2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003
June 11, 2011 State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, told The Commercial Appeal last week that he is working to find alternatives to Planned Parenthood, possibly other non-profit community health centers or additional money for the county health department to expand. more...
June 9, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville), Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) and Rep. Jim Coley (R-Bartlett), sponsored the legislation that passed the Senate in a vote of 27 to 1 and the House 96 to 0. more...
June 8, 2011 On the Senate side, this bill was sponsored by Senator Beverly Marrero and co-sponsored by Senators Mark Norris, Ophelia Ford, Brian Kelsey, Jim Kyle, Reginald Tate, and Tim Barnes. more...
June 8, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville), Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) and Rep. Jim Coley (R-Bartlett), sponsored the legislation that passed the Senate in a vote of 27 to 1 and the House 96 to 0. more...
May 28, 2011 Norris says charters offer teachers and administrators flexibility to turn around persistently low-performing schools. more...
May 27, 2011 "I would like to thank both of our mayors here," said State Sen. Mark Norris. "This community has really been through it, and on a year to the date from the last flood. It's refreshing to stand here and represent the future." more...
May 21, 2011 "I am proud to have carried this budget for the Governor,” said Leader Norris. “It was a complex process, but we never allowed complexity to outweigh common sense. The budget is balanced. Overall spending is reduced. Some taxes have been lowered.” more...
May 21, 2011 Senate Republican Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, sponsored the budget and bond bills in the Senate. more...
May 21, 2011 "This has been a real labor of love to get the budget where we are today," Norris, a Republican, said. "We have collaborated a great deal on getting where we are." more...
May 21, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville), Speaker Pro Tempore Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville), House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) and Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) sponsored the charter school legislation that passed the Senate 22-9 and the House 72-18 with bipartisan support. more...
May 20, 2011 “He and the chief sponsors of the bill, Senator Mark Norris and Representative Gerald McCormick, have done a great service to the people of Tennessee and for our state’s future in guiding this bill through the legislative process.” more...
May 20, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville), Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) and Rep. Jim Coley (R-Bartlett) sponsored the legislation that passed the Senate in a vote of 27 to 1 and the House 96 to 0. more...
May 19, 2011 “This is a very important piece of legislation,” Norris said on the Senate floor at the outset of the final debate in the 33-member chamber with 14 attorneys serving. more...
May 17, 2011 Norris said Monday that was in part because a spokesman for the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which oversees the benefits program, told the committee that Gov. Bill Haslam opposes the extension. more...
May 17, 2011 Harwell and Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, meanwhile, sought to blame former Gov. Phil Bredesen. more...
May 10, 2011 Senate Republican Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville, who sponsored the bills, said the passage of the Electrolux funding marked a milestone for economic development in Memphis and Shelby County. more...
May 9, 2011 “What we’re doing to lessen the burden, under the bill as currently proposed, is to streamline some of the filing requirements as it relates to time, and no longer require people to declare their party when they file.” more...
May 9, 2011 "This legislation gives minor party candidates more opportunities than any time in recent state history to be placed on the ballot and properly recognized," Norris said. "It eases requirements for those signing the petition and simplifies the timeline required." more...
May 4, 2011 Joining Haslam on the tour were Rep. Bill Sanderson, Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box, Sen. Mark Norris, Sen. Roy Herron, Dyer County Emergency Management Director James Medling and others. more...
May 3, 2011 The committee vote was a unanimous 11-0. Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. credited the Shelby County legislative delegation and, in particular, Memphis Democrat Jim Kyle and Collierville Republican Mark Norris who are the Senate’s Democratic and Republican leaders, respectively. more...
May 2, 2011 Another bill, sponsored by state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and state Rep. Barrett Rich, R-Somerville, would enhance the penalties for drive-by shootings into houses when a deadly weapon is involved. more...
April 28, 2011 "Reducing risk reduces costs which strengthens opportunity for future economic development," according to Norris who also serves on the Southern States Energy Board and Tennessee Technology Development Corporation. more...
April 25, 2011 The chamber voted 31-0 on Monday to approve the bill sponsored by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville. more...
April 25, 2011 The legislation is similar to an original bill proposed by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville, which would take a petition of about 40,000 signatures to have minor party candidates' affiliation listed on the ballot. more...
April 25, 2011 "I've found him to be sufficiently adaptable," said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville. "He's learned to be quick on his feet. And we have processed a lot of legislation in a little bit of time here." more...
April 23, 2011 Norris says he introduced the bill this week on a request from the county administration and that county Mayor Mark Luttrell spoke to the Shelby County legislative delegation about it during a visit to Nashville Wednesday. more...
April 19th, 2011 Norris: “There is not that concise of a correlation. The issue here is really to sort of level the playing field in this arena. It’s not who competes for the tightest cap or the lowest cap.” more...
April 17, 2011 "He's had a subtle but significant impact on the culture of our community," Norris said. "He is quintessentially West Tennessee, strong yet understated like his work 'Confluence' at the Cannon Center." more...
April 14, 2011 The Collierville Republican said Democrats are "holding health care hostage" because they don't want to support the measure before evaluating the final version of the state's annual spending plan. more...
April 14, 2011 "I think you should pick a better fight — you've got lives at stake here," Norris said. "They don't seem to be too worried about that." more...
April 14, 2011 Senate Republican Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville said Democratic Minority Leader Jim Kyle of Memphis told him Democrats are "not intending to support the hospital assessment, which they fully supported a year ago. more...
April 14, 2011 Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) will be recognized this Saturday by the Tennessee Medical Association for his legislative efforts and advocacy on behalf of the health care community. more...
April 14, 2011 Legislation designating 126 acres of Overton Park's old-growth forest as a state natural area won committee approvals Wednesday in the state House and Senate. more...
Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) will, tonight, join Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam at the Tennessee Residence to honor the recipients of the 2011 Governor’s Arts Awards. more...
Amendment #4, by the bill’s sponsor, Senator Mark Norris, the Majority Leader, requires exactly 10,000 signatures. more...
April, 4, 2011 Norris' changes would bring the measure closer in line with a proposal introduced by Democratic Senate Minority
Leader Jim Kyle of Memphis to require 10,000 signatures from eligible voters. more...
March 30, 2011 “This is a great way to support Collierville,” said Norris of the initiative. “I look forward to seeing these specialty plates that support our Town’s growth and its history.” more...
March 29, 2011 Norris calls the bill “very much a work in progress.” more...
March 29, 2011 However, he indicated that he could issue another ruling if the legislators fail to act, according to Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville, who is sponsoring the current legislation, SB935. more...
March 28, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, is a main sponsor of the ballot access measure that became necessary because of a federal judges’ ruling last year that the state’s current standards are too burdensome on smaller parties. more...
March 28, 2011 Norris said he doesn't have a problem with making it even easier for smaller parties to be listed on the ballot, but that it may come down to a "cost factor" of making a sweeping change. more...
March 26, 2011 Others include a proposal from state Sen. Mae Beavers to elect the attorney general, as most other states do, and a resolution filed earlier this week by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris to give the governor the power to appoint the position. more...
March 25, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, proclaimed the bill "consumer friendly" and "part of a long period of transition arising out of deregulation" of the telecommunications industry. more...
March 24, 2011 Senate sponsor Mark Norris says the bill gives the companies five years to adjust, beginning by reducing the charge 20 percent this July. more...
March 18, 2011 Norris said, "I think the Shelby County Charter addresses the number and if they want to change it, I recommend they take it to the people for a referendum vote." more...
March 18, 2011 State Senate GOP leader Mark Norris of Collierville, a former Shelby County Commission chairman, is among critics of the move who contend the commission is reading state law incorrectly. more...
March 17, 2011 "I encourage them to come along with us, join arms and move forward," Norris said. "They're wasting their time." more...
March 17, 2011 "I think Section 6 of the charter of Shelby County prescribes the number of members on the Shelby County School Board, and they should adhere to their own charter," Tennessee Senator Mark Norris said. more...
March 16, 2011 Balancing the state's budget — it's the one task the Tennessee Constitution mandates that we address each year. more...
March 16, 2011 The judge did not order any specific remedy, but left the door open to doing so if his ruling is ignored, said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, sponsor of the legislation. more...
March 11, 2011 “This is the administration’s effort to make tenure meaningful for teachers, and we believe it provides more flexibility and greater accountability of our teachers in their performance,” said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville. more...
March 11, 2011 "We're just trying to shorten the names," said the Collierville Republican. "It's all still within their purview." more...
March 11, 2011 Republican Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville said Thursday that it's in the interest of brevity that he has proposed excising the term from the Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee. more...
March 10, 2011 “This is the administration’s effort to make tenure meaningful for teachers. And we believe it provides more flexibility and better accountability of our teachers and their performance,” Senate Republican leader Mark Norris said. more...
March 10, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville, who's carrying the legislation for the governor, said federal regulations require specific initiatives to be in place by July and that teachers are not being targeted. more...
March 10, 2011 Senator Norris, the elected leader of the Republicans in the Senate, says the new system which requires five years of experience before a teacher may gain tenure is actually an easier system to deal with than the make-or-break three-year cycle they now face. more...
March 10, 2011 The measure, introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Mark Norris, R-Memphis, and in the House by Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis, is backed by the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, which complained that the city lost a potential new manufacturing plant because no guarantee could be given that proprietary information about its operations would remain private. more...
March 9, 2011 Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, a Republican who represents those suburbs, said a merger "could be a very good thing," but time would be needed to make sure it is handled properly and to heal wounds caused by "ugly, outmoded" racial remarks made recently. more...
March 9, 2011 The timeframe for the consolidation process was crafted by state legislation introduced by Senator Mark Norris of Collierville and signed into state law just a few weeks prior to Tuesday's referendum vote. more...
March 8, 2011 "It is a watershed event. Those of us who care about education reform embrace this as a rare opportunity to focus attention and effort on what should matter most -- how to make the best education available to every child regardless of ZIP code." more...
March 8, 2011 The new state law, pushed by Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and others, delays any merger until the 2013-14 school year and calls for the appointment of a 21-member transition planning commission. more...
March 7, 2011 "You wouldn't want anybody unduly disadvantaged," Norris said. "The 'what ifs' and the 'how tos' are the next questions." Without the tax, he added, "I believe that more disposable income generates more revenue in the state in the long term." more...
March 2, 2011 He told NashvillePost.com that he is still reviewing the bill as it is part of Haslam's legislative packet and that he and legislative committees would work to ensure that Tennessee consumers have appropriate recourse available against fraudulent securities brokers. more...
March 2, 2011 Senate Majority Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said the bill, which among other things expands the probationary period before tenure is granted from three to five years, will “help us all along on this next stop on the continuum of reform.” more...
March 1, 2011 Harwell, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris disputed those notions and said cutting red tape and reforming the civil court system do more than government initiatives could. more...
March 1, 2011 Senate Bill 1522 is sponsored by Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, but has not been set for a hearing. more...
February 28, 2011 This bill is sponsored by State Senator Mark Norris (Republican), of Collierville, and State Representative Gerald McCormick (Republican), of Chattanooga. more...
February 17, 2011 The occasion was the announcement of a new Mitsubishi plant-to-be in a ceremony that brought together such figures as the Grizzlies' Rudy Gay, Governor Bill Haslam, venerable former U.S. senator Howard Baker, Mayors A C Wharton and Mark Luttrell, and state Senate majority leader Mark Norris, principal author of the currently controversial Norris-Todd bill on school-system consolidation. more...
February 16, 2011 Senator Mark Norris says Wharton asked for a law outlining a plan for a potential school merger, and that's what Nashville delivered. more...
February 15, 2011 In the few days between an emergency City Hall summit of local officials two weeks ago and the unveiling of Norris-Todd and its passage last week by party-line votes in the Senate and House, there had been an understanding locally that Wharton would be interceding with Haslam in order to soften the requirements or the bill’s provisions. more...
February 14, 2011 Before Shelby County Commissioners met Monday afternoon, they had an opportunity to express their displeasure with Nashville directly to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. Haslam tried to defend his decision to sign into law a controversial merger transition plan developed by Collierville State Senator Mark Norris. more...
February 14, 2011 Mayor A C Wharton, State Senator Mark Norris, Governor Bill Haslam, various members of the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission were all in one room. more...
February 12, 2011 Whatever course is taken, there should be nothing to fear from a consolidation process that is fair to both sides. more...
February 11, 2011 "We appreciate the Governor's expeditious review and support of this important legislation. His decisive action should help resolve some of the confusion and restore the focus on education," said Norris. more...
February 11, 2011 Senator Mark Norris said he appreciated the signing of his bill into law, "We appreciate the Governor's expeditious review and support of this important legislation. His decisive action should help resolve some of the confusion and restore the focus on education." more...
February 11, 2011 Collierville Republican state senator Mark Norris who introduced the bill to delay the school merger by three years joined FOX13 in an exclusive interview. more...
February 10, 2011 Norris says he is looking over what has taken place at Memphis City Hall. He says it would be premature to comment on the council's vote at this time. more...
Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and House State and Local Government Chairman Curry Todd (R-Collierville) announced that Governor Bill Haslam signed Senate Bill 25 / House Bill 51 into law this morning. more...
February 10, 2011 Meanwhile, the Norris-Todd bill will go to Governor Haslam for action. He may sign it into law; let it pass without his signature (which would happen automatically after 10 days); or veto it, in which case a simple majority vote in both House and Senate would be enough to override. more...
February 10, 2011 The magnitude of this undertaking and the potential consequences to thousands of Tennesseans, make SB25 compelling: Providing a roadmap for transition, which assures a quality education and a stable tax base. more...
February 10, 2011 In essence, Norris' bill attaches a number of subsequent stages to the court-ordered city referendum he and other merger opponents had earlier been unable to impede. more...
February 8, 2011 "We cannot have a shotgun marriage of these school systems. He said such a marriage won't work," Norris quoted. more...
February 7, 2011 The Tennessee State Senate has approved a bill by Sen. Mark Norris. more...
February 7, 2011 "I was able to accomplish the beginning of a process where the sides are going to have to work together," Norris said. more...
February 7, 2011 The Tennessee General Assembly reconvened on Monday to debate the Mark Norris Bill that would delay the merger for 3 years. more...
February 7, 2011 Proposal would put move on hold following angry reactions more...
February 4, 2011 The Tennessee Legislature begins its working session Monday evening with schools consolidation legislation the first bill on the floor for the state House and the state Senate. more...
February 4, 2011 Sponsored by Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville) the plan would set up a transition team of twenty one people who would have three years to work out merging both systems into one. more...
February 3, 2011 The Norris-proposed legislation – as now written – would require a three-year planning period before any merger of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools. more...
February 3, 2011 Norris' bill is expected to pass Monday, but Mayor A C Wharton said the governor has vowed not to sign it into law until the city council has a chance to take action if necessary. more...
February 3, 2011 The bill by state Senate Republican leader Mark Norris keeps in place the March 8 citywide referendum on a surrender of the Memphis City Schools charter that would effectively consolidate the system with Shelby County Schools. more...
February 3, 2011 "I commend Senator Norris for his leadership on this issue. I would hope the committee's work would be completed sooner than three years. However, as indicated in early January, I think it is absolutely critical that a clear and legal transition process take place," Luttrell stated. more...
February 2, 2011 Norris himself defined his measure as one that provided “enhanced self-determination” for Memphis, as “an orderly transition process,” and as an effort “to facilitate the referendum and the process to make it not only meaningful but successful.” more...
February 2, 2011 Republican State Senator Mark Norris presented a bill Wednesday during a committee meeting in Nashville. more...
February 2, 2011 A Tennessee State Education Committee has passed a bill from Tennessee State Senator Mark Norris that would implement a three year waiting period if Memphis voters decide to surrender the Memphis City Schools charter. more...
February 2, 2011 The proposal by Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Nashville was amended with changes that were still being written up to the start of the committee session. more...
February 2, 2011 In a written statement, state Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville said Haslam and Smith share his concerns about a transition to a consolidated school district. more...
February 2, 2011 I am pleased that the Commissioner of Education shares my concerns, and those of many Shelby County and Memphis City residents, regarding the attempt to transfer the administration of the Memphis City Schools to the Shelby County Board of Education without proper planning. more...
February 1, 2011 State Senator Mark Norris is crafting a bill he says would provide a roadmap if Memphis votes to transfer the administration of the Memphis City Schools to the Shelby County Board of Education. more...
February 1, 2011 That's where Collierville Senator, Mark Norris, backed by the power of ally Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey, plans on seeking a legislative block to the referendum vote. more...
February 1, 2011 Wednesday, February 2nd – The education and finance committees in the State Senate will meet and Republicans will try to push Senator Mark Norris’ bill through. more...
February 1, 2011 “No plan worth executing that will achieve positive results for educating all of our children can possibly be written or formulated by Feb. 15 or March 1,” Norris wrote. more...
January 31, 2011 It’s not on the agenda, but council members could react Tuesday to the prospect of an amendment to Norris’ bill in Nashville on the standoff between Memphis City and Shelby County schools. more...
January 31, 2011 The legislation proposed by Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Collierville, as it is currently, would delay any consolidation by the two school systems for at least a year. more...
January 31, 2011 If approved, the legislation Mark Norris filed, which is backed by Ron Ramsey, could be ready for floor votes in both legislative chambers next week. more...
January 28, 2011 A bill by State Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Collierville to include county voters outside Memphis in the referendum and lengthen the transition process by as much as a year is due in two Senate committees next week in Nashville. more...
January 27, 2011 Norris is in the midst of proposing his own legislation that would open up the referendum for county citizens outside the city limits to vote on March 8 as well. more...
January 27, 2011 “In no other case did we have this inversion where the surrendering system dwarfed the receiving system,” said Mark Norris, the Republican Senate majority leader, whose district includes parts of suburban Shelby County. more...
January 27, 2011 Even state senator Mark Norris, the GOP majority leader of the state Senate and the author of legislation designed to avert the consequences of an MCS charter surrender, has expressed himself as being open-minded to some such formula. more...
January 20, 2011 The Senate Bill 25 that I’ve introduced [providing for dual city and county votes] needs to proceed forward. That’s the current law. It is the law. more...
January 20, 2011 The bottom line with state senator Mark Norris of Collierville on the standoff between Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools: Yes, his legislation to mandate separate city and county votes on merger of the two systems (via transfer of MCS authority to SCS) is going forward in the General Assembly. more...
January 19, 2011 Norris notes that Tennessee code provides that any vote on consolidation should be county-wide. However, others argue that law, and it could open up another legal battle. more...
January 19, 2011 The Shelby County Election Commission voted Wednesday afternoon to put a March 8 referendum before Memphis voters on whether to dissolve Memphis City Schools. more...
January 18, 2011 The Republican senator is trying to change the law to make sure county residents can vote on Memphis City Schools decision to surrender its charter. more...
January 17, 2011 The definition of Norris’s role in the current schools standoff depends on who you talk to. Norris, himself, describes himself as a mediator between the two school systems — not by choice — but because mayors Wharton and Luttrell — asked him. more...
January 17, 2011 School consolidation legislation proposed by State Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Collierville is moving in the Tennessee legislature in advance of Saturday’s inauguration of Bill Haslam as Tennessee governor. more...
January 15, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R - Collierville, said, "There is some special significance for we Republicans this time, but it's really about a new beginning. It's an inauguration of a new administration for all the people of Tennessee, regardless of their political party." more...
January 14, 2011 Senator Norris believes this discussion warrants a clear vision, exceptional strategies and a collective effort by all. more...
January 14, 2011 State Senator Mark Norris of Collierville introduced legislation this week that would allow people outside the city limits vote on the looming referendum. more...
Janary 14, 2011 Norris said in a statement later Thursday that after learning of the possible agreement between MCS and SCS, "further legislative action this week seems unwarranted, therefore, in light of this positive development." more...
January 14, 2011 Haslam had already been in touch with state Senate Republican Leader Mark Norris about the legislation Norris proposed hours earlier to slow down the consolidation move and require a countywide vote in any referendum. more...
January 13, 2011 The struggle between Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools, two separately operating systems which at the moment somewhat uncomfortably share the same district, continues to look like a see-saw act performed on a high wire. more...
January 13, 2011 I commend the representatives of both school systems for their efforts and hope they result in an orderly process. The right of our citizens to vote based on accurate information is critical to our future success. more...
January 12, 2011 Norris’ bill would make dual passage necessary before the charter surrender could occur. more...
January 12, 2011 Senator Mark Norris will introduce a bill this week that could stop the forced consolidation. His bill would require Shelby County residents to be included in the vote. more...
January 12, 2011 Readers in West Tennessee may be aware that a crisis has developed in Shelby County over the issue of consolidation of the Memphis City Schools and the Shelby County schools more...
January 12, 2011 Meanwhile, state Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville, the Senate GOP leader, formally introduced Senate bill 25 Tuesday. more...
January 12, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris and new House Speaker Beth Harwell said Tuesday that final approval of a bill Norris has drafted intervening in the Memphis City Schools showdown could occur as quickly as Saturday. more...
January 11, 2011 Norris has written a draft of legislation that could stop Memphis schools from surrendering its charter if Shelby County residents are not included in the vote. The bill will be filed sometime this week. more...
January 11, 2011 Norris calls MCS’ December vote to dissolve and merge with the County School district a “hostile takeover.” more...
January 11, 2011 Wharton said he did talk by phone with State Senator Mark Norris Tuesday morning, who said he will delay any legislation in Nashville he would bring up on the consolidation issue until Wednesday. more...
January 11, 2011 In Nashville, the General Assembly got together for their first day back at work. State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Colllierville) says he's already got a bill planned. more...
January 11, 2011 The legislature took no action today on the Memphis schools showdown but both Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and the new House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, said final approval of the bill Norris drafted could occur as quickly as Saturday -- an extraordinarily swift action. more...
January 11, 2011 "Unification without unity is not unity at all," Norris said. "We have people trying to have a hostile takeover. We need a measured and considered approach." more...
2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003
