Tennessee

Starting July 1, a new law on modified trucks and cars could mean fines for certain drivers.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in March signed legislation banning a modification known commonly as a “Carolina squat,” which refers to cars and trucks with front ends raised to sit higher off the ground than the backs of vehicles, so that the bodies of the vehicles are no longer parallel to the ground.

Former state Rep. Scotty Campbell is suing the state Legislature’s top administrator, saying he was forced out amid a workplace harassment complaint filed by an intern in 2023.

Campbell, an East Tennessee Republican, filed a lawsuit Tuesday saying he was “forced to resign upon threat of being expelled – that day – and losing his health insurance” by House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison. The filing also says Faison was believed to be conspiring with others to keep the media from finding out a similar complaint had been filed against him.

The former lawmaker filed a public records petition Tuesday in Davidson County Circuit Court against Connie Ridley, director of Legislative Administration, court documents show. The filing contends Ridley and others refused to disclose state records Campbell requested and is entitled to receive under state law.

Campbell resigned April 20 after a subcommittee investigation found he sexually harassed an intern.

Around noon that day, Campbell told the Tennessee Lookout he would not step away from the Legislature even though the Workplace Discrimination & Harassment Subcommittee determined he violated state policy. The subcommittee’s work was done secretly, and members were not allowed to comment on their deliberation.

Two hours later, though, he had vacated the Capitol complex, including the Cordell Hull Building where legislators’ offices are located.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton and House Majority Leader William Lamberth that night denied telling Campbell to leave, but Faison declined to say anything when asked by the Tennessee Lookout.

In the last three years, TVA has built, approved, or proposed eight methane gas plants. This massive, multi-billion-dollar gas spending spree – which is the largest fossil fuel buildout in the country – will worsen the impacts of climate change and force families across the region and customers to pay expensive fossil fuel prices for decades to come. The more than 150 miles of proposed gas pipelines that will accompany the new plants will cut through parts of Middle and East Tennessee, putting dozens of communities, waterways, and ecosystems at risk.

U.S. Rep Andy Ogles has paid a $5,750 civil penalty for multiple campaign finance violations incurred during the 2021-2022 election cycle, an FEC spokesperson confirmed. The commission agreed to the fine in early October after assessing Ogles’ campaign with multiple penalties for missing and late-filed reports, illegal contributions and insufficient reporting documents.

The Ogles campaign blamed its compliance issues on “internal miscommunication,” according to the publicly released settlement terms. In addition to the fine, Ogles’ campaign has until Jan. 2 to set up a specific tracking and reporting process with the FEC and must undergo additional training with the FEC by October.

An FEC audit from March found more than 10 campaign finance violations from Ogles’ 2022 campaign. The report details $90,000 in unreported receipts from October 2022 and an undisclosed $50,000 transfer between political committees. Letters from the FEC also name former Ogles treasurer Lee Beaman and Thomas Datwyler, a Wisconsin-based compliance consultant associated with multiple instances of improper bookkeeping for Republican candidates across the country.

Elected mayor of Maury County in 2018, Ogles built a reputation among Tennessee’s far right by opposing COVID precautions and gun control. Last year, Ogles won the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District over former speaker of the Tennessee House Beth Harwell and retired National Guard Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead, both viewed as moderate alternatives to Ogles. In November 2022, he comfortably beat Democratic state Sen. Heidi Campbell, for the seat. The district previously contained all of Davidson County and was represented by centrist Democrat Jim Cooper before state lawmakers split up Nashville into three congressional districts.

Many of the professional and personal details shared by Ogles during his campaign were reported by NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams to be exaggerations and embellishments soon after he was sworn in as a congressman, prompting comparisons between Ogles and now-ousted GOP Rep. George Santos.

Ogles’ office did not respond to a request for comment.