A bill advancing in the Tennessee House of Representatives would prohibit local governments from returning lawmakers to the General Assembly after they have been successfully expelled from office.
HB 2716 by State Representative Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) seeks to amend Tennessee law to mandate that any local government body must “elect a successor to fill a vacant seat” in the General Assembly due to a vacancy caused “due to the expulsion of a member for disorderly behavior, then the local legislative body shall not elect the expelled legislator to be the successor to fill the vacant seat.”
The legislation would become active immediately upon becoming law but would not affect the expulsions that happened last year, when State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) were expelled in April 2023 due to their role in a pro-gun control riot at the Tennessee Capitol in proceedings led by Garrett.
Both men were quickly returned to office by their local governments on an interim basis and were ultimately elected back to their seats in special elections held in August 2023.
The bill passed the House State Government Committee with 14 votes in favor and five against. It is next scheduled to be heard by the Calendar and Rules Committee on Tuesday ahead of House votes.
Before the vote, State Representative Darren Jernigan (D-Old Hickory) questioned whether the law would violate the Tennessee Constitution, citing the uncontested reappointments of Jones and Pearson last year.
Jernigan then asked to consult with House Legislative Attorney Matthew Mundy, who conceded that “there is some question as to the constitutionality of this bill” and suggested Garrett consider pursuing a constitutional amendment to limit when and how expelled lawmakers can return to office.
“I think this may be problematic, but reasonable minds can disagree,” said Mundy. “I think it’s a healthy debate to have for the committee.”
After the exchange, Garrett stressed that there is a constitutional difference between being elected to a position or being appointed to a position.
“You succeed yourself only when you are elected, you don’t succeed yourself when you are expelled,” said Garrett, arguing there is a difference between being reelected to a position and being appointed by local government.
He argued, “The drafters of our Constitution intended that if someone acts in a disorderly manner and gets expelled, the Constitution already said that person cannot be reappointed, because they cannot succeed themselves and they cannot replace themselves.”
The Senate version of the bill, SB 2634 by State Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin), was passed to the Senate State and Local Government Committee on February 5.
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Photo “Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson” by Fisk University.