WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

HJR 90

Memorials, Professional Achievement - Melanie R. Bean, 2024 – 2025 Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL) President -

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Clark Boyd

The bill ceremonialy honors Melanie R. Bean for her leadership as 2024–2025 TACDL president and recognizes her contributions to fair and effective criminal justice in Tennessee.

Signed by Governor.
#memorials #professionalachievement
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HJR 90

Summary of House Joint Resolution 90 (HJR 90)

Purpose

HJR 90 is a ceremonial joint resolution commemorating Melanie R. Bean for her leadership and service as the 2024–2025 president of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL). The measure recognizes her contributions to the legal community and to the cause of fair and effective criminal justice in Tennessee.

Key Provisions and Content

  • Declares the General Assembly’s honor and commendation of Melanie R. Bean of Lebanon, Tennessee, for serving as the 2024–2025 president of TACDL.
  • Provides background on TACDL, noting its formation in 1973 as the oldest legal defense bar association in Tennessee and its role in education, training, advocacy for fair and effective criminal justice, and support for criminal defense lawyers.
  • Details Melanie Bean’s professional and public service history, including:
    • Entering criminal defense in 1998 as a law clerk to Hon. Frank Lannom and later joining his practice.
    • More than twenty years of TACDL membership, two terms on the TACDL Board of Directors, and prior service as a legislative committee chair representing TACDL.
    • Participation in legislative advocacy and testimony before legislative committees.
    • Appointed roles: member of the Domestic Violence State Coordinating Council; former hearing committee member for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (2011–2017).
    • Awards and recognitions: Workhouse Award and Rob W. Ritchie Award (TACDL) and Cumberland University Distinguished Alumni Award.
    • Professional and personal biography: partner at Lannom and Williams, PLLC; involvement with her family farm in Clay County; residence in Lebanon; church membership at The Bridge Fellowship.
  • Includes the formal “BE IT RESOLVED” language expressing the General Assembly’s high regard and best wishes for Melanie Bean’s future success, with instructions for preparing and presenting an appropriate copy of the resolution.

Who/What is Affected

  • Primary: Melanie R. Bean (individual) and the Tennessee criminal defense community, via recognition of leadership and service.
  • Secondary: TACDL (as the organization highlighted) and the broader Tennessee legal community and public as the recipients of ceremonial acknowledgment.

Procedural and Timeline Highlights

  • Introduced: November 13, 2024.
  • Related legislation: Companion SJR 47 (Senate version).
  • House actions culminated in adoption and transmission to the Senate in early 2025; subsequent Senate actions included passage and transmission back to the House.
  • Governor’s action: Signed by the Governor on February 21, 2025.
  • Final status: Enacted as a joint memorial (HJR 90) memorializing Melanie Bean for her service as TACDL president.
  • Note: The record shows concurrent resolution language and a ceremonial beneficiary, with no fiscal appropriation or regulatory effect.

Related Information

  • Companion bill: SJR 47.
  • The measure is strictly commemorative and ceremonial, with no changes to statutes or state policy beyond formal acknowledgment.

If you’d like, I can add a brief comparative note highlighting how this HJR 90 aligns with typical Tennessee practice for memorials recognizing professional achievement.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.