The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the
state legislature of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and a
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title and office of Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. In addition to passing a budget for state government plus other legislation, the General Assembly appoints three state officers specified by the
state constitution. It is also the initiating body in any process to amend the state's constitution.
Organization
Constitutional structure
According to the
Tennessee State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Tennessee defines the form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules (and means for changing them) of the U.S. State of Tennessee.
The original constitution of Tennessee came into effect on June 1, ...
of 1870, the General Assembly is a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
legislature and consists of a
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
of thirty-three members and a
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
of ninety-nine members.
The representatives are elected to two-year terms; according to a 1966 constitutional amendment the senators are elected to four-year terms which are staggered, with the districts with even numbers being elected in the year of
Presidential elections and those in the districts with odd numbers being elected in the years of Tennessee gubernatorial elections.
According to the Tennessee Constitution each representative must be twenty-one years old, a citizen of the United States, have been a resident of the state for three years and also a resident of the county they represent a year prior to the election. The state constitution also states that each senator must be thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, resided three years in Tennessee, and resided in the district one year prior to the election.
Part-time legislature
To keep the legislature a part-time body, it is limited to ninety "legislative days" per two-year term, plus up to fifteen days for organizational purposes at the start of each term. A legislative day is considered any day that the House or Senate formally meets in the chambers of each house. Legislators are paid a base salary of $19,009 along with a per diem expense of $171 per legislative day. If the legislature remains in session longer than ninety legislative days, lawmakers cease to draw their expense money.
Legislators also receive an "office allowance" of $1,000 per month, ostensibly for the maintenance of an office area devoted to their legislative work in their homes or elsewhere within their district. Traditionally, it has been easier, politically speaking, to raise the per diem and office allowance than the salary.
The
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of each house is entitled to a salary triple that of other members. Under a law enacted in 2004, legislators will receive a raise equal to that given to state employees the previous year, if any.
The governor may also call "extraordinary sessions," limited to the topic or topics outlined in the call, and limited to another twenty days. Two-thirds of each house may also initiate such a call by petitioning for it.
Joint Committees
Each chamber sets up its own committee system; however, there are a number of committees which are composed of members of both the House and Senate.
Joint Fiscal Review Committee
The Joint Fiscal Review Committee continuously reviews items such as revenue collections, the proposed budget and other budget requests, appropriations, state debt, and various state funds, among other items. It also prepares estimates of revenues from the Tennessee Education Lottery and oversees the financial operations of state departments and agencies. Further, it prepares the fiscal note attached to each bill presented in the General Assembly, describing the estimated cost of the bill's contents on state and local government.
It was set up as a special continuing committee of the General Assembly in 1967 and is composed of six senators and nine representatives, each elected by their respective chambers. Additionally, ''ex officio'' members include the Speaker of each house and each house's chairman of the Finance, Ways, and Means committee. The current members are as follows:
Joint Government Operations Rule Review Committee
The Joint Government Operations Rule Review Committee is composed of all members of the House and Senate Government Operations Committees. It reviews rules and regulations created by state departments and agencies.
It has three subcommittees.
Joint Committee on Pensions and Insurance
It is composed of the officers of the House and Senate Finance, Ways, and Means committees, three members appointed by each finance committee chair, and two members appointed by each speaker. Furthermore, the Comptroller of the Treasury, state treasurer, and commissioners of Human Resources and Finance and Administration, as well as the director of the state retirement system, are included on an ''ex-officio'' basis.
TACIR
The
Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) is an intergovernmental body of state and local governments in the U.S. state of Tennessee that has the purpose of providing a forum for discussion and resolution of intergo ...
is considered to be a joint committee of the legislature.
Composition of the 112th General Assembly (2021-2023)
Senate
House
See
Tennessee Senate
The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...
and
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Constitutional requirements
According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...
for current member lists and further information.
Work of the General Assembly
Legislative schedule
Legislative days are scheduled no more than three days a week during the session. Legislative sessions in both the House and Senate occur on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Tuesdays and the majority of Wednesdays are used primarily for committee meetings and hearings rather than actual sessions. Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Tennessee Capitol also take on an eclectic flavor most weeks, as varied and diverse constituent groups set up display booths to inform lawmakers about their respective causes.
Sessions begin each year in January and usually end by May; during recent fiscal crises meetings have spilled over into July. The time limit on reimbursed working days and the fact that the Tennessee state government
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
is on a July 1 – June 30 basis puts considerable time pressure on the General Assembly, especially with regard to the adoption of a budget.
Membership in the legislature is best regarded as being a full-time job during the session and a part-time job the rest of the year due to committee meetings and hearings (for which legislators are reimbursed their expenses and receive a mileage allowance). A few members are on enough committees to make something of a living from being legislators; most are independent businesspeople and
attorneys, although the latter group is perhaps no longer the absolute majority of members that it at one time comprised. In keeping with Tennessee's agricultural roots, some senators and representatives are farmers.
Lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
s are not allowed to share meals with legislators on an individual basis, but they are not forbidden from inviting the entire legislature or selected groups to events honoring them, which has become a primary means of lobbying. Members are also forbidden from holding campaign fundraising events for themselves during the time they are actually in session.
Leadership
Each house sets its own rules and elects its own
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
; the Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title and office of
Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee
The lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate of Tennessee is the presiding officer of the Tennessee Senate and first in line in the succession to the office of governor of Tennessee in the event of the death, resignation, or removal from ...
. For over three decades, both speakers were from
West Tennessee
West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions (Tennessee), Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee River, Tennessee and Miss ...
; this caused considerable resentment in the eastern two-thirds of the state. From 1971 until January 2007, Tennessee had the same lieutenant governor,
John S. Wilder
John Shelton Wilder (June 3, 1921 – January 1, 2010) was an American politician who was the 48th List of lieutenant governors of Tennessee, Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee for 36 years from January 1971 to January 2007, possibly the longes ...
, a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
. Wilder was re-elected to the position even after Tennessee Republicans re-took the state senate in the 2004 election. However, in January 2007, after Republicans gained additional seats in the 2006 General Assembly elections, the Senate elected
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Ron Ramsey
Ronald Lynn Ramsey (; born November 20, 1955) is an American auctioneer, politician, and lobbyist, who served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Tennessee and speaker of the State Senate from 2007 to 2017. A Republican from Blountville in East ...
(from
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...
) to the office of lieutenant governor. The current lieutenant governor is Republican Randy McNally, who was elected in January 2017. The 111th General Assembly of Tennessee has 32 new legislators, with 28 of those legislators in the House. The 111th General Assembly also had a new Speaker of the House and majority leader in the Senate, respectively, and new lawmakers in leadership positions. The current speaker of the House is Cameron Sexton who was elected in 2019.
Layout of districts
The General Assembly districts of both houses are supposed to be reapportioned based on population as determined by the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
on a decennial basis. This was not done between 1902 and 1962, resulting in the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
decision in ''
Baker v. Carr
''Baker v. Carr'', 369 U.S. 186 (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that redistricting qualifies as a justiciable question under the Fourteenth Amendment, thus enabling federal courts to hear Fourteen ...
'' (369 U.S. 186), which required this action to be taken. Afterwards, there were other lawsuits, including one which resulted in an order for the body to create a
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
-
majority district in
West Tennessee
West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions (Tennessee), Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee River, Tennessee and Miss ...
for the House in the late 1990s.
Powers
Legislation
Tennessee legislators' objectives are to enact, amend, and repeal Tennessee Laws. Powers specific to Tennessee legislators include appropriation of money, the levy and collection of taxes, and the right to authorize counties and towns to tax.
The General Assembly is recognized by the state constitution as the supreme legislative authority of the state. It is the General Assembly's responsibility to pass a budget for the functioning of the state government. Each year, the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
outlines their budget priorities in the
State of the State address The State of the State Address is a speech customarily given once each year by the governors of each of the states of the United States, although the terminology for this speech differs for some states: in Iowa, the speech is called the Condition of ...
. The Assembly, in a joint session, is present for the speech. Bills may originate in either the House or Senate, and can be either a general or local bill. A general bill affects the state, while a local bill affects a town or county. A local bill must be passed in the state legislature and ratified by the local area it affects.
The Tennessee Constitution states that after a bill has been rejected by the General Assembly, no bill with the same substance can be passed into law during the same session. The Tennessee Constitution states that each bill must be passed on three separate days in both houses. In order for a new bill to pass it requires a constitutional majority.
Appointments
According to the state constitution, three positions in state government collectively referred to as the "Constitutional Officers" — the
secretary of state,
state treasurer
In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...
, and the
Comptroller of the Treasury The Comptroller of the Treasury was an official of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1789 to 1817. According to section III of the Act of Congress establishing the Treasury Department, it is the comptroller's duty to
:''superintend ...
— are selected by the General Assembly in
joint session
A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally separate decision-making groups meet, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose.
Most often it refers to when both houses of a bicame ...
, where each member of the General Assembly is accorded a single vote. Each office is awarded to the first candidate to receive a majority of the votes (67 of 132).
The General Assembly selects the seven members of the State Election Commission. It selects four members from the majority party (the one controlling the majority of the 132 total seats) and three members from the minority party.
Gubernatorial election dispute
A contested gubernatorial election is supposed to be decided by a joint session of the General Assembly, according to
statutory law
Statutory law or statute law is written law passed by a body of legislature. This is opposed to oral or customary law; or regulatory law promulgated by the executive or common law of the judiciary. Statutes may originate with national, state legi ...
. The General Assembly is also required to decide the result of the gubernatorial election by joint session according to the state constitution in the event of an exact tie in the popular vote, an extremely unlikely election result.
Amending the State Constitution
The General Assembly can propose
amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...
s to the state constitution, but only through one of the two available time-consuming processes:
Legislative initiative
For the legislature to propose amendments to the state constitution directly, an amendment must first be passed by an absolute majority of the membership of each house during one term of the Assembly. Then, during the next General Assembly term, each house must pass the amendment again, this time by a two-thirds majority.
The amendment must then be put on the statewide ballot, but only at a time when an election for governor is also being held. The amendment to be passed must receive over half of the total votes cast in the gubernatorial election in order to be
ratified
Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inte ...
and come into effect.
The 1870 constitution of Tennessee had never been amended in this manner until 1998, when the "Victims' Rights Amendment" was added. A similar process was used in 2002 to enact the state
lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
.
Two amendments proposed by the General Assembly were presented to voters on the 2006 ballot. In 2005 the "
Tennessee Marriage Protection Amendment
The Tennessee Marriage Protection Amendment, also known as Tennessee Amendment 1 of 2006, is a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions. The referendum was approved by 81% of voters. It specified that only a marriage between a man a ...
," specifying that only marriages between a man and a woman could be legally recognized in the state, was approved for submission to the voters in 2006. The
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
had previously challenged the validity of the amendment by asserting that a constitutional obligation to publicly advertise the amendment had not been satisfied. However, on February 23, 2006,
Davidson County Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that the proposed amendment would be on the ballot in 2006. Both that amendment and an amendment authorizing exemption of
senior citizens
Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human biological life cycle, life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage ...
from
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
increases were approved by voters in November 2006.
In 2010, voters approved an amendment providing a right to hunt and fish within state regulations.
Constitutional convention
The other method of amending the state constitution, and the one used for all amendments prior to 1998, is for the General Assembly to put on the ballot the question of whether a limited constitutional convention should be called for the purpose of considering amendments to certain specified provisions of the constitution.
If the voters approve this in a statewide election they then, at the next statewide election, elect delegates to this convention. This body then meets (in the House chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol) and makes its recommendations. These recommendations can be voted on in any election, either one specially called or in conjunction with other statewide elections, and need only pass by a
simple majority of those casting votes.
This method can not be employed more often than once every six years.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
Bicameral legislatures