4-year prohibition on expelled lawmakers passes House committee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A measure that would prevent expelled lawmakers from returning to the legislature for a short time has cleared its final House committee.
The resolution filed by Rep. Bryan Richey (R-Maryville) seeks to prohibit a lawmaker who gets expelled from being reelected to the Tennessee General Assembly for four years following their expulsion.
The bill is an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution and related to eligibility requirements to hold office in the state of Tennessee. It was debated in the House State Government Committee Wednesday, Feb. 28, where it passed via voice vote.
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According to the bill text, it would add a sentence to Article II, Section 12 of the constitution that explicitly bars someone expelled from the legislature from holding office for four years following their date of expulsion. The bill text also makes changes to three other parts of the constitution to reflect the change to Article II, Section 12.
One of the changes is to the constitutional requirements for eligibility to serve in the legislature. Currently, the Tennessee Constitution only requires a person to be at least 21 years old, a U.S. citizen, a Tennessee resident for at least three years and a resident of the county they wish to represent for at least one year prior to their election to the House of Representatives. In order to be a Tennessee State Senator, the requirements are the same except for age. The Senate requirement is at least 30 years old.
This bill is similar to a measure filed by Goodlettsville Rep. Johnny Garrett (R), which was passed by the full House of Representatives Monday, Feb. 26. That bill would prohibit local elected bodies from reappointing an expelled lawmaker back to their seat on an interim basis following that expulsion.
Garrett’s bill, however, has constitutional questions attached. During a House committee meeting, a state legislative attorney said he was not sure if Garrett’s bill was constitutional and may be better served as a constitutional amendment rather than a straight law.
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In order to amend the state constitution, lawmakers must file what’s called a joint resolution. Like regular bills, joint resolutions must also be heard by both the House and Senate, though they only go through one chamber at a time. Richey’s bill still has a full House floor debate and vote ahead of it before it can be sent to the Senate.
Constitutional amendments also take longer to pass than typical bills, because they require the approval of two consecutive general assemblies. For the first general assembly, the votes must be at least a simple majority in favor. For the second general assembly, there must be at least a two-thirds majority approving the amendment.
Following those votes, the amendment is then placed on the ballot of the next gubernatorial general election. An amendment is ratified if a majority of voters in that election approve of the proposed amendment.
The earliest Richey’s bill could appear on the ballot would likely be 2027.
Hundreds of bills will be up for debate during the 113th General Assembly. Tennessee lawmakers shared their thoughts on some of the major issues up for discussion at this year’s legislative session.
You can also find daily coverage from the session here.
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