Gov. Lee calls for August special legislative session to replace House Speaker Glen Casada
NASHVILLE — Tennessee lawmakers will head back to the state Capitol on Aug. 23 after Gov. Bill Lee set the date for a special legislative session so the GOP-led House can elect a new speaker.
Lee, a Republican, issued the call on Thursday, saying "it is in the best interest of our state to select a new Speaker of the House, and so I am calling a special session of the General Assembly for Aug. 23 to accomplish that purpose." The move comes amid Republican Speaker Glen Casada's expected resignation.
The governor also said he has asked the General Assembly "to take up approval of the recent amendments to the Supreme Court rules, in addition to settling these leadership matters. Any other procedural business would be at the discretion of the General Assembly."
Casada has announced he will resign on Aug. 2 after overwhelmingly losing a May 20 no-confidence vote from his own GOP Caucus. That came after weeks of revelations from leaked sexually explicit text messages he exchanged with a top aide as well as multiple other controversies including hiring political operatives for no-show jobs at taxpayer expense.
Read more: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2019/jun/27/lee-special-session-replace-casada/497620/
(Chattanooga Times Free Press)
