By Andy Sher
asher@timesfreepress.com
NASHVILLE – The ongoing controversy over the Tennessee Board of Regents’ appointment of Deputy Gov. John Morgan as its new chancellor has swerved into the legal arena with a question which, depending on its answer, could wreak havoc at the higher education entity.
Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfeesboro, said Wednesday that he and a colleague, Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, asked state Attorney General Bob Cooper last week to render a formal opinion on whether the current Regents’ board is legally constituted.
Ketron said he doesn’t think Morgan’s boss, Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, ever appointed the number of Republicans required under state law.