by Melissa Brown | Nashville Tennessean
House Republicans on Monday passed a bill to block local governments from reappointing legislators expelled for “disorderly behavior” by the Tennessee General Assembly, even after a legislative attorney last week advised lawmakers the effort is likely unconstitutional.
Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, filed House Bill 2716, to prevent state lawmakers from being tapped to fill their own vacant seat, an apparent response to the reappointments of Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, after their expulsion last year.
Under the Tennessee Constitution and state law, local governing bodies like the Metro Council in Nashville or the Shelby County Commission have full latitude to fill a legislative vacancy as they see fit, as long as the person is qualified to hold office under state law.
“It’s real interesting when my colleagues on the other side talk about, ‘We need less government, we need less government overreach in our lives,'” Pearson said. “This exact bill, this very legislation, overreaches the Constitution of Tennessee.”
Garrett has argued the Constitution’s language of allowing local bodies to tap a “successor” should be interpreted that a person can’t “succeed” themselves by reappointment.
The General Assembly’s own legal staff warned lawmakers last week that constitutional language and historical precedent doesn’t support this interpretation. Legislative attorney Matthew Mundy told the State Government Committee that “traditionally” nothing has restricted constitutional officers, including lawmakers and the governor, from succeeding themselves.
That tells us pretty clearly that these particular constitutional officers, including members of the House, can succeed themselves,” Munday said.
Munday qualified that it is his professional interpretation of the bill, and its constitutional merits would have to be decided in a court case.
Garrett said Monday succeeding through an election differs from succeeding through an appointment.
“At no place in the state’s constitution does it say anything about succeeding yourself by appointment,” Garrett said.
Garrett’s bill is narrowly tailored in an apparent response to the historic 2023 expulsions of Jones and Pearson, who were reappointed to their vacated seats by the Nashville Metro Council and Shelby County Commission before they were overwhelmingly reelected by their constituents in special elections.
The expulsion proceedings, which sparked a widespread backlash against the GOP supermajority, and the return of the freshman Democratic representatives continue to reverberate through the Tennessee House. Tensions remain high inside the state Capitol, where House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, ruled Jones out of order Monday night on a separate bill. Jones later raised his hand to speak on the expulsion bill, but he was not recognized to before the final vote was called.
Sexton also threatened to call Pearson out of order after Pearson said he was “tired of racist” and retaliatory bills. Sexton suggested Pearson’s comments were unrelated to the legislation at hand.
Pearson on Monday brought an amendment to Garrett’s bill, which would allow Garrett’s bill to apply to any lawmakers expelled for criminal activity, such as domestic violence or sexual misconduct.
Pearson and Jones were expelled after the two approached the House well and broke decorum rules to mount a brief gun reform protest in the wake of The Covenant School shooting. Pearson noted their actions, though deemed “disorderly” by Republicans, were not criminal.
House Republicans voted against Pearson’s amendment to block members expelled for criminal conduct from reappointment.
A separate effort, House Joint Resolution 706, would prohibit an expelled lawmaker from qualifying for office for four years following the expulsion. The constitutional amendment must receive two rounds of legislative approval, with an election in between, before it would got to a popular vote during a gubernatorial election year.
