A House committee is recommending new rules cutting the bill-filing limit to 12 and setting stricter punishments for those who disrupt House proceedings as the 114th Tennessee General Assembly convened.

The Supreme Court turned back a push by the state of Utah to wrest control of vast areas of public land from the federal government, marking a small victory for land conservation advocates who worry that similar efforts may escalate in a Republican-controlled Washington.

With few election shake-ups last fall, lawmakers returned to a legislature with little change in the status quo. Republicans still hold a strong supermajority, and prexisting leadership will preside over both chambers.