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VOL. 40 | NO. 27 | Friday, July 1, 2016
Tennessee attorney general: No refugee resettlement suit
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery won't sue the federal government over its refugee resettlement program.
A General Assembly resolution passed earlier this year demanded legal action.
In a Tuesday letter to the clerks of the state Senate and House of Representatives, Slatery outlines lawmakers' two concerns. One is that federal officials are not properly consulting with state and local officials. The other is that the federal government is confiscating state resources by coercing Tennessee to accept refugees.
Slatery says the consulting issue has already been dismissed in federal court. He says the coerced spending issue is an untested legal theory that is unlikely to succeed.
The letter delegates authority to sue over the issue to the General Assembly's staff attorneys, should lawmakers still wish to pursue legal action.