NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today granted executive clemency to 23 current or former Tennesseans.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed members to the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Reform Implementation Council. During the prior legislative session, Haslam proposed, and the Tennessee General Assembly passed, reforms to the state’s juvenile justice system based on recommendations from the Joint Ad-hoc Tennessee Blue Ribbon Task Force on Juvenile Justice.

NASHVILLE – New data released Thursday by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips showed Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate held steady during the final month of 2018.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe along with Volkswagen AG announced today that Chattanooga will be home to the company’s first electric vehicle manufacturing facility in North America.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today granted executive clemency to Cyntoia Denise Brown by commuting her sentence of life imprisonment. She will be released to parole supervision on August 7, 2019, after serving 15 years in prison.

FLAG POND – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam by executive order has renamed Rocky Fork State Park in Unicoi County as Lamar Alexander Rocky Fork State Park, honoring Tennessee’s senior senator for his record of service and commitment to preservation.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today granted executive clemency to eleven current or former Tennesseans. “I am pleased to grant these acts of clemency,” Haslam said. “These individuals have made positive contributions to their communities and deserve pardons, or are individuals who will receive another chance to become contributing members of society by virtue of their commutations.”

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today released unemployment statistics that show the seasonally adjusted statewide jobless rate dropped by 0.1 of a percentage point in November 2018 to 3.6 percent.

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today made the following statement on the announcement from Senator Lamar Alexander: “It is almost impossible to measure the impact of Lamar Alexander’s commitment to Tennessee. His time as governor paved the way for the economic position we enjoy today as a leading state for business, and his educational reforms were ahead of his time..."

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Kathryn Wall Olita of Clarksville as Circuit Court judge for the 19th Judicial District, which serves Montgomery and Robertson counties. The appointment fills a new trial court judgeship established this year by the Tennessee General Assembly.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen today announced changes in the delivery of the TNReady assessment for the current school year and additional changes that will take effect beginning in the 2019-20 school year. The changes are a direct response to a report from educators generated by the recent statewide listening tour that included roundtable conversations and online feedback from educators including teachers, testing coordinators and school administrators on how to make improvements to assessment delivery.

NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Shelley Thompson Gardner of Lebanon as public defender for the 15th Judicial District, which serves Jackson, Macon, Smith, Trousdale and Wilson counties. She replaces Comer Donnell, whose retirement is effective November 1. Gardner, a lifelong resident of Wilson County, has served as assistant public defender in the 15th Judicial District since 2002.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced that Director of Legislation Katie Ashley will leave the administration on November 9 to join Bradley Arant Boult Cummings to serve as senior advisor for government affairs and economic development. As part of the governor’s legislative team for the past eight years, Ashley played an essential role in budget and policy development that led to Tennessee being recognized as a national leader in education, economic development, efficient and effective government, and fiscal strength.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed two additional members to the Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee. Decosta Jenkins and Jamie Woodson join the board in advance of the meeting scheduled for November 2. The appointments follow passage of the University of Tennessee Focusing On Campus and University Success (FOCUS) Act earlier this year. The legislation restructured the UT Board of Trustees to enhance governance of the UT system.

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced today the award of a transportation alternative grant for $1,865,149 to the city of Knoxville for the Northwest Greenway Connector - Phase 2. This project includes construction of a greenway beginning at a new trailhead at Middlebrook Pike (SR-169) and Third Creek Road and ending at the SR-62 Western Avenue Pedestrian Bridge. The project also includes landscaping, a retaining wall, ADA upgrades and fencing.