NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Wednesday named members to the Tennessee Commission on Pain and Addiction Medicine Education. The commission, established by executive order as part of the TN Together plan to help end the opioid epidemic, is charged with developing competencies for Tennessee’s medical educational institutions to address proper treatment for pain, safe and effective prescribing practices, and proper diagnoses and treatment for individuals abusing or misusing controlled substances. Once developed, the competencies shall be available for adoption by Tennessee’s medical educational institutions for best-in-class training for Tennessee’s future doctors, nurses, dentists and other prescribers.

NASHVILLE – Joined by leadership from the House and Senate and Chief Justice Jeff Bivins, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday announced an aggressive and comprehensive plan to end the opioid epidemic in Tennessee by focusing on three major components: prevention, treatment and law enforcement. TN Together is a multi-faceted initiative that addresses the issue of opioid addiction through legislation, proposed funding in the governor’s 2018-19 budget and executive actions. TN Together is a collective effort and has been designed in partnership with the General Assembly through the Ad Hoc Opioid Abuse Task Force established by Speaker Beth Harwell and chaired by Speaker Pro Tem Curtis Johnson and a working group established by Haslam that included Harwell and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally’s appointee, Speaker Pro Tem Ferrell Haile.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today announced Tennessee ended 2017 with more than 28,000 new jobs across the state in the last year and an unemployment rate nearly 2 percentage points lower than 2016.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced he has appointed a steering committee of leaders from federal, state and local governments, industry, academia, environmental advocacy groups and public utilities to develop a statewide plan for future water availability in Tennessee.

NASHVILLE – Due to hazardous weather and travel conditions, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has closed state offices on Friday, January 12, 2018 in West and Middle Tennessee, to include the following counties:

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Jennifer S. Nichols of Memphis as Criminal Court Judge for the 30th Judicial District, which serves Shelby County. Nichols, 55, replaces Judge James C. Beasley, Jr., who retired effective December 31.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Transportation (TDOT) Commissioner John Schroer today announced the state has awarded $297 million in contracts from bids accepted in December for crucial road and bridge construction projects – the first major awarding of IMPROVE Act projects and the largest such bidding process in TDOT’s history. With increased transportation funds provided through the IMPROVE Act and TDOT’s federal budget, 72 new projects will be under construction across the state in the coming weeks. Within the first year of the IMPROVE Act’s implementation, 288 – 30 percent – of the 962 projects designated in the legislation are underway.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) Commissioner Burns Phillips today announced unemployment rates in November remained low across the state and the vast majority of Tennessee counties continue to experience rates below 5 percent.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today announced the November statewide unemployment rate posted significantly lower than November 2016 and notably lower than the national average.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today issued the following statement on the exoneration of Lawrence McKinney: “Today I granted Lawrence McKinney’s request for gubernatorial exoneration from his 1978 convictions. Though the facts of this case are complex and reasonable minds may draw different conclusions from them, ultimately I respect the determinations of the Shelby County Criminal Court and District Attorney General that Mr. McKinney was not guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted and would not have been prosecuted if the DNA testing results had been available at the time of trial. Mr. McKinney was released after more than 30 years in prison when the court set aside his convictions in 2009. “In the eyes of the judicial system, Mr. McKinney is innocent. While I appreciate the hard work and recommendations of the Board of Parole, in this case I defer to the finding of the court charged with determining Mr. McKinney’s guilt or innocence.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Danny Howard Goodman Jr. of Ridgely as district attorney general for the 29th Judicial District. Goodman replaces retiring C. Phillip Bivens. The 29th Judicial District includes Lake and Dyer counties.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed M. Wyatt Burk of Shelbyville as Circuit Court Judge for the 17th Judicial District. He replaces Judge Lee Russell, who has retired. The 17th Judicial District includes Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall and Moore counties.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the September murder of Michael Heatherly.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Kyle E. Hedrick of Chattanooga as Circuit Court Judge for the 11th Judicial District. He replaces Judge W. Neil Thomas III, who has retired. The 11th Judicial District serves Hamilton County.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Barry Ross Tidwell of Murfreesboro as Circuit Court Judge in the 16th Judicial District, which includes Rutherford and Cannon counties.