Tenn. Lawmakers Trying to Oust Member

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee lawmakers are planning to vote on a bid to oust a sitting member for the first time in 36 years.

The move to expel state Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham of Franklin follows an attorney general's investigation that detailed allegations of improper sexual contact with at least 22 women over the course of his four years in office.

Durham has denied the allegations and said in a letter to colleagues that he does not plan to attend the Tuesday proceedings because he doesn't believe he will receive a fair hearing.

The last member to be expelled from the General Assembly was then-Rep. Robert Fisher, who was ousted on a 92-1 vote in 1980. The Elizabethton Republican had been convicted of asking for a bribe to kill a bill.

(KA)