🏛️ What new state laws start tomorrow?

🏛️ The New State Laws Beginning July 1

Following a contentious 2026 legislative session, more than 250 new state laws passed by the Tennessee General Assembly will come into effect on July 1, from stricter immigration enforcement to a bill requiring correctional officers to wear body cameras. A THCa ban that passed in 2025 also goes into effect. [🎧 City Cast Nashville; Nashville Banner]

• Education: New education laws include the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, which allows public schools to teach the positive impact of religion on American history. Other bills limit screen time in schools, and require public schools to provide child trafficking awareness and prevention instruction. [🎧 City Cast Nashville; 🔐 The Tennessean; WSMV]
• Immigration: While a bill requiring all sheriff’s offices to partner with federal immigration authorities goes into effect tomorrow, Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall says Nashville is exempt from the law. Another bill makes names of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents confidential. [WKRN; WSMV]
• LGBTQ+: Many anti-LGBTQ+ laws failed, but Republican lawmakers passed the Riley Gaines Women’s Safety and Protection Act, which requires all correctional facilities, college dorms, domestic violence shelters, and public restrooms to only consider a person’s biological sex. [🎧 City Cast Nashville; WKRN]
• Several new laws already face legal challenges. Nashville is suing the state over a law that would take over our airport authority board, while the ACLU is suing over a law that punishes residents who don’t leave the state within 90 days of receiving a federal final order of removal with a Class A misdemeanor. [WKRN; 🔐 The Tennessean]

🍗 Why Nashville Needed a Hot Chicken Festival

The Music City Hot Chicken Festival (a July 4th tradition) has been thriving for 20 years, and hot chicken outposts can be found as far away as Uzbekistan. On today’s podcast, the festival’s founder, former Mayor Bill Purcell, tells us about how he became a hot chicken ambassador, and why he decided Nashville needed the festival. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🦒 Can Nashville Block the Zoo Data Center?

Mayor Freddie O’Connell is filing eminent domain legislation that would allow Nashville to take over ownership of the property adjacent to the zoo where developer DC BLOX has proposed building a data center. If successful, Metro could buy the privately owned property at fair market value and then use it to benefit the public. Metro Council could consider the legislation as early as July 7. [Axios Nashville]

• The zoo’s petition opposing the data center has more than 500,000 signatures. [Change.org]

🏘️ Housing Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary

The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes pilot program has helped create more than 11,200 affordable apartments since its inception 10 years ago. The program provides 10 years of property tax relief to developers in exchange for building affordable housing. [NewsChannel 5]

• You can find a full list of MDHA affordable housing units here. [Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency]
• Related: Nashville is in the grip of what some are calling the “Southern Squeeze,” with affluent newcomers moving here for the state’s affordability, but then driving up costs for locals. Median home sales are up 58% compared to 2019. [🔐 Bloomberg]

😞 Trailblazing Publisher Passes Away

Rosetta Miller Perry, the publisher of the country’s only statewide African American newspaper, the Tennessee Tribune, has passed away at the age of 91. She founded the Tribune in 1991 and headquartered the newspaper on Jefferson Street. She was also a Civil Rights activist and founded the Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce. Our hearts go out to her family and friends. [Tennessee Tribune]