we’re not going to give you links.
Take note: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to take up a case about a similar law from Texas next week. If it rules the Texas ban unconstitutional, PornHub could again be open for business in Tennessee without requiring an ID.
So, how are local agencies preparing for this? Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW)? City of Memphis? Memphis International Airport (MEM)? Tennessee Department Of Transportation (TDOT)?
Here’s an unfiltered look at what they’ve told us (with links to follow the latest from the agencies).
Memphis Light, Gas & Water:
MLGW prepares for cold weather by tracking the weather, having additional crews on standby, and ensuring vehicles are equipped with necessary tools. Tree-trimming crews cleared more than 1,600 miles in 2024 to help reduce electric outages caused by falling limbs.
Credit: Memphis Light, Gas & Water
To combat water main breaks (which can occur when temperatures drop) MLGW has made several capital improvements like installing additional wells. It’s also been insulating water pump motors and conducting a system-wide water valve survey that will keep water flowing from pumping stations to the community.
To combat winter weather challenges, MLGW has implemented the following measures:
· Fleet maintenance: MLGW’s fleet vehicles receive monthly preventive maintenance, with extra attention to charging systems, tires, heaters, windshield wipers, and washer fluid in the winter months.
· De-icer supply: Garages are stocked with de-icer for locks, door handles, and windshields, ensuring crews can work efficiently in icy conditions.
· Cold weather diesel additive: To enhance vehicle performance, a cold weather diesel fuel additive is added to the tanks at MLGW fueling stations.
· Snowplows and brine spreaders: Six fleet vehicles are outfitted with snowplows and brine spreaders to clear access to MLGW facilities and community offices, ensuring essential operations can continue during winter storms.
City of Memphis:
Credit: City of Memphis
The city of Memphis has a new strategic snow and ice mitigation plan. Under the plan that went into effect on January 1, 2025, Division of Public Works crews will focus on specific routes when wintry weather affects our area, clearing one lane in each direction.
Previously, crews only treated inclines and declines, overpasses, and bridges. Clearing one lane in each direction on targeted routes aligns with what is done in other cities in Tennessee and nationwide.
Instead of a salt/sand mix, crews will treat the streets with straight salt. Using salt only should more effectively melt snow and ice on our roads. Crews will still pretreat with brine when conditions allow.
Instead of a salt/sand mix, crews will treat the streets with straight salt. Using salt only should more effectively melt snow and ice on our roads. Crews will still pretreat with brine when conditions allow.
Check the map to see which routes the city of Memphis will treat. The map also highlights routes cleared by TDOT. This new, focused approach is expected to better serve residents and drivers during winter weather.
Memphis International Airport:
Credit: Memphis International Airport
• When winter weather is forecast, MEM schedules crews based on the amount, duration and type of the expected precipitation. Snow and ice require different types of treatment.
• The goal is to prevent the buildup of ice and snow on runways and taxiways so that aircraft can continue to operate safely. Crews also work around the clock to clear ramps, service roads, terminal roadways, fuel farm loading areas, and more.
• MEM has more than 40 vehicles dedicated to snow/ice removal, including snow brooms, plow trucks, snow blowers, liquid and granular de-icing trucks, and tractors.
MEM has more than 40 vehicles dedicated to snow/ice removal, including snow brooms, plow trucks, snow blowers, liquid and granular de-icing trucks, and tractors.
• About 140 employees from airfield and building maintenance are available for snow operations, along with staff from operations, communications, airport police, procurement, and other areas. The vast majority of the [Memphis and Shelby County Airport Authority’s] 300 employees are involved in winter weather operations in some capacity.
• Airfield crews will work around the clock to clear runways.
• MEM’s centralized de-icing facility will be active for airlines to perform de-icing operations as needed.
Airlines:
• Passengers should contact their airline before traveling. Airlines manage all aspects of scheduling and will have the most up-to-date information. Early morning flights in particular could be affected.
• Even if MEM is open with flights arriving and departing, weather across the U.S. could disrupt airline schedules this week.
• Airlines are responsible for all aspects of ticketing, baggage, and gate operations.
• While MEM is responsible for clearing runways and taxiways, airlines handle all aspects of de-icing aircraft including staffing, application and equipment maintenance.
Other passenger information:
• Allow for extra time to get to the airport due to road conditions. It is recommended to arrive at the airport at least two hours prior to scheduled departure.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) Region 4 is prepared to tackle the ice and snow forecast for this week, ensuring the safety of drivers across the region’s 21 counties.
TDOT West Tennessee at the ready:
• Snow and ice budget: $5.2 million
• 176 salt trucks
• 139 brine trucks
• 29,000 tons of salt
• 508,000 gallons of brine
• 30 salt bins placed around the region
Maintenance crews are fully stocked with salt, brine, and other materials, to respond as winter weather moves into the area. Region 4’s [West Tennessee] snow and ice budget for this fiscal year is $5.2 million.
Drivers should expect to see crews in West Tennessee pre-treating the interstates and state routes region-wide for the upcoming impacts of winter weather. Crews will prioritize clearing interstates and heavily traveled state routes first, followed by secondary routes. TDOT strongly encourages drivers to prepare to stay off the roads on Friday, January 10, 2025, for their own safety and the safety of workers, giving crews the room they need to do their jobs.
TDOT strongly encourages drivers to prepare to stay off the roads on Friday, January 10, 2025, for their own safety and the safety of workers, giving crews the room they need to do their jobs.
“Our crews have been working diligently to ensure our equipment is ready and materials are on hand to keep the roads clear and safe,” said Jason Baker, Region 4 director. “We encourage all drivers to also prepare for the conditions and adjust their driving habits to stay safe on the road.”
For more information on TDOT’s snow and ice preparations, winter safe driving tips, preparing your vehicle for winter travel and links to road conditions in Tennessee and neighboring states visit: Ice & Snow.
From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras. Travelers can also dial 511 for travel information, or follow TDOT on Twitter for statewide travel or in West Tennessee follow here.
As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for your destination. Drivers should never tweet, text, or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel.
Carlisle Development Co. will bring its new, $137 million plans for Central Yards — a mix of condos, retail, parking, and a hotel — to a Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) board next week, seeking a tax break of $24.6 million to make them real.
The Central Yards development idea has been around a long time. An original development project was stymied when an investor was snarled in a Bitcoin scandal. The property was seized by the government and sold at auction to Carlisle.
The roughly 6-acre site in Cooper-Young sits near Central and Cooper. (Right around the Taconganas stand and Bluff City Sports.) The area was once home to a plumber supply shop, which closed. For years now, the vacant shop has stood dilapidated and alone in an empty, weedy field surrounded by chain link topped with concertina wire. All buildings on the site now would be demolished, according to the new plan.
Carlisle’s plan for the spot includes 250 condos, 27 townhomes (each with a two-car garage), a 325-car parking deck, all with resident amenities like a pool. It will also have a five-story hotel with 125 rooms and an 82-car parking lot. The hotel will have 4,160 square feet of commercial space.
Credit: Downtown Memphis Commission
“An investment of over $125 million in the site will revitalize a blighted portion of an otherwise thriving neighborhood, and help bridge the gap between Cooper-Young and other Midtown neighborhoods to the north,” Carlisle said in its application to the DMC’s finance branch, the Center City Revenue Finance Corp. That board can finance, own, lease, and dispose of properties and give tax breaks.
Carlisle plans construction to begin the second quarter of this year and have it wrapped up in 2027.
DMC staff reviews each project brought before the board and gives board members its recommendation on them to approve or not. The DMC staff recommended approval of Carlisle’s plan for Central Yard and to give a tax break lasting 20 years. Staff liked that the plan brought new homes and retail spaces, activating now-vacant property, and its new parking spaces.
“The Cooper mixed-use project will bring new vibrancy to area to support the many established businesses in the Cooper-Young neighborhood,” staff said.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee rejected $1.1 million in federal grant funding at the beginning of the year, an action that will end free summer meals for up to 700,000 Tennessee children.
Lee’s adminstration indicated last year that it would not renew the state’s participation in the federal Electronic Benefits Transfers Program for Children (Summer EBT). His office told NBC News last month that it costs too much to administer the program, noting that the federal government began shifting the adminstration cost to the states.
The program issued a $120 EBT card, called Sun Bucks, to 700,000 children in Tennessee last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administered the program for the federal government. They were available for children aged 6- to 17-years-old for June, July, and August, when most children are on summer vacation. The money could only be spent on food.
Lee’s adminstration did not formally announce the rejection on any public platform. Instead, his office quietly missed the January 1 deadline renewal.
The rejection brought questions and anger from many.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) requested an explanation of Lee’s decision by January 17th. He said child hunger is “especially pressing in Tennessee,” where 40 percent of families report food insecurity, according to data from Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy.
“While I understand your office issued a statement claiming that the program was ‘established in the pandemic-era to supplement existing food assistance programs in an extraordinary circumstance’ and that the program is ‘mostly duplicative,’ I urge your administration to reconsider,” Cohen wrote in a letter to Lee this week. “Congress’s decision to make the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) a permanent summer program through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 reflects the bipartisan recognition of its success and necessity.
“Feeding our children is not just a matter of public policy — it is a moral imperative. Well-nourished children are better able to learn, grow, and lead healthy, well-adjusted lives.”
Knowing that Lee’s decision on the matter was at hand, many Tennessee relief agencies advocated for him to keep the program.
The Nashville-based Tennessee Justice Center urged its followers to send Lee a form letter, which asked him to keep the program.
“In 2024, Summer EBT served over 650,000 children in Tennessee and brought nearly $79 million into the state economy,” the center said. “Tennessee children aren’t going anywhere. They will continue to need food during the summer months in 2025 and beyond.”
In a December opinion piece in The Tennessean, Rhonda Chafin, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee, said opportunities like the Summer EBT program are rare, and praised Lee for joining the effort in the first place.
“Opportunities to create such profound, positive change for children — at minimal cost to the state — are rare,” Chafin wrote. “By continuing Summer EBT, Tennessee can address child hunger, boost educational outcomes, and stimulate local economies simultaneously.
“Governor Lee has demonstrated compassionate leadership in this area before, and we trust he will do so again. The children of Tennessee are counting on us to stand up for their well-being. Let’s not let them down.”
Tennessee House Democrats were more direct in their assessment of Lee’s decision. Before Christmas, the group posted a photo of Lee dressed as The Grinch with a sack on his back, that reads “Food $$$.” The meme asks, “Will the Governor steal your child’s summer meals?”
The post also carried this treatment of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
“’Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the state,
Tennesseans were begging Gov. Lee to stop with the hate.
Letters were sent with stories of how,
Lee’s decision on summer EBT for children was needed now,
With hopes that he will renew the program with glee,
If you’ve been paying attention to news at all, you’ll know crime is down in Memphis.
Yes, it’s a national trend. But, like, who cares. Falling crime in Memphis is good news no matter where it comes from.
Total crime across the city fell 13.3 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to data released from the city at year’s end. Crime was down in every ZIP code in the city, except for 38131 and 38152.
Credit: city of Memphis
Those two are head-scratchers. (We’re not data experts, so we’re not equipped to label them “aberrations” or whatever.) But 38131 is a neighborhood wedged between Memphis International Airport to the south and I-240 to the north. Last year saw 54 crimes there, and that’s up 42 percent from 2023.
The other area — 38152 — is on the eastern part of University of Memphis campus, encompassing Ball Hall, Campus Elementary School, and big parking lots. Across a big ditch there, nice homes stand in the same ZIP code along Grandview. Last year saw 57 crimes there, and that’s up 83.9 percent from 2023.
The city did not give any details on the crimes in these areas, aberrations or no. In his weekly newsletter Friday, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said, “We are working on it!”
In addition to that year-end report, you can track Memphis crime now with two (new to us) crime stats dashboards.
The first shows Memphis crime year to year. The Crime Analytics dashboard shows unfiltered stats on 40 different types of crimes (from credit card fraud to murder) in three major crime categories — property crimes, personal crimes, and crimes against society.
In total, there were 101,363 total crimes in Memphis last year. Of those, 10,642 were deemed violent crimes. There were 42,647 property crimes, 299 homicides (235 of those were murders), and 9,821 car thefts.
Credit: city of Memphis
Pulling way back, though, the dashboard shows a map of concentrations of crime. We know you can likely overlay a map of poverty and other factors over the crime map and get commanding results. We’re not here to issue judgments about anything. But (and you knew that was coming) you can see, objectively, where the most crime happened in Memphis in 2024.
Another dashboard, also maintained by the city of Memphis, shows weekly crime stats. This one does not give as much detail, like locations, nor does it break the crimes down much beyond the surface. But it still gives an interesting look at the state of the city.
Credit: city of Memphis
For example, over the last seven days (as of Monday, Jan. 6th), 835 crimes were committed. The seven days before that, 827 crimes were reported. Aggravated assaults (152) led all crimes as of Monday, with robbery (40), and rape (5) following.
On one metric — though — the dashboard somehow makes the city’s homicide count feel more real. It seems hard to fathom 299 homicides for a community in one year. It can also seem perfectly reasonable to have 299 homicides in a city the size of Memphis. But when the dashboard reports three homicides over the last seven days (and four homicides the week before that), the data seem more personal — these were people — and sad — these were someone’s family and friends.
Tennessee Democrats recently unveiled legislation they’ll push in January’s session of the Tennessee General Assembly on issues of jobs, universal pre-K, and roads — and they issued questions on repealing the state sales tax on groceries.
Universal pre-K
Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) and Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville introduced a bill to provide free, universal pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds in Tennessee. The proposal aims to reduce childcare costs, boost family incomes, and improve educational outcomes statewide.
The bill would require all school districts to offer pre-K, using a new funding mechanism: a 9.5 percent tax on social media advertising by major tech companies operating in Tennessee. Universal pre-K increases parental earnings by 21 percent and delivers $5.51 in benefits for every dollar invested, according to the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research.
“Every child deserves access to a great education, and universal pre-K is the best way to ensure that opportunity begins at the earliest stages of learning,” Oliver, a working mother of three, said in a statement. “This isn’t just an investment in our kids; it’s an economic lifeline for working families. Universal pre-K reduces childcare costs, boosts family incomes, and strengthens Tennessee’s workforce. It’s time to deliver real relief to families who are stretched too thin.”
Only 20 percent of Tennessee’s 4-year-olds are enrolled in state pre-K programs, according to the nonpartisan National Institute for Early Education Research. Oliver and Behn argue their plan will close this gap and bolster Tennessee’s economy.
“Working families are the backbone of Tennessee, but far too many struggle to afford high-quality preschool for their children,” said Rep. Behn. “This legislation cuts costs, gives families a raise, and ensures every child gets a strong start in life. The research is clear: when families have access to free pre-K, parents can work more, earn more, and build a more secure future for their children. It’s a win for families, businesses, and the state economy.”
Waste to Jobs
Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) introduced the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act, a bill to transform the state’s waste management system by expanding recycling access, reducing landfill waste, creating over 7,700 jobs, and having packing producers to pay for it.
Under the legislation, the producers who create product packaging would join a statewide Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), which will work with local governments to manage and fund recycling programs using an innovative extended producer responsibility model. Producers will finance recycling services based on the type and volume of packaging they produce, freeing local governments from bearing these costs.
The network would also work with local governments to implement programs to educate consumers, reduce waste, and expand recycling access underserved areas. Counties with a population of less than 200,000 would have to opt into the program.
Campbell said the bill could divert and repurpose 950,000 tons of waste bound for landfills.
“Tennessee is at a crossroads,” Campbell said in a statement. “We can continue to watch our landfills overflow, and our resources go to waste, or we can lead the Southeast in building a robust recycling economy that works for our families, businesses, and future.
“The Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act creates over 7,700 jobs, brings $300 million annually into our state, and ensures local governments save millions while providing access to recycling for every community that opts in to the program.”
Tennessee fell one spot on Ball’s annual recycling report. The state recycles 5 percent of its waste. This is down slightly from 2021 to earn Tennessee a 48th ranking of 50 states.
Read more about Tennessee’s recycling trends from Ball here:
Tennessee Democrats are also expected to push an infrastructure plan next year to battle the state’s “growing traffic crisis,” and “crumbling transportation infrastructure,” laying blame at the feet of the Republican supermajority.
In a Nashville news conference in October, lawmakers launched the “Rocky Top, Not Rocky Roads” campaign, highlighting road conditions and traffic congestion. They pointed to an annual state infrastructure audit that said the state now faces a $34 billion backlog in transportation projects.
The plan would have Tennessee’s government issuing debt rather than relying on in-hand revenues to increase the state’s ability to invest in large-scale infrastructure programs, the lawmakers said.
Grocery tax cut
Democrats have pushed the GOP supermajority to cut the taxes on groceries in Tennessee. When Gov. Bill Lee paused the tax for 30 days back in 2017, Democrats said they’d pushed the idea for a decade.
Oliver and Behn worked this past legislative session to eliminate Tennessee’s sales tax on groceries. The effort was thwarted and the two said, “Republicans in the state legislature opted to pass a $5.5 billion tax handout for large corporations instead.”
But the GOP seems poised to review the tax cut next session. House Bill 21 says it would exempt “from the state sales and use tax the retail sale of food and food ingredients.” Its sponsors are state Rep. Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville) and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland).
Democrats said, based on this year’s review of cutting the tax, it would leave a $755 million hole in the state budget. So far, Republicans have not said how they’d replace that money.
Shelby County had the highest rate of vehicle fatalities in Tennessee over the last five years, according to a new state report.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office’s (THSO) latest report says that between 2018 and 2022, 640 died in Shelby County as a result of a car crash. The figure made Shelby County the site of nearly 16 percent of all vehicle-related deaths in Tennessee.
However, Shelby County saw a decline in these deaths in 2022.
Source: THSO (Memphis Flyer via ChatGPT)
Davidson County (Nashville) was the runner-up in this metric. But with its 305 deaths, it had fewer than half of the vehicle-related deaths than Shelby. Davidson County deaths accounted for 7.5 percent of all vehicle-related deaths in Tennessee.
However, Davidson Countians drove more each day than Shelby County drivers. The THSO figures said more than 24.6 million miles are driven in Shelby County each day. In Davidson County, the figure is more than 25.3 million.
Source: THSO (Memphis Flyer via ChatGPT)
The number of car-related fatalities here is way up from nearly 20 years ago. The same THSO report found that in the five years from 2005 to 2009, there were 397 fatal crashes crashes in Shelby County. Fewer average daily miles were driven back then, nearly 1 million fewer miles per day.
The number of car-related fatalities here is way up from nearly 20 years ago.
Source: THSO
Roads Most Traveled
The new report shows that Shelby County has the most miles of roadways in the state. It has 10,759 miles of roads. Knox County comes in second with 9,903 miles. Davidson is third with 9,448. Hamilton County (Chattanooga) is a distant fourth with 7,962 miles.
The busiest road in Shelby County is the 240 stretch between Mt. Moriah and Perkins (segment 3 in the chart above) with about 194,040 cars daily. The next busiest was at the flyover around the Sam Cooper Blvd. exit (segment 2) with around 156,970 cars daily. The third-busiest was two-mile stretch of I-240 between the Walnut Grove and Poplar exits (segment 1 in the graph above). That portion saw about 149,320 cars each day in 2023. But it is the most-driven road in the county, with about 337,463 miles driven on it each day.
The busiest local roads were Germantown Road (59,980 cars daily), Lamar (39,410 daily), and Covington Pike (21,460 cars daily).
Source: THSO (Memphis Flyer via ChatGPT)
Buckle Up
The new report shows that Tennesseans buckled up at record rates in 2024 for the second year in a row.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) said the 2024 statewide seat belt usage rate was 92.2 percent, a slight increase from the 2023 rate of 92 percent. Shelby County’s usage rate was only slightly lower at 91.7 percent.
The THSO collected data at 190 roadway locations across the state, involving nearly 29,000 vehicle occupants.
Key figures:
• Sport utility vehicle occupants had the highest seat belt usage rate (96.3 percent), while pickup truck occupants had the lowest (84.6 percent).
• Female occupants wore seat belts more frequently (96.2 percent) compared to males (89.2 percent).
• Front-seat passengers wore seat belts (92.3 percent) more than drivers (92.1 percent).
• McMinn County had the highest seat belt usage rate at 97 percent.
