April 30, 2007 Senate Republican Leader Mark Norris, who as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee last year conducted investigations into political interference at the THP, said he had no problem with the Scott nomination. more...
March 20, 2007 Senator Mark Norris, a Memphis Republican, sponsored the bill and says it underwrites a process begun last fall by the state administration. more...
March 19, 2007 The Senate bill is sponsored by Mark Norris of Collierville. more...
March 15, 2007 "Right now there are constitutional questions about whether local law enforcement officials have the ability to detain and question illegal aliens," sponsor Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said. more...
March 14, 2007 "There has been a constitutional debate about whether it's appropriate for state law enforcement officials to detain and question, let alone arrest," Senator Mike Norris (R - Collierville) said. more...
January 8, 2007 State Senator Mark Norris, who represents Trooper Jenks’ home county of Tipton, said, “I’m not sure many people knew this occurred.” more...
"Here’s the bottom line: the sponsor’s bill, as written, does nothing more than what the present law allows," said Norris, R-Collierville. more...
May 10, 2006 Senate Transportation Chairman Mark Norris said he wants to amend the bill to require the THP to seek immigration training from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by July 2007. more...
May 8, 2006 Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit troopers from "running for, or holding, elective office and participating in partisan political activities." more...
May 4, 2006 NASHVILLE (AP) – One state senator is hoping to further clean up the embattled Tennessee Highway Patrol with legislation that would prohibit active members of the agency from engaging in certain political activities. more...
May 1, 2006 The idea is for the THP to "augment or supplement" the enforcement activities of the federal government, according to Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. more...
April 26, 2006 "We thought that the governor's intention was to move them all to the TBI, because what goes to the TBI, stays with the TBI," said Norris. more...
April 25, 2006 Those who were pushing the legislative reforms said the problems at the Highway Patrol are so ingrained that administrative changes to policy are not enough. more...
April 4, 2006 Norris said federal funding is available to cover the cost of training for Highway Patrol officers and estimated about 30 would be trained and certified by next year. more...
April 4, 2006 "This is designed to supplement our troopers' skills, not to supplant," Norris said. more...
April 4, 2006 “It’s time for the legislature to tell the Department of Safety that it’s time to start the training,” said Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville). more...
April 4, 2006 "The Department of Safety could have done this any time in the past three years... and chose not to," said the bill’s primary sponsor, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Mark Norris, R-Collierville. more...
April 4, 2006 Senators voted 23-5 in favor of the bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. A companion bill is scheduled to be discussed Tuesday by the state government subcommittee in the House. more...
April 4, 2006 Monday night the Senate passed a measure that would require State Troopers to be trained to enforce federal immigration and customs laws. more...
March 29, 2006 Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, is sponsoring legislation that would allow Tennessee to tap into federal funds to train patrol officers on immigration and customs laws. more...
March 29, 2006 (AP) -- Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers would be trained to enforce federal immigration and customs laws under legislation headed for a Senate vote. more...
March 2, 2006 Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Mark Norris, R-Collierville, whose panel has been investigating problems with the Department of Safety, questioned the timing of the announcement. more...
March 1, 2006 The Norris-Gresham bill has 37 sponsors in the House and three in the Senate, mostly Republicans. more...
February 28, 2006 Republican state Sen. Mark Norris, who has been holding a series of hearings digging into cronyism in the Department of Safety, said he was concerned about Large being appointed to the post without top-notch qualifications. more...
February 27, 2006 "It should be part and parcel of state law enforcement's function, just as we do drug enforcement," Norris said. more...
February 23, 2006 State Sen. Mark Norris, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said he hasn’t seen Jones’ legislation, but supports enhanced security. more...
February 9, 2006 Norris said his sole goal is revising the state's Little Hatch Act, which is designed to insulate state government employees from having to participate in political activities or fundraising to get ahead. more...
February 9, 2006 Norris said he would leave a decision on issuing a subpoena to Scott or others to the full committee but doubted the need to do so. more...
February 9, 2006 "As the law is written right now, it doesn't apply to the governor or the General Assembly," said Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and chair of the committee. more...
Republican Senator Mark Norris labeled the complaints political posturing by the Governor's friends and invited Bredesen to tell anything he knows about the Highway Patrol. more...
February 7, 2006 Appearing with his lawyer, Farmer presented supporting documents to the committee which is investigating claims of cronyism in the department. more...
January 28, 2006 Crowe said he is co-sponsoring legislation with Sen. Mark Norris, R-Memphis, which he predicted would pass, to allow the Tennessee Highway Patrol to make arrests for violation of immigration laws. more...
"We need to look at the statute on official misconduct to make sure there are strict penalties in the event someone does interfere and cronyism creeps in," said Senator Norris. more...
State Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville), the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee that has been investigating the cronyism at Safety, said he never thought 60 days was a realistic timetable anyway. more...
January 8, 2006 Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Mark Norris, R-Collierville, has plans for his panel to conduct hearings on allegations of political cronyism and other improper conduct in the Tennessee Highway Patrol. more...
“I’m afraid the governor’s call for the special session is too narrow and won’t address everything it should,” said Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, whose district includes all of Dyer County. more...
"You want to make sure the fox is not in the hen house," Norris said, "and with all that we're hearing and all that we're seeing, there's a serious question of credibility." more...
December 23, 2005 State officials also are making changes so that it could be harder for those without clean records to get on the force. more...
December 16, 2005 Leaders of the Tennessee Highway Patrol have been forced out and now TN State Senator Mark Norris leads a legislative committee investigating the agency. more...
December 16, 2005 Friday, Norris said some of the background checks are inconsistent and this will be the focus of the investigation. more...
December 15, 2005 "We're looking into the sufficiency of the background checks as well as promotional patronage," Norris said. more...
Norris said after the meeting that "half a dozen" troopers have approached legislators about providing information regarding misdeeds at THP. more...
December 14, 2005 Yesterday marked the first Senate hearing to consider fixes to a system that Sen. Mark Norris, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said is in need of reform. more...
State Sen. Mark Norris said he will not run for governor next year, dismissing speculation that he would seek the Republican nomination to challenge Gov. Phil Bredesen. more...
December 14, 2005 "That is why we are looking at legislation from other states to see if its appropriate and without violating constitutional rights, free speech and association and the like," said Sen. Mark Norris. more...
December 14, 2005 Senators on the panel were concerned that the Bredesen administration settled on Kroll without allowing other companies to bid for the job. more...
"We may need to consider that type of legislation," Transportation Chairman Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said. more...
Dec 13, 2005 Members of the Senate Transportation Committee meanwhile called for tighter restrictions on political activities within the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which is overseen by the department. more...
Some lawmakers also argued that the Highway Patrol should be placed back under the supervision of the state's Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission. more...
Dec 13, 2005 The Senate Transportation Committee, led by Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, quizzed Gerald Nicely, the state’s transportation commissioner more...
December 12, 2005 That should help clear the air around what Norris described as a situation that has "grown much worse in the last three years than it ever was before." more...
December 8, 2005 That the results of any investigation might be "cloaked" behind secrecy rules is a concern to state Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Mark Norris, R-Collierville, more...
December 8, 2005 Norris said his Senate committee, which oversees the Department of Safety, is conducting an investigation of the THP separate from the investigation being conducted by the governor’s office. more...
December 7, 2005 The commander of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was forced to resign Tuesday, and state Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville announced plans to investigate reports of cronyism. more...
Norris questioned whether it's appropriate for Pitts to get his pension if he broke the law. more...
December 7, 2005 Among changes lawmakers may attempt to impose is a prohibition on troopers donating to political campaigns, Norris said. more...
December 6, 2005 “We are looking into it now,” said Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, chairman of the Tennessee Senate Transportation and Safety Committee. more...
December 2, 2005 Norris, the chairman of the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee, is gearing up for hearings to examine whether politics plays a role in promotions in the Highway Patrol. more...
December 2, 2005 Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville and chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, has said legislative hearings to investigate THP practices should be considered. more...
December 2, 2005 Maybe the Senate Transportation Committee chaired by Republican Mark Norris can come up with some answers. more...
December 1, 2005 "We'll just try to get to the bottom of it as quickly as we can," said Senate Transportation Committee chair Mark Norris. more...
November 29, 2005 Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, chairman of the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee, says hearings to review the promotion practices at the department seem "inevitable." more...
November 28, 2005 Making the case for a full investigation of the role that politics plays at the THP is state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who wants legislative hearings to review the agency's promotion practices. more...
November 28, 2005 Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, is right to call for a full investigation into the practices of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. more...
A state Senate committee chairman says legislative hearings to review Tennessee Highway Patrol promotion practices seem "inevitable" following news reports that the process is tainted by politics. more...
November 24, 2005"I would expect a timely response from administration officials and others," Norris said. more...
Nov 24, 2005 The questions Sen. Mark Norris wants answered revolve around the Tennessee Highway Patrol and its practices. more...
On Wednesday, Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, chairman of the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee, wrote to Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips requesting extensive documentation for a legislative review of THP promotions. more...
November 17, 2005 "I can't imagine any circumstance where that kind of security would be needed for such an event, let alone 12 troopers," said Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. more...
November 16, 2005 Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said if the governor doesn't take steps to "clear the air" his committee might do so. more...
"The issues raised are of concern and they need further inquiry," Norris said. more...
November 15, 2005 "The issues you've raised are of concern and they need further inquiry," Norris said. more...
November 9, 2005 State Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville introduced legislation authorizing Tennessee Highway Patrol officers to receive federal training in immigration and customs enforcement. more...
October 27, 2005 Norris (R-Collierville) introduced legislation last week authorizing Tennessee Highway Patrol officers to receive federal training in immigration and customs enforcement. more...
October 25, 2005 Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville) introduced legislation last week authorizing Tennessee Highway Patrol officers to receive federal training in immigration and customs enforcement. more...
October 20, 2005 Norris, who chairs the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee which oversees the Department of Safety and Highway Patrol, cited the importance of curbing illegal immigration. more...
“Our troopers must have the authority in the course of their regular duties to detain, interrogate and arrest illegal aliens,” Norris said. more...
