Tennessee House Passes Bill Barring Local Councils From Returning Expelled Lawmakers
Tennessee ConservativeFeb 27
Tenn. House Bill Bans Expelled Reps. From Reappointment
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The Facts
The Republican-majority Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill sponsored by GOP Rep. Johnny Garrett to prevent local governments from reappointing state lawmakers who had previously been expelled for bad behavior.
The bill previously passed the House State Government Committee by a vote of 14-5 nearly a year after Garrett led the expulsion of Democratic Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones for violating House decorum rules.
The Spin
Republican narrative
This bill is constitutional. It's preposterous to think that the founders of the state of Tennessee intended members who were expelled for bad behavior would be eligible to be reappointed to their seat. Opponents are free to challenge this bill in the courts, but they shouldn't be able to win.
Democratic narrative
This partisan bill is a classic case of GOP government overreach. Republicans are clearly passing this as retaliation against lawmakers who were lawfully returned to their positions after a racially charged vote to expel them and violate their freedom of speech rights. This won't withstand a court challenge.
Nerd narrative
There is a 20% chance that any state will refuse to certify its election results during the 2024 US presidential election, according to the Metaculus Prediction community.