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    Kentucky lawmakers have given final passage to a bill stripping the Democratic governor of any role in picking someone to occupy a U.S. Senate seat if a vacancy occurs. Kentucky is the home state of 82-year-old Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The state Senate voted Thursday to send the bill to Gov. Andy Beshear. The governor has denounced the measure as driven by partisanship. But the legislature’s GOP supermajorities could override a veto. The legislation calls for a special election to fill any Senate vacancy from the Bluegrass State. The special election winner would hold the seat for the remainder of the unexpired term.

      Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed two top Democratic legislative priorities. He announced vetoes Thursday to bills that would have allowed the recreational retail sales of marijuana to begin next year and measures mandating a minimum wage increase. Youngkin said the marijuana bill would create health and safety problems. Virginia legalized the adult possession of marijuana several years ago but never set up recreational sales. Explaining his veto of the wage bill, the governor said it would “imperil market freedom and economic competitiveness.” The developments were met with criticism from Democrats who control the General Assembly.

        A bill aimed at expanding access to paid family leave has won final passage in Kentucky’s legislature. Thursday's vote came as lawmakers shifted into overdrive on the final day before a two-week break. The Senate voted 36-0 to send the family leave legislation to Gov. Andy Beshear. The bill would allow voluntary paid family leave insurance to be available to Kentucky employers, who would choose whether to offer it to their employees. Republican Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe says it's a market-driven proposal that has no mandates. The final two days of this year’s session will be in mid-April.

          Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed off on the repeal of Memphis police traffic stop reforms set in place after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by officers just over a year ago. By enacting the legislation, the Republican governor sided with GOP lawmakers who forged ahead despite pleas from Nichols’ parents to give them a chance to find compromise. Starting immediately, the law renders some of Memphis’ ordinances null and void, including one that outlawed so-called pretextual traffic stops, such as for a broken taillight and other minor violations. Nichols’ death last January sparked outrage and calls for reforms nationally and locally.

            Tennessee’s governor has named a whole new board of trustees to the state’s only publicly funded historically Black university. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation Thursday vacating the board of Tennessee State University and unveiled the new appointees moments after. The selections must now be confirmed by the Legislature. The move has Black lawmakers and community leaders saying that the majority-white Legislature is unfairly targeting the school. Lee signed the bill after the state House passed it 66 to 25. TSU is currently seeking a new president because its current leader is retiring at the end of this school year.

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