House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, on Sunday called for a review of the General Assembly's sexual harassment policy after a Tennessean investigation found that the existing rules foster an environment mired in secrecy that allows harassment by elected officials to go unchecked.
In a statement, Harwell said that she is "disappointed that staffers and others who are regularly at the Capitol do not feel comfortable coming forward" with complaints about sexual harassment.
Though the sexual harassment policy has been in place since 1998, before Harwell became speaker, she said that she plans "to begin reaching out to independent experts and sources" to form a committee aimed at reviewing the policy.
Read more from our news partner at The Tennessean.