House speaker defends ticketing policy as Democratic rep questions constitutionality

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, defended an unwritten, surprise rule he imposed Tuesday requiring tickets to access the west gallery of the House chamber as fair and equal to a system used by the U.S. Congress.

Meanwhile, Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, has formally asked Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti for an opinion on whether the rule violates the Tennessee Constitution, which requires House and Senate chamber and committee doors to “be kept open, unless when the business shall be such as ought to be kept secret.”

A ticket has been allocated for each representative, meaning the Republican Party supermajority doles out access to most seats in the west gallery that was previously open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. According to Sexton's office, the east gallery remains open on a first-come, first-served basis.

The east gallery has 120 seats and the west gallery has 128, according to the House Clerk's office.

"Members should have the same access to allow their constituents to be here, as well as people who want to come among the general public," Sexton said.

Sexton suggested members share and pool tickets, and if Democrats need additional tickets for a group of their constituents, Republicans could share their tickets. But without a written policy in place, it's unclear whether tickets must be given to constituents or whether they could be distributed to people like lobbyists.

"There's huge groups that come down here, and there needs to be an opportunity to allow them if they want to be part of the process to have a reserved seat, if they choose, to allow them to be here to watch what's going on," Sexton said.

Sexton ― who has in the past distanced the conservative state body over which he presides from its federal counterpart ― defended the ticketing policy as "just like Congress."

The congressional gallery reservations and ticketing policy is clearly defined and formally written in the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives. Sexton's ticketing policy was not proposed or voted on as a part of the newly-adopted House rules, and his office has not yet pointed to what statutory authority the House speaker has to create it without House approval or direct state law enforcement to enforce a policy to restrict public access to the chamber.

But when asked what role the executive branch may play, a spokesperson for Gov. Bill Lee pointed to an updated state law approved in 2022 that more clearly defines how the second floor of the Capitol — where the House and Senate is located — is under the jurisdiction of the legislature and the speakers of the House and Senate.

“Public Chapter No. 928 (2022) specified that the second floor of the Capitol is considered a state building occupied by the legislative branch," spokesperson Elizabeth Johnson told The Tennessean in a statement. "That same public chapter vested the speaker of the Senate and the speaker of the House with the duty to manage the second floor of the Capitol, including all chambers and galleries.”

Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper presence has grown significantly since the large gun-reform protests of last spring, with the once fully open rotunda and second floor hallway now divided by stanchions sequestering small groups of the public and lobbyists away from the chamber doors and elevators. However, down the hall, the Senate has proceeded as usual, with no changes to its public gallery access.

House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, said traditionally legislative leadership has had discretion to "govern" activity on the second floor of the Capitol, and lawmakers should request additional troopers for "legitimate" security matters as needed. But Clemmons said the increased use of Tennessee Highway Patrol to enforce the new ticketing policy is "completely, completely contrary" to state law enforcement's statutory authority.

"One person unilaterally directing a state department to go outside their jurisdiction to do what we've seen out here, with this increased police presence here, is highly inappropriate," Clemmons said.

In the past, House rules governing public activity in the House galleries have been written, proposed and formally voted on by House members. In August, the House voted on a written but controversial rule banning the public from holding signs in House galleries.

Despite multiple requests from The Tennessean, neither the House Clerk nor the House Speaker’s Office nor the Department of Safety has produced a written copy of the ticketing policy ― which Tennessee Highway Patrol officers were seen enforcing this week at the stairway to the west gallery.

“The Tennessee Highway Patrol has not been nor is currently involved in the ticketing policy," a THP spokesperson said Thursday when asked about the statutory authority THP officers have to enforce an unwritten directive. THP directed further comments to Sexton's office.

Lee, who officially has authority over the Department of Safety, said this week he wasn't aware of the developments in the House gallery access.

The new ticketing policy frustrated spectators who came to observe the public proceedings for the legislature's first week back but were denied access by state troopers on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee state House: Speaker defends new ticketing policy for public