NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – State Rep. Steve McDaniel, who is tied with Speaker Beth Harwell as the longest-serving members in the Tennessee House, plans to retire next year.

McDaniel is a Parker's Crossroads Republican who was the chairman of the House Ethics Committee that presided over a sexual harassment investigation of then-Rep. Jeremy Durham, who later became the first sitting lawmaker to be expelled from the state Legislature in 36 years.

McDaniel was the sponsor of a 2016 state law that made it more difficult to remove statues or rename streets dedicated to historical figures, including a state Capitol bust of Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Both McDaniel and Harwell are stepping down at the end of their 15th two-year terms in the House. Harwell is running for governor.

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