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Capitol Notes | Peggy Sue, the Beagle Hound
Six. Yes, six separate pieces of legislation have passed both houses as the Tennessee General Assembly continues to punish the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County after the Council refused last year to bid on the 2024 Republican National Convention. Here they are:
1) Chapter 21 (SB 87 by Watson / HB 48 by Lamberth) reduces the size of the Metropolitan Council from 40 to 20. The Chancery Court has issued a temporary injunction, and the upcoming 2023 Council elections will go forward for a 40 member Council.
2) SB 591 by Pody / HB 764 by Davis restructures community police oversight boards. The bill delegates the investigatory authority of the board to the local police department’s internal affairs unit and removes the subpoena power of any board.
3) SB 648 by Johnson / HB 1279 by Davis requires that any excess tax revenues from Nashville’s Music City Convention Center be used only for the payment of capital, operating, or maintenance expenses. The nine member center board also has three new nonvoting ex officio members, the state comptroller, treasurer, and secretary of state.
4) SB 832 by Lundberg / HB 864 by Crawford in an ironical twist requires a simple majority vote of the Council for any improvements to or replacement of the Nashville Speedway. Racing supporters had worked hard to revise the Metro charter with an amendment in 2011 requiring a 27 vote super majority for any improvements to or replacement of the Nashville Speedway. In March, the Bristol Motor Speedway obtained a lease to manage and operate the local track, and clearly, they found the super majority vote requirement to be cumbersome.
5) SB 1326 by Bailey / HB 1176 by Garrett restructures the membership of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority Board. Instead of seven members appointed by the Mayor, the board will now have eight members with two each appointed by the Governor, the House Speaker, the Senate Speaker, and the Mayor.
6) SB 1335 by Bailey / HB 1197 by Williams restructures the membership of Metro Nashville Sports Authority. Seven of the current 13 longest tenured locally appointed members will remain, but the authority will have six new members with two each appointed by the Governor, the House Speaker, and the Senate Speaker.
Another curious little bill. While the city was still mourning the deaths of Evelyn, Hallie, William, Katherine, Cynthia,
and Mike, the six victims of the Covenant School shooting, the State Senate passed SB 822 by Hensley / HB 1189 by Fritts granting immunity to firearms and ammunition manufacturers and retailers from civil liability actions except in very limited circumstances. Surprisingly, after pleading with lawmakers, to no avail, to enact extreme risk protection order legislation limiting access to firearms, Governor Lee signed SB 822 / HB 1189 into law on May 11, 2023. Maybe it’s true how they say some dogs will turn around…
Wag of the Tail. Congratulations to Buddy Holly, the Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, who won Best in Show at the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. And we should note that this is the second year in a row, that a dog from the Hound group has won the honor after Trumpet the bloodhound won last year.
Calendar Notes.
State and NBA offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, for the Independence Day Holiday.
The voter registration deadline for the August 3 Metro election is Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
Early voting for the August Metro election runs from July 14 through July 29, 2023.
Governor Lee has announced his intention to call the General Assembly into Extraordinary Session on August 21, 2023, to strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights. n
PEGGY SUE is fond of the classic 1957 Buddy Holly song. When hunting legislative news or biscuits, she is hard to contact.
